Sri Lanka elected to UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Sri Lanka was elected on Wednesday to one of four seats available for the Asia-Pacific region on the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, for the period 2018-2022, at the election which took place in Paris during the 7th General Assembly of UNESCO, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a release. Eight countries contested from the Asia-Pacific Group, namely Bangladesh, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia, Palau and Sri Lanka. With Palau withdrawing its candidature earlier today, seven countries stood for election. The countries that succeeded in being elected are China, Sri Lanka, Japan and Kazakhstan, securing 123, 122, 107 and 98 votes respectively. The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which became a milestone in the evolution of international policies for promoting cultural diversity, was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 2003 at its 32nd session.