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- demands from States Parties and had to deal with issues of increasing complexity. This was happening at a time of budgetary limitations, and at the same time, the number of nominations and requests for capacity building were rising. The delegation was concerned about the budgetary and resource situation of the Secretariat. Its capacity to deliver, serve and advise States Parties and the Committee was a critical issue in the implementation of the Convention. It was thus important that the Secretariat strive to work more smartly and efficiently, using up-to-date digital tools. The receipt and handling of nominations should be done in a more transparent, efficient and contemporary way. The delegation echoed the remarks made earlier by Sweden and hoped to see a more even balance between the instruments of the Convention. It wished to see more nominations to the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices, which would be in the spirit of the Convention as it addressed one of its core priorities, namely capacity-building, and thus deserved to have a larger role in the collective consciousness when reflecting on the Convention. The delegation also believed that a continued, strong focus on the Representative List might prove detrimental to its sustainability. More restraint should be exercised in nominating elements to this List and a more even balance between the different instruments should be sought. The delegation also highlighted the role of intangible cultural heritage in emergencies. The Heritage Emergency Fund finances activities in the domains of all six culture Conventions, which also supports their implementation. With resources from the Fund, UNESCO was able to mitigate emergencies and help achieve quick and flexible responses in the field. Norway commended the Secretariat for keeping a strong focus on supporting States Parties through capacity building with a continued focus on Africa. It was thus important to keep building new partnerships and strengthening the global network of facilitators who deliver training and advisory services to States Parties. Norway was mentioned as one of the donor countries that support capacity building in developing countries. It was also important to underscore the necessity of sustaining capacities in these countries by developing national mechanisms to continue this training. It was very important to continue exploring the role of the education system in the implementation of the Convention and the mobilization of tertiary education institutions in training. The delegation was also very happy to note that UNESCOwasworking with indigenous peoples to build capacities. It thanked the Secretariat for attending the Sámi Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference in May 2018, organized by the Sámi Parliaments in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The delegation also commended the initiative to reflect on local communities in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
- 129. The delegation of Latvia congratulated the Secretariat for the informative report on its activities. It appreciated the substantial and effective work that the Secretariat carried out, including the statutory support, as well as the capacity-building programme. The delegation wished to highlight some aspects in the report, in particular. It welcomed the growing number of International Assistance requests, while also being aware of the concerns regarding the additional workload for the Secretariat. The delegation also believed that it was important to make sure that the substantial monitoring and analytical review of the results and impacts of International Assistance would be carried out and it welcomed the fact that this point was reflected in paragraph 3 of the proposed draft resolution. The delegation also welcomed the developing knowledge management system for the Convention, including the interface for the periodic reports. It was convinced that the periodic reports provided a valuable source of information and assessment regarding the implementation of the Convention, and it welcomed the further development of these online tools of navigation and search. It also wished to underline the significance of education and looked forward to the growing activity of the UNESCO Chairs in the field of intangible cultural heritage, which could bring added value to advancing a reflective implementation of the Convention. The delegation also 3 believed that an upcoming side event organized by Latvia and France during this session, with the participation of the UNESCO Chair and the Secretariat, would further contribute to