Senegal's Ministry of Culture and Communication, in partnership with UNESCO, is launching a new national assessment exercise on the cultural measures and policies that have been implemented over the past four years in support of cultural and creative industries. From 12 to 16 November 2019, Senegal, known in the subregion for its dynamic cultural and creative scene, will launch the process of preparing its second quadrennial periodic report under the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, to which it has been a Party since 2006. A first day will be devoted to a multi-stakeholder consultation that will bring together representatives of other ministries also concerned with the issue of cultural and creative industries, artists and cultural professionals, but also technical and financial partners. This meeting will provide an opportunity to engage in open discussions on the challenges and progress of the creative sector in Senegal and, above all, to present the national team composed of government and civil society actors that will be responsible for preparing this report, which is expected by 30 April 2020. This multi-stakeholder consultation will be followed by a three-day facilitation workshop during which members of the national team will be trained on the methodology and monitoring tools made available by UNESCO, noting that Senegal, which submitted its first report in 2016, already has experience in this area. The monitoring framework proposed by the 2005 Convention presents eleven monitoring areas that highlight issues such as media diversity, mobility of artists, national sustainable development policies and plans, and artistic freedom. Finally, a fifth day will be dedicated to an open exchange session with civil society organizations that are key stakeholders and play an important role in the development of the sector. To this end, this session is part of a spirit of participatory, transparent monitoring and sharing between actors from the public and private sectors and will highlight the contribution of civil society to the development of the sector, so that these initiatives can be taken into account in the next report submitted by the State Party. This initiative is supported by financial support from the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency as part of the second phase of the project "Rethinking cultural policies for the promotion of fundamental freedoms and the diversity of cultural expressions", which benefits nineteen countries around the world.

The presentation of the Kyrgyz yurt, erected in the outdoor Takis area, illustrates intangible cultural heritage through traditional knowledge and skills The yurt is a nomadic dwelling used among the Kyrgyz and Kazak people. It demonstrates the importance of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The community aspects and traditional knowledge relating to yurts, including the role of women who make the interior and exterior decorations, are showcased in this presentation. The Convention promotes dialogue between communities as well as States Parties and welcomes the commitment of multinational nominations. One of such examples is the 2014 multinational nomination by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, “Traditional knowledge and skills in making Kyrgyz and Kazakh yurts”. This also shows the important role of the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The Kyrgyz traditional knowledge and skills in manufacturing felt carpets “Ala-kiyiz” and “Shyrdak” were in danger of disappearing some 10 years ago. The inscription of the element on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2012 encouraged the State and communities to take safeguarding measures, and contributed to raising awareness among the public about the importance of traditional Kyrgyz felt carpets. As a result, the popularity of the Kyrgyz traditional felt carpets, which are traditionally used in yurts, is growing within the country and abroad.

A national training workshop will be organised in Algiers, Algeria, from 13 to 15 November 2019. Led by Christine Merkel, Member of the UNESCO Expert Facility, the workshop will discuss the process leading to the preparation of the Quadrennial Periodic Report on the implementation of UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). A multi-stakeholder national team, whose role is to collect necessary information for the Report in an inclusively manner, will attend the training.The workshop builds on the multi-stakeholder consultation on 1-2 October 2019, during which the participants discussed key features of the country’s cultural governance landscape including the 2011 laws on cinema, the 2015 law on the promotion of the book, available funds for creative workers, and the cooperatives in various disciplines (e.g. theatre, living art and dance). The consultation also recognized the need to support regional festivals that celebrate local cultures as well as expand access to cultural offerings in rural areas. The meeting touched on the status of the artist in Algeria: the National Council for Arts and Humanities was identified as the lead to pursue Artists’ Identity card, a system to allow artists to access social security and pension benefits. This periodic report due in 2020 will be Algeria’s first submission since the ratification of the 2005 Convention in 2015. It will highlight achievements and challenges in the governance of culture and creativity and will start a dialogue on cultural policy-making and monitoring between various stakeholders. The capacity-building activities are part of the project “Reshaping Cultural Policies for the Promotion of Fundamental Freedoms and the Diversity of Cultural Expressions”, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The project, which includes 16 beneficiary countries amongst which Algeria, aims to strengthen the human and institutional capacities of governmental and civil society actors in order to monitor and report on policies and measures that protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions.

Within the framework of the project on safeguarding and promotion of TSG and building on the progress achieved since its revamp in 2016, the Permanent Delegation of Madagascar in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Africa Group of UNESCO, with the support of the Secretariat, organize a political, scientific and cultural side-event to the 40th Session of the General Conference, at UNESCO Headquarters on 14 November 2019 (2 p.m. to 3 p. m., Room IV). Already recognized as intangible heritage by the 2003 Convention, TSG contribute to the promotion and safeguarding of intangible heritage, intercultural dialogue, the development of regional integration and the consolidation of peace through the rapprochement of communities and the dissemination of core civic values such as sustainability, inclusion, mutual respect, etc. The importance of sport as an "important instrument" for sustainable development and its "growing contribution to development and peace through tolerance and respect" has been recognized worldwide by the United Nations (UN) in September 2015 in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the regional level, sport is considered as a real lever for development and a vehicle for peace that can contribute to the achievement of the African Union’s 2063 Agenda. This double event aims to raise the awareness of UNESCO African Member States and the international community on the importance of safeguarding these traditional sports and games as vectors for local development, and to enhance the richness of the intangible cultural heritage in Africa through the promotion of TSG. 14 November 2019, 2 p.m. to 3 p. m., Room IV: Round table ‘’Heritage and Diplomacy” addressing the issues of safeguarding and promoting intangible heritage in a political, institutional and scientific perspective: Theme 1: Integration and Regional Cooperation; Theme 2: Promotion of peace and intercultural dialogue; Theme 3: Inclusion of communities.

A sub-regional meeting aims to promote and raise awareness of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) at the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Central Asia. A sub-regional meeting presents a valuable opportunity for the Central Asian (CA) countries to promote and raise awareness of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) at the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system through expansion of national, regional and international networks of TVET institutions, ensuring cooperation and networking between cultural experts and TVET educational institutions in CA and discussion of possible joint activities in CA.This meeting will be organized with the support of UNESCO’s International Information and Networking Center for the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP). It will bring together experts and representatives of TVET institutions, representatives of National Commissions for UNESCO, ICHCAP and UNESCO.

On 18 November, the laureate of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes will be announced and the award presented. Named after the illustrious Greek actress and former Minister of Culture of Greece, the prize rewards outstanding efforts to protect and manage the world’s cultural landscapes—sites that embody an enduring, intimate relationship between people and their environment. The prize winner, who may be an individual, institution or non-governmental organization, will receive a monetary award of USD 30,000.

A regional training of trainers on cultural policy monitoring in Latin America will be held in Quito, Ecuador, gathering representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. The training of trainers aims to strengthen capacities of public officials and professionals of public institutions to better incorporate the principles and objectives of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005) into public policies for sustainable development in the region. It will highlight the importance of cultural policies for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals, in relation, for example, to issues of decent employment and economic growth, gender equality, access to global markets or fight against inequalities. The workshop will deliver key information and practical tools to facilitate the monitoring and implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention, thus facilitating the preparation and delivery of quadrennial periodic reports (QPR) on the implementation of the Convention by Latin American States. The gathering will also be an occasion to foster cooperation within the region and to promote the exchange of experiences and good practices. UNESCO has run a capacity-building programme on participatory policy monitoring since 2014 with the support of the Government of Sweden, through the project “Reshaping Cultural Policies for the Promotion of Fundamental Freedoms and the Diversity of Cultural Expressions”. The QPRs present an opportunity to explore the results obtained and the challenges faced in the cultural and creative sectors as well as to systematize information gathering on policies and measures developed in line with the principles and objectives of the Convention. The preparation of the QPR represents a strategic exercise, as it establishes a unique space of dialogue between various stakeholders, including ministries and public institutions as well as civil society, creative workers, cultural professionals or sectorial associations. The establishment of constructive dialogue mechanisms will in turn support the construction of evidence-based cultural policies that respond to the needs of the different actors. As the participating countries are about to embark on the elaboration of their QPR, the training will notably focus on introducing the participants to the newly updated QPR form as well as how to engage in a participatory process. This event will be an opportunity to discuss on how to contextualize and adapt this process to country-level challenges as well as to share lessons learnt. This regional training of trainers is part of a series of regional training of trainers. Two previous editions were held in Jakarta, Indonesia for the Asian region (July 2019) and in Pretoria, South Africa for the Eastern and Southern African region (September 2019). These regional trainings facilitate global south cooperation and peer-to-peer learning, creating regional communities of practices in the field of culture, creativity and sustainable development.

Discover the unusual potential of Lake Chad in 4 indigenous languages through the activities of the BIOPALT project in a photo gallery on the fences of UNESCO's headquarters. Lake Chad is an important source of fresh water that supports more than 40 million people and faces growing challenges. Its potential, variability and diversity make it an asset in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Discover this photo gallery on the HQ fences: the unusual potential of Lake Chad in 4 indigenous languages through the activities of the BIOPALT project. The BIOPALT project aims to contribute to poverty reduction (SDG 1) and promote a culture of peace (SDG 16) by strengthening the capacity of Member States to develop sustainable, equitable, inclusive and coordinated management of the water, natural and cultural resources of the Lake Chad Basin. The project combines the approaches of the International Hydrological Programme (SDG 6), the Man and the Biosphere Programme (SDG 15 and 13) and the Cultural Heritage Conventions (SDG 11 and 15) in the context of climate change mitigation (SDG 13). The BIOPALT project is implemented by UNESCO through its Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme, International Hydrological Programme (IHP)) and World Heritage. It targets, in particular, young people, women and indigenous peoples.

This seminar is the final stage of the project of developing a system for remote monitoring of the World Heritage property components of the site “Silk Road: Chang'an Tien Shan Corridor Route Network”.The seminar is supported by the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty and represents the need to improve the monitoring of the state of conservation of monuments as part of the serial transnational nomination “Silk Road: Chang'an Tien Shan Corridor Route Network” . This has been noted by the World Heritage Committee (see paragraph 4, d. 38 COM 8B.24). In addition, it is expected that the results of the study will be of practical use for a wider range of tasks related to maintaining authenticity and integrity, as well as improving the management of historical and cultural heritage sites.

The main purpose of this meeting is to provide an update on activities regarding the implementation of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its 1954 and 1999 Protocols since the 12th Meeting of High Contracting Parties (December 2017). The Meeting of High Contracting Parties is a governing body of the 1954 Hague Convention. The purpose of the Meeting is to study problems concerning the application of the Convention and of the Regulations for its execution, and to formulate recommendations in this respect.