Ethiopia expects UNESCO to inscribe two heritages next month

Addis Ababa, August 12, 2023 (FBC) – Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage said that the country is enthusiastically waiting for UNESCO’s inscription of Gedeo Cultural Landscape and Bale Mountain National Park coming September.

Authority Cultural Heritage Research Director Andualem Girmaye told EPA that the country has submitted an advanced nomination dossier for the registration of the two heritages thereby anticipating the UNESCO to inscribe them in its world heritage list during the Extended 45th Session of the World Heritage Committee that will be held next month in Saudi Arabia.

The country is optimistic on the final decision of the World Heritage Committee about the inscription of the Gedeo Cultural Landscape and Bale Mountain National Park as UNESCO’s world heritage for being home to various fauna and flora and archeological sites, he noted.

Ethiopia was appreciated for advanced dossier on the nomination of the two heritages during the World Heritage Nomination Workshop held in 2020. On the occasion, representatives from Ethiopia introduced the progress of the nomination of the two heritages which are currently on UNESCO’s Tentative list of potential World Heritage sites, it was learnt.

On the workshop, UNESCO had reaffirmed its commitment to provide support to increase East African countries’ representation on the World Heritage List.

According to Andualem, Ethiopia has registered about nine tangible and four intangible heritages in the UNESCO’s world heritage list so far and additional heritages on the way to be inscribed.

The authority is working on the registration of additional heritages such as ShewalEid,the oral customary laws of Somali Issa communities in Ethiopia, Wolaita’s people’s New Year celebration called Gifata, and the prehistory of MelkaKunture and Balchitarcheological site in Oromia state, he noted.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopia was elected to the Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 9thsession of the General Assembly of States Parties to the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022.

The selection of Ethiopia as member is a big achievement to the nation since Ethiopia has registered many tangible and intangible heritages and working to register more in the UNESCO World Heritage list,Andualem said.

As one of the representatives of Africa, Ethiopia will work for a more balanced and truly representative heritage list reflecting the beauty and diversity of the world. It also works for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage that contributes to sustainable development, he added.