Meeting of experts from Intergovernmental Committee of the UN Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

This meeting, being held at the Palau des Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia from 30 March to 1 April 2015, forms part of a series of meetings aimed at defining a code of ethics on intangible cultural heritage that will complement the text of the convention drawn up by the United Nations in 2003.

In his speech to the committee of experts during the opening ceremony, the Spanish minister highlighted the strong participation by Spain in the efforts to draft the 2003 Convention and its commitment to implementing the same through numerous cooperation projects in this field in Ibero-America and Africa.

Spain is the fourth-highest rated country in terms of the number of items registered on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Misteri of Elche, the Tribunal de las Aguas de la Huerta in Valencia, the whistled language of the island of La Gomera, Flamenco and the Mediterranean diet, among others, are important inclusions from Spain on said list.

The Spanish minister stressed that intangible cultural heritage of humanity defends local cultural values in the context of an increasingly globalised world. Due to their very nature, these values are especially vulnerable in today's world and therefore also need special protection. In this regard, the Spanish minister recalled the recent and regrettable terrorist actions in the Middle East against locations that represent the very cradle of civilisation, and against objects and works of art bearing irreplaceable cultural identity. José Manuel García-Margallo thanked the Director-General of UNESCO for the firm initiatives adopted by her organisation against this cultural disaster.

The importance of local cultural values transcends national frontiers and gains universal significance. For that reason, said the Spanish minister, the work carried out by the United Nations in the field of intangible heritage is an important asset for human development in general.

The organisation of this meeting in Spain, as well as attendance by the Director-General of UNESCO, reaffirms the active collaboration over more than 60 years between Spain and this UN body specialising in science and culture, and demonstrates Spain's firm commitment to the values of culture and development.