To the States Parties to the Convention
for the Safeguarding of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage
24 August 2021
Culture Sector
The Assistant Director-General
Ref: CLT/CCE/LHE/21/5915
Subject: Sixteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (13 – 18 December 2021,
Colombo, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka)
Dear Ambassador,
On behalf of the Director-General, it is my honour to invite your country to the sixteenth
session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage, which will take place in Colombo, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri
Lanka from 13 to 18 December 2021. I would be grateful if you could transmit this
information to the national authorities in charge of the 2003 Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in your country.
This session of the Committee will be preceded by an opening ceremony, organized by
the host country on Sunday, 12 December 2021. All participants in the session are
welcome to attend and more details will be provided in due course.
The provisional agenda for the session together with the documents corresponding to
the items inscribed on this agenda will be published on the Convention’s website at:
https://ich.unesco.org/en/16com no later than 15 November 2021 in the two working
languages of the Committee (English and French – Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure
of the Committee). General information concerning practical arrangements for the
session will also be posted on the webpage.
Out of concern for the environment and in order to reduce costs, hard copies of the
documents will not be provided unless they are specifically requested. In the event that you
are unable to download the documents, I invite you to send an e-mail to the Secretariat of
the Convention at:
[email protected]. Please be advised that the debates of the
meeting will be transmitted by webcast, which will be made available in real time on the
webpage of the Convention indicated above.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
7, Place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP France
T: +33 (0)1 45 68 15 05
./…
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Expenses incurred by participants will be borne by the government they represent.
Participation costs for representatives from developing States Parties to the Convention may,
however, be covered by the Fund for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
(the Fund), subject to the availability of resources and provided that such persons are
experts in intangible cultural heritage. Kindly note that only one request for one expert per
State Member shall be considered for such assistance from the Fund.
Requests for assistance must reach the Secretariat of the Convention no later than
18 October 2021 (eight weeks prior to the session – Rule 5.5 of the Rules of Procedure of
the Committee). Nevertheless, taking into account UNESCO’s regulations regarding the
purchase of tickets, and to fulfil other logistical requirements, I invite eligible States to kindly
send their request to the e-mail address of the Secretariat indicated above as soon as
possible. Such requests should be accompanied by the curriculum vitae of the proposed
expert, a scanned copy of his/her valid passport, and his/her travel itinerary.
Needless to say, the convening of this session of the Committee is subject to the evolving
situation related to the ongoing global pandemic. The Secretariat will strive to provide
necessary information as regards health measures in line with the host country rules and
UNESCO guidance applicable at the time of the meeting.
For all enquiries concerning visas and other formalities required to enter Sri Lanka,
participants are requested to contact the embassy or consulate of Sri Lanka in their own
country directly. The present letter, together with a letter from you stating the name(s) of
your country’s representative(s), may be used when applying for a visa. If the host country
of the Committee does not have diplomatic representation in your country, you may wish to
send requests to the aforementioned e-mail address of the Secretariat of the Convention,
which will transmit it to the host country. Please bear in mind that only the authorities of the
Sri Lanka may determine whether a visa is granted.
I would be grateful if you could confirm your country’s participation in this Committee session,
as well as the participation of the expert for whom financial assistance is requested where
relevant, by registering online as soon as possible and in any case before 30 November
2021 at: https://ich.unesco.org/en/registration-01187. In the event that you encounter
technical difficulties, kindly send an e-mail to the Secretariat.
As is customary, a gathering of the ICH NGO Forum will take place on Sunday,
12 December 2021, the eve of the opening session. Further information on the agenda
for that meeting will soon be made available at: http://www.ichngoforum.org/.
I would also like to inform you that an information and exchange session will be held
closer to the time of the meeting to present the working methods of the
Intergovernmental Committee as well as practical information concerning this sixteenth
session. More information will be provided in due course as to the date and the format
of this session.
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May I take this opportunity to thank you for your interest and support in the
implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage.
Accept, Sir/Madam, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Ernesto Ottone R.
a.i.
cc: Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee
Permanent Delegation of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to
UNESCO
Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO
Permanent Delegation of the States Parties concerned
National Commissions of the States Parties concerned