Minister honors commitment to intangible cultural heritage

The Unesco Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of 2003 has, according to Saxony's Minister of Culture Barbara Klepsch (CDU), helped to give traditional human knowledge and skills greater visibility and the appreciation they deserve. "When we look back on these ten years today, we can certainly be proud of what we have achieved," she said ahead of a commemorative event to mark the anniversary in Dresden, according to a statement. The convention, which Germany also joined in 2013, had also "triggered a lively public discussion about our cultural self-image" in Saxony.

People who were committed to it "not only preserve the cultural heritage of their region, they contribute to cohesion and understanding, in big cities as well as in the countryside," Klepsch praised the commitment. "All of this only works because many of them volunteer and take responsibility, care about more than just themselves - and often sacrifice a lot of time and energy to do so."

Local traditions, customs, festivals, historically grown craft techniques, in music and dance forms, also show the cultural wealth of the Free State, Klepsch said. "This living cultural heritage, combined with the courage to try something new, makes our state worth living in and creates identity and community." The range of intangible cultural heritage extends from the customs and festivals of the Lusatian Sorbs to the cooperative idea, organ building and organ music or boys' choirs to mountain climbing.