Consultation meeting on the role of accredited non-governmental organizations under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

The purpose of this consultation meeting is to continue reflecting with accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the ICH NGO Forum, the informal ad hoc open-ended working group and States Parties on the definition of the advisory functions to be fulfilled by accredited NGOs, as requested by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at its thirteenth session in 2018 (Decision 13.COM 13). The outcomes of this consultation meeting will be presented to the fourteenth session of the Committee in Bogotá, Colombia, from 9 to 14 December 2019.
The purpose of this consultation meeting is to continue reflecting with accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the ICH NGO Forum, the informal ad hoc open-ended working group and States Parties on the definition of the advisory functions to be fulfilled by accredited NGOs, as requested by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at its thirteenth session in 2018 (Decision 13.COM 13). The outcomes of this consultation meeting will be presented to the fourteenth session of the Committee in Bogotá, Colombia, from 9 to 14 December 2019.

The reflection process around the role of accredited NGOs was launched by the Committee at its twelfth session in 2017. Based on its experience with five cycles of accreditation and two cycles of reviewing the accreditation status of NGOs, the Committee considers that it is necessary to take stock of the current situation and challenges regarding the participation of NGOs in an advisory capacity to the Committee (Decision 12.COM 17).

As an initial step in the reflection process, UNESCO organized an electronic consultation from September to October 2018, to gather ideas to define the future of accredited NGOs in the 2003 Convention. In total, 38 States Parties and 68 accredited non-governmental organizations took part in this consultation, the preliminary results of which were presented to the thirteenth session of the Committee in 2018.
 
At this same session in 2018, the Committee decided to continue the reflection process in 2019 with the organization of a consultation meeting. Taking into account the results of the electronic consultation carried out in 2018 and the debates of the Committee at its thirteenth session, the consultation meeting aims at discussing the advisory functions of NGOs.