Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 15.COM 7.8

The Committee,

  1. Having examined document LHE/20/15.COM/7,

  2. Recalling Chapter V of the Operational Directives and its Decision 10.COM 10.a.8,

  3. Expresses its thanks to Uganda for submitting, on time, its report on the status of the element ‘Koogere oral tradition of the Basongora, Banyabindi and Batooro peoples’, inscribed in 2015 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding;

  4. Takes note of the efforts of Uganda to support the transmission of the element, especially through participatory safeguarding management and active community involvement, as well as through the implementation of safeguarding activities with limited resources, such as the documentation of critical knowledge relating to the element, and the prioritization of fundraising activities for safeguarding needs;

  5. Invites the State Party to continue its efforts to implement the planned safeguarding activities, to mobilize the support of national institutions for safeguarding activities, to enhance the sustained contribution of local governments and to continuously monitor the viability of the element and address threats to its safeguarding;

  6. Further invites the State Party to address in its next report the issue of the declining use of the Runyakitara (Runyoro-Rutooro) language as an important carrier of the values and knowledge practised and transmitted through the Koogere oral tradition;

  7. Encourages the State Party to continue its efforts to address the lack of financial resources for the safeguarding of the element by mobilizing funds at the national and local levels, and to explore other funding possibilities through international cooperation mechanisms, including International Assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund;

  8. Further encourages the State Party to develop suitable education and training measures for the sustained transmission of the diverse aspects of the element, including the knowledge and traditions associated with cultural and natural spaces;

  9. Requests that the Secretariat inform the State Party at least nine months prior to the deadline of 15 December 2023 about the required submission of its next report on the status of this element.

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