- to be addressed was intangible cultural heritage in emergencies, not only in conflict and post- conflict situations but also as a response to extreme weather events caused by climate change. The delegation sought to know how the Secretariat saw the operationalization of this concept as it believed that it would be an added value in contributing to promoting peace and sustainable development throughout the world. The delegation was of the view that the communications plan and tools could be targeted towards different audiences, for instance, to communities themselves so that they could better understand the mechanisms available to them under the Convention, as well as potential donors that would help raise the additional funds needed for capacity building for actors on the ground and for the Secretariat.
- 138. The delegation of Greece congratulated the Chairperson on her election and the Secretariat for its thorough and well-documented work throughout the year. It also commended the Secretariat's efforts in responding to the needs of the Convention despite the stress in terms of personnel and funding. The delegation expressed its great satisfaction that the issue of intangible cultural heritage in emergencies, first proposed two years ago in the previous General Assembly by Greece, had now become a centre-stage issue in this Convention. It believed that the pilot scheme that the Secretariat had implemented and presented during the last Committee meeting was very useful, but a lot more needed to be done on this issue and on the ability of intangible cultural heritage to not only restore the situation following the destruction of armed conflict but also in preventing environmental hazards. The delegation believed that greater efforts made in improving knowledge on the prevention of natural hazards would be a big step forward in bringing intangible cultural heritage closer to sustainable development.
- 139. The delegation of Colombia congratulated the Secretariat on this very comprehensive report. With regard to the stated challenges in the report, for example, in the field of education, it believed that the capacity-building strategy was very important, adding that Colombia had incorporated intangible cultural heritage into its own school curricula. The delegation encouraged others to consider the different types of practices and knowledge that were being incorporated into non-formal educational practices, especially as many community-based sources of intangible heritage lend themselves to such practices. For example, Colombia was working on a programme to evaluate the different levels of qualification so that teachers-in- training within the formal education system could be given credit for any work they did within these traditional practices. This aim was to acknowledge and formally recognize this form of knowledge so that students did not necessarily have to go through universities to obtain a teaching position in the formal education system, especially as there were people who had acquired the same level of expertise within the informal education system. The delegation welcomed the fact that the work on intangible cultural heritage was being tied to the sustainable development goals, of which culture forms a broad part. It expressed its appreciation of the different case studies, which would be useful to further this work. For example, Colombia was developing a public policy to manage its intangible cultural heritage in an urban context, so over the past eighteen months it had carried out a series of different surveys in various communities, working with people who were employed in the public sector both at the national and local levels. The idea was to find ways of tying intangible cultural heritage with the process of sustainable development with regard to economic, political and social development. What often happens in cities is that heritage gives people new economic opportunities, but it also offers new social opportunities for the different communities. The delegation wished to share this experience because it had identified how the knowledge accumulated in the field of intangible heritage could help people who migrate to cities to create a livelihood and to find a place for themselves in the urban environment. It was also tied to resilience, the informal economy, and so on. The delegation thus sought to strengthen this kind of experience by tying intangible cultural heritage more closely with the SDGs so that these practices could offer people opportunities to achieve sustainable development.
- 140. Congratulating the Chairperson on her election, the delegation of China appreciated the Secretariat 's tireless efforts in promoting the implementation of the Convention in the past two years, especially the active exploration into many new areas, including the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development, intangible cultural heritage and