News

Awareness meeting on 'Intangible Cultural Heritage' (ICH) organized by the Sri Lanka National Commission on UNESCO (SLNCU) was held at the auditorium of the Ministry of Education recently. The meeting was headed by the Secretary General of SLNCU Dr. P. N. Meegaswatte.

Rev Venerable Pattiyawela Mahinda, Head of Faculty of Open & Distance Learning, Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Senior Professor Raj Somadeva, Institute of Postgraduate Studies in Archeology, University of Kelaniya, Senior Professor Yasanjali Devika Jayathilaka, Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Dr. Anusha Edirisinghe, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Department of Sociology, University of Kelaniya, Senior Lecturer Dr. Sepala Samarasekara & Dr. Raveendra Kumara Withanachchi, Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and the officials of the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO attended this meeting.

Welcome address delivered by Dr. Meegaswatte, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO explained at length about UNESCO and its objectives, the current role of UNESCO and the value of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage'. He mentioned that the value of culture, whether it is tangible or intangible, is now understood by every country in the world and also the strongest tool that a country has is its own culture.

Further he made the following remarks as well. The activities of UNESCO should make a tremendous contribution to the well-being and development of this country. UNESCO focuses on 'Tangible Cultural Heritages' & 'Intangible Cultural Heritages' and has now declared 1167 ‘World Heritage Sites’. Many countries around the world have partnered with UNESCO to declare their 'cultural heritages' as 'World Cultural Heritages'.

The Secretary General finalised that this meeting was convened with the objective of starting a conversation about ICH & discussing the organizational plans on safeguarding ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage' of Sri Lanka.

Raj Somadeva, Senior Professor, University of Kelaniya delivered a short but very important lecture on ICH. He mentioned that knowledge & information on ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ of Sri Lanka is currently in a state of disintegration and therefore it needs to be incorporated into a certain intellectual framework. Using the clear platform that has now been created, a formal document describing the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ is currently being prepared.

Further he expressed that the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ is now categorized into 13 topics such as the use of ICH for the development of the country, The knowledge system we inherit, the management methods of the environment, the anthropological memoirs, Individual self-expression methods, traditional technological applications, understanding of the surrounding world, Resource exploitation and resource utilization model, empirical and metaphysical knowledge etc. The basis of categorization also was explained in detail with interesting examples.

Professor Raj Somadeva emphasized that we cannot draw our horizons by looking at the horizons of others and concluded by saying that "We must engrave our own horizon."

Senior Professor Yasanjali Jayathilaka of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura also gave a short lecture and explained the steps taken by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura to analyze and preserve the intangible cultural heritage so far. She further explained that the image and identity of the country is based on tangible & intangible cultural heritages.

The values of the Malwara rituals, Kotahalu Yaga etc. in Sri Lanka, the religious beliefs and the Sinhala identities embedded in the lives of the people living around the tanks (wewa) were also described in detail. She highlighted the potential for attractive use of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage' in tourism and the need to include 'Intangible Cultural Heritage' in the school curriculum.

Review speech of the meeting made by the Secretary General Dr. Meegaswatte gave a step-by-step clarification on the Safeguarding of ICH, using a Power Point Presentation. He concluded the meeting by inviting all to contribute to the cause of strengthening the 'safeguarding & promoting intangible cultural heritage' of Sri Lanka.

The new Executive Director of the UNESCO Category 2 South Asian Centre for Teacher Development (SACTD), Dr. Ranjith Kumarasiri, assumed duties on 16th July 2020. Dr. Kumarasiri holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education and has over 25 years of experience in this field.  Among others, his recent assignments include working as a National Consultant, Asian Development Bank; Education Specialist, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka; and Business and Curriculum Development Manager, Development Learning Network of the World Bank.

The preliminary discussions on SACTD were also held the same day with the Secretary of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Mr. N. H. M. Chitrananda, State Secretary of Education, Mr. Ranjith Chandrasekara, Secretary-General of Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO (SLNCU), Dr. P. N. Meegaswatte, Deputy Secretary-General of SLNCU, Ms. Ashwini Madanayake, Chief Financial Officer of MoE, Mr. Y. M. Gunasekara, Chief Accountant of MoE, Mr. Thissa Kumara, UNESCO Country Focal Point, Ms. Himali Jinadasa, and the former Secretary-General of SLNCU, Mr. Prithi Viraj Perera. 

The 7th interregional meeting of National Commissions for UNESCO took place from February 22 to 25, 2021, to consult on the operational involvement of National Commissions for UNESCO and their national networks to contribute to the ongoing elaboration process of the next Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2022-2029 (41 C/4) and the Draft Program and Budget for 2022-2025 (41 C/5) of UNESCO. The host for this year’s meeting was the Swiss National Commission for UNESCO.

Asia – Pacific consultations took place on Tuesday, 23 February 2021 moderated by Dr. Punchi Nilame Meegaswatte, Secretary-General, Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO and Chaired by the Secretary-General Mr. Nicolas Mathieu the Swiss National Commission for UNESCO. The Rapporteur was Mr. Mohamad Sanusi Karim Secretary-General of the Malaysian National Commission for UNESCO.

The Secretaries-General and Deputy Secretaries-General of the National Commissions for UNESCO of 33 National Commissions for UNESCO took part in the Asia-Pacific consultations. Mr. Dov Lynch, Chief of Section for Relations with Member States, UNESCO also participated in the consultations.

Dr. Punchi Nilame Meegaswatte, Secretary-General, Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO, during the consultations stressed the need for increased partnership through the National Commission for UNESCO network and the securing of external funding.

Some of the overall key recommendations from the National Commission for UNESCO consultations were the following:

1. Strengthen multilateralism and partnerships with relevant stakeholders, such as youth and civil society, through strategic positioning of National Commissions as key national coordinators.
2. Empower the National Commissions as principal agents of change at the national level, accelerating UNESCO’s response to global challenges.
3. Involve National Commissions in the implementation and assessment of the Organization’s programs, using a human rights-based approach.