Terracotta houses with joyful songs: a living heritage on the world stage

UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage program aims to keep alive the practices, knowledge and expressions that communities recognize as part of their cultural identity.

The largest series of inscriptions ever carried out has just been completed and the message was clear: living heritage survives when it is valued, practiced and transmitted.

Years of quiet work

In the New Delhi room, applause rang out like a wave as delegates leaned forward in their seats. Between relief and celebration, a few people smiled knowingly at each other – the kind of smile that appears after years of quiet work is finally recognized.

For communities from Yemen to Chile, from Ukraine to Panama, it was not a simple meeting. It was a time when songs, rituals, crafts and ways of life, often practiced away from the global spotlight, were spoken aloud on the world stage.

“This year has been extraordinary,” said Tim Curtis, UNESCO regional director in New Delhi. “We just reached the highest number of registrations ever: 67 items from 78 countries.”

Hand-built houses, collective singing

Irina Ruiz Figueroa of Panama promoted quincha houses, structures built collectively from natural materials, using knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

“These houses are not just buildings,” she said. “They are made by communities, with women and young people working side by side. Safeguarding this practice means ensuring that our communities themselves remain strong.”

Across the hall, joy quickly spread among the Yemeni delegation. Mohammed Jumeh, Yemen’s ambassador to UNESCO, had just learned that Hadrami Dan, a living tradition of music, poetry and gathering, had been inscribed.

“At a time when people are only expecting bad news from Yemen,” he says, “this recognition has brought happiness. The phones have not stopped ringing. People feel seen.”

For Tim Curtis, these moments capture the essence of what UNESCO calls intangible or living cultural heritage.

“It’s not about monuments or buildings,” he explained. “It’s about what people do. How they celebrate. How they express their identity.”

He stressed that living heritage should not be fixed: it is transmitted from generation to generation, while continuing to adapt and retain its meaning for people today.

Pride, resilience and survival

For Oleksandr Butsenko, a Ukrainian cultural expert, safeguarding heritage has become an even greater urgency.

“The war has made communities realize how vital this is,” he said. “We have added more than 80 items to our National Register in the last three years. People understand that heritage provides resilience, a sense of identity when everything else seems uncertain.”

This feeling of belonging was found in many conversations.

Doreen Ruth Amule, from Uganda, described intangible cultural heritage as something that “speaks directly to the human heart.”

“It’s about spirituality, environment, music, behavior – what makes us feel human and connected,” she said. “The process itself strengthens communities.

When recognition changes the future

This recognition, underlined Tim Curtis of UNESCO, is not only symbolic.

“When something is registered,” he said, “it gives pride and visibility. For some practices, it also unlocks support – funding, educational programs and renewed interest from young people.”

Chile’s Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage, Carolina Pérez Cortés, saw this impact with the inscription of the country’s traditional family circus.

“This practice has been around for over 200 years,” she said. “Now it’s recognized not only by the state, but also by the world. It reinforces our responsibility to support circus families and gives them the tools to continue.”

Similar hopes surround the ancient wine tradition of Cyprus’s Commandaria, newly inscribed after 6,000 years of history.

“This recognition can bring young people back to rural areas,” said Angela Nicolaou-Konnari, a Cypriot expert. “This makes heritage sustainable – economically and culturally. »

Tim Curtis highlighted this intergenerational connection as the real key to safeguarding.

“If young people don’t take it forward, the heritage disappears in one or two generations,” he said. “That’s why education and relevance are so important.”

Heritage in a changing world

Urbanization, migration and climate change are undermining many traditions. But Mr Curtis is clear: safeguards cannot be imposed from above.

“These practices must remain under the control of communities,” he said. “Technology can help – social media, digital platforms – but only if practitioners decide how it is used. »

This philosophy is already taking shape on the ground.

In Kuwait and Egypt, Masirah Alenezi described how traditional Bedouin weaving became a source of dignity and livelihood for refugee women.

In Norway, basket weaver Hege Iren Aasdal spoke about teaching teenagers how to harvest materials from nature before weaving them into everyday objects.

“It’s not just about the basket,” she said. “It’s about knowing your surroundings.”

From Indonesian textiles to Indian leather puppets, the stories have converged on one truth: living heritage survives when it is lived, taught and valued.

A celebration of humanity

No moment captured this idea more vividly than the inscription of Diwali. As India’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Vishal Sharma, said: “Till now, Diwali was a festival in India. From today, it is a festival for all humanity.”

“Heritage connects people. Culture is fundamental.” According to Tim Curtis, this is precisely why safeguarding is important: “We are human beings because we are cultural beings,” he said. In a world of rapid social change, it is necessary to deliberately recognize living traditions as worth protecting and worth passing on to our children and grandchildren.

The detailed list of registrations is available here – interest:

China will host the next meeting of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee in 2026.