Egypt Focuses on Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage

The importance of preserving and protecting Egypt’s intangible cultural heritage was the focal point of a recent discussion hosted at the Nefertiti Cultural Salon.

The event featured prominent experts including Professor Nahla Imam, a specialist in folk traditions and beliefs at the Institute of Folk Arts, advisor to the Minister of Culture on Cultural Heritage, and member of the UNESCO International Evaluation Committee.

Also participating were Professor Mohamed Shabana, a professor of folk music at the Academy of Arts and head of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee at the Supreme Council of Culture, and journalist and poet Mohamed Baghdadi, a member of the same committee.

The speakers discussed the mechanisms for preserving and safeguarding Egypt's cultural heritage, stressing the importance of registering intangible cultural elements on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Imam emphasized the significance of registering and preserving cultural elements for the peoples and their heritage.

She noted that 185 countries have ratified the convention, with nations competing to protect, spread, and sustain their heritage, as well as the practitioners of various cultural elements, such as the recently registered Simsimia music.

Mohamed Shabana shared his personal experience of traveling through Egypt’s Canal cities to collect and catalog information about the Simsimia music genre and the artisans who play the Simsimia instrument. He explained the methods of crafting the instrument, the materials used and the folk groups that continue to practice this authentic art form.

Journalist Mohamed Baghdadi spoke about his role in registering Arabic calligraphy as part of a collaborative file, which involved 16 Arab countries.

He highlighted that the registration of Arabic calligraphy was a long-standing dream for artists and practitioners of this art, which has become an integral part of Egypt’s cultural and visual identity. Baghdadi further noted that Arabic calligraphy was the fastest element to be included on UNESCO’s Representative List.

As a result of this registration, Egypt’s Ministry of Culture has launched schools to teach Arabic calligraphy for free, with a two-year curriculum designed to cultivate a new generation of artists in this field.

Regarding the relatively few elements registered by Egypt so far, Dr. Nahla Imam explained that UNESCO allows each country to submit one element for inscription every two years.

However, nations have the option to collaborate with other countries on joint files to increase the number of registered elements.

Egypt has chosen to join collaborative files to enhance the number of cultural elements recorded, enabling the country to register a unique element every two years and a shared element annually.

Imam emphasized the benefits of these joint files, stating that Egypt has already successfully registered ten cultural elements: El-Sirah El-Hilaliya (oral epic), Hattab (folk dance), Al-Argouz (puppet theatre), handwoven textiles, the palm tree, Arabic calligraphy, metal engraving, the Holy Family’s journey, Simsimia music, and henna.

Egypt is currently preparing a file for Koshary, a traditional Egyptian dish, to register it independently under Egypt’s name.

Contributed by Israa Farhan