Art & Culture

Peru to chair the 9th session of the Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage

The 8th annual meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguard of Intangible Heritage, marked by the 10th anniversary of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage, ended in Baku with the election of Peru as Chair of the next session which will take place in Paris, France, from 24 to 28 November 2014.

Communicating in superdiverse cities

Linguistics researchers will study public and private interactions in four of the UK’s cities which use multiple languages, for example Welsh, Polish or Urdu, to help policy-makers better understand how to communicate with people across different languages and cultures.

UN honours Nelson Mandela as champion of peace, reconciliation

The United Nations family mourned the loss – and celebrated the enduring legacy – of Nelson Mandela, the former South African leader and peace advocate who passed away at the age of 95.

Mongolian calligraphy and the Empaako tradition of Uganda inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage, holding its 8th session in Baku until 7 December, inscribed two new elements from Mongolia and Uganda on the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

The inscription of elements on the Urgent List helps States Parties to UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage to mobilize international cooperation and assistance to ensure the transmission of this heritage with the participation of the concerned communities.

Elements from Azerbaijan and Guatemala inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage, holding its 8th session until 7 December, inscribed two new elements on the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

The inscription of elements on the Urgent List helps States Parties to UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage to mobilize international cooperation and assistance to ensure the transmission of this heritage with the participation of the concerned communities.

Archaeological discoveries in Nepal confirm early date of Buddha’s life

Archaeologists working in Nepal have uncovered evidence of a structure at the birthplace of the Buddha dating back to the sixth century B.C. This is the first archaeological material linking the life of the Buddha — and thus the first flowering of Buddhism — to a specific century.

Pioneering excavations within the Sacred Garden of Lumbini, Nepal, a UNESCO World Heritage site long identified as the birthplace of the Buddha, uncovered the remains of a previously unknown timber structure under a series of brick temples. Laid out on the same design as those above it, the timber structure contains an open space in the center that links to the nativity story of the Buddha himself.

Six Italian cities (Cagliari, Lecce, Matera, Perugia, Ravenna and Siena) short-listed for European Capital of Culture 2019

The selection panel appointed to evaluate applications from Italian cities for the title of European Capital of Culture 2019 met in Rome and recommended that Cagliari, Lecce, Matera, Perugia, Ravenna and Siena should be short-listed. Once this recommendation has been confirmed by Italy, the preselected cities will complete their applications by next summer. The selection panel will meet again in the third quarter of 2014 to recommend the Italian city which will be the European Capital of Culture in 2019.

Keep quality education at the top of global agenda, says EI

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UNESCO approves emergency funds to evaluate state of Mali’s intangible heritage

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Sankore mosque in Mali’s fabled city of Timbuktu.

Things we learnt in plenary: 2014 budget, Sakharov for Aung San Suu Kyi, data protection and migration

In the second October plenary session, Parliament voted to reverse cuts to the EU's 2014 budget proposed by the Council and amended the current budget to cover its €2.7 billion deficit. MEPs also voted for suspending the US-EU deal on tracking terrorist financial activities as a response to the alleged tapping of Europeans' bank data. Aung San Suu Kyi received her Sakharov prize in what president Martin Schulz described as a great moment for which an entire generation had been waiting for.