LHE/20/8.GA/INF.1 - page 3

- 2. Welcoming the delegates, the Secretary of the Convention, Mr Tim Curtis , informed the Assembly that interpretation was available in all six official languages of UNESCO and that the meeting would be transmitted live via audiocast. All the documents had been available online since the deadline of 4 May 2018 in the six official languages of UNESCO. For environmental reasons and in order to reduce costs, printed copies of the documents were not provided but Wi-Fi was available for downloads. Printed copies of the 2016 edition of the Basic Texts were also made available. The preliminary list of participants was also available online. It was noted that 500 people had registered to attend this session, representing more than 110 States Parties, four intergovernmental organizations and almost 60 NGOs. The Secretariat had also planned a series of side events during the session under the overall theme ' Tell Your Living Heritage Story '. The Secretary highlighted the dialogue session to showcase the impact of four community-based projects funded by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, a roundtable to share in-country experiences of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, and another roundtable to share in-country experiences for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for quality and relevance in education. There was also an audiovisual exhibition featuring young people talking about their intangible cultural heritage. States Parties and the NGO Forum also organized events.

## ITEM 2 OF THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA: ELECTION OF THE BUREAU Document: ITH/18/7.GA/2 Resolution: 7.GA 2

- 3. The Secretary recalled Rule 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly that states that the Assembly shall elect a Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur. The Chairperson and the Rapporteur are elected in their individual capacities, while States are elected as Vice-Chairpersons. Although the Rules do not require it, it was customary to ensure that each of the six Electoral Groups was represented in the Bureau in the spirit of equitable geographical representation. The Secretary reassured the States Parties that the duty of the Rapporteur is important but not too burdensome; he or she would be asked to verify that the Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly were faithfully recorded by the Secretariat after each daily session and no oral report was required.
- 4. The Assistant Director-General ADG understood that informal consultations had taken place among the States Parties concerning the candidates for election, but that they had not yet reached a conclusion.
- 5. The delegation of Tunisia proposed Italy as Chairperson of the seventh session.
- 6. The delegations of Turkey and Germany seconded the proposal.

### [Applause]

- 7. The Assistant Director-General noted that Italy was represented by H.E. Ms Vincenza Lomonaco, who would serve as Chairperson. He then sought proposals for the Vice- Chairpersons.
- 8. The delegation of Paraguay nominated Ms Alicia Castillo from Guatemala as Vice- Chairperson from Electoral Group III.
- 9. The delegation of Ecuador seconded the nomination of Guatemala as Vice-Chair for Group III.
- 10. The delegation of Chile supported the proposal made by Paraguay.
- 11. The delegation of Kazakhstan was ready to work as Vice-Chairperson representing Electoral Group IV.