Adoption of the List of decisions
416. Following the presentation by the Rapporteur, Mr Ousmane Blondin Diop, of his oral report on the work achieved, the Commmitte unanimously adopted the oral report and the decisions taken on the items of the agenda.
417. The Chairperson sincerely congratulated the Committee and observers for the great achievements in this session. Comparing the Committee to an ICH ship, he said it was significantly equipped in the Odaiba Tokyo Bay. Upon approval by the General Assembly in June 2008, the ship will set sail for a long journey with noble objectives for safeguarding the ICH of the world. A journey that countless communities, practitioners and individuals in all continents, sub-continents have been waiting for since years. It is of historical significance that the ICH ship was equipped for this long journey here in Odaiba because in 1853, the last Samurai government built a series of six fortresses for protecting Tokyo from invasion. Odaiba literally means “cannon batteries placed on islands”. After 150 years, this place became a symbol of openness and international cooperation. He called this the Odaiba spirit. With a view to the huge diversity of opinions among the Committee Members, States Parties and observers on various important issues and the heated debates going on for hours and hours until late at night in the working groups and corridors, the achievements seem to be a miracle. In reality, they are due to admirable
professionalism and profound commitment to the noble objectives of the Convention and the strong passion that all participants shared, allowing them to overcome differences and uncertainties. He expressed his happiness that Tokyo – the birthplace of the concept of ICH – inspired the Committee with the
“Wah,” a traditional Japanese spirit of harmony and compromise and helped it to achieve consensus in the meetings. In addition, he also recognized the achievements of his predecessors, H.E. Mr Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO, H.E. Mr Bedjaoui, all Chairs of Committee sessions, expert groups and informal meeting groups. But also Ms Rivière, Ms Aikawa, Mr Smeets and his team, the Legal Adviser, the Comptroller and the interpreters. The value of all their contributions is impossible to quantify. He explained that during these five days of intense work, he always had kept the five commandments inherited from his father in mind: to have utmost sincerity, to always do your best, to always be faithful, to keep maximum courtesy to others, to be always of utmost diligence. The ship was now ready to set sail, but work will never end and unexpected events may happen; he expressed the sincere wish that the Odaiba sprit might be preserved.
418. The Delegation of Turkey welcomed the substantial progress made by the Committee during this meeting and expressed its appreciation of the delegates for their valuable support allowing Turkey to host the next ordinary session in Istanbul. The Delegation extended its sincere thanks to the Japanese Government for the perfect conditions that contributed greatly to the success of this session. It furthermore congratulated UNESCO and the Secretariat, especially the esteemed Representative of the Director-General, Ms Françoise Rivière, for their exemplary work and efforts. The Delegation in particular congratulated H.E. Ambassador Seiichi Kondo, Chairperson of the Committee, for his firmness and determination as well as humour in guiding the works of the Committee and thanked all delegates for their commitment shown and spirit of cooperation and mutual trust. Finally it extended its thanks to the Bulgarian authorities for hosting the next extraordinary session.
419. The Delegation of Bulgaria warmly thanked the Committee for having accepted their proposal for hosting the next extraordinary session in Sofia and congratulated their neighbour country Turkey for organizing the next ordinary session in Istanbul, highlighting that the two next sessions will therefore be held in a part of the world where ICH is sometimes shared.
420. The Delegation of Norway (Observer) wished to share some observations concerning the work of the Committee. From an observer point of view, the Committee is progressing slowly in the right direction. The Norwegian expert, having been involved in the negotiation process of the Convention text, found it very promising to observe how the Committee grasps the intentions and the underlying spirit of the Convention, especially the understanding that this is a Convention for the practitioners of ICH. By concentrating its future work on real and diverse safeguarding measures, the Committee eventually should be able to contribute substantially to the field of safeguarding ICH. It congratulated the Committee as a team for the achievements during this meeting and thanked the Japanese hosts for having organized this meeting so brilliantly.
421. It was with a certain emotion that the Delegation of Bolivia recalled the year 1967 and the first official request for protection made by Bolivia for that which was then called folklore. Convinced that the Committee would finally succeed, here in Tokyo, it expressed its thanks through the Chairperson, to the Japanese authorities to have permitted the Committee to accomplish this indispensable work in the protection of the ICH, thanked UNESCO, and all the colleagues devoted to the cause of safeguarding ICH.
422. The Delegation of Hungary, comparing the Chairperson to the great aviator Lindbergh and recalling the spirit of St Louis, thanked him and the Japanese authorities for the perfect organization of the Committee meeting. Under the guidance of Ambassador Kondo the Committee made a decisive step forward.
It finally expressed its appreciation to all the persons “behind the scene” and to the Secretariat.
423. The Delegation of Nigeria expressed its appreciation for the good leadership of the Chairperson, Ambassador Kondo, and the team of good advisers as well as to the Japanese authorities for having hosted this session.
424. At the conclusion of the fruitful work of the Committee, the Delegation of Algeria wished to thank, on behalf also of the Arab Group, the Japanese authorities for the warm welcome and excellent organization. Thanks went also to the young volunteers for all their untiring efforts provided with efficiency and discretion. A big thank you is also addressed personally to the Chairperson because thanks to him, the Committee was on the right track. The Committee as a whole had contributed to the road map which would carry it to Sofia then Istanbul.
425. The Delegation of India, after having enjoyed Japanese hospitality and discovered a little part of Japan’s great culture, expressed its warmest thanks to the Chairperson for his wonderful chairmanship.
426. The Delegation of Luxembourg, in its name and in the name of all the observer countries, expressed its heartfelt gratitude to the host country for the warm welcome extended to the participants and which gave the desire to return to discover all the mysteries of this extraordinary country that is Japan, and which furthermore gave birth to the idea of ICH. It also thanked the future hosts – Bulgaria and Turkey – and, looking at the progress achieved in Tokyo, said it felt very optimistic for the future of the Committee and that of ICH.
427. The Delegation of France thanked the Japanese authorities for their hospitality, the UNESCO Secretariat for the enormous efforts that they have had to achieve for this meeting, not forgetting the interpreters. It expressed its sincere appreciation to the Chairperson for the manner in which he guided the work of the Committee which, thus, departs feeling confident in the future and the implementation of the 2003 Convention.
428. The Delegation of Belarus congratulated all members of the Committee for their excellent work and the significant results. It thanked the Japanese authorities and the Chairperson personally for having hosted this session and UNESCO for having allowed Belarus to participate in this session.
429. The Delegation of Romania expressed its gratitude to Japan and personally to the Chairperson for having succeeded in guiding the work in a spirit which was both rigorous and flexible. It thanked Ms Rivière, the Secretariat and the interpreters as well as the members of the Committee who demonstrated a spirit of cooperation while conserving their identity, and the observers for having assisted the Committee in its task.
430. The Delegation of China sincerely congratulated the Chairperson and his team for the hard work accomplished in the giant step undertaken in Tokyo towards the noble cause of safeguarding the ICH. It expressed in particular its appreciation to the Bureau and the Rapporteur for having succeeded in
summing up the debates of Committee. The Delegation also thanked Ms Rivière and her team for their hard work.
431. ACCU (Observer) congratulated the Chairperson and the Committee members for having accomplished such an enormous amount of work towards the successful implementation of the Convention. On behalf of the NGOs associated with ACCU, it thanked the Committee for having encouraged NGOs to share the responsibilities and also to encourage them to continue their efforts. ACCU invited the Committee to follow their work in a timely manner as NGOs, communities and practitioners were counting on the Committee.
432. The Delegation of Japan expressed its sincere gratitude for all the warm words expressed by the Delegates, highlighting that it was Japan’s utmost pleasure to have welcomed all of them in Japan. The Delegation was very happy to have been able to take part in such lively debates which gave clear directions to the future work of the Committee. Not to forget the hard work and professionalism of the UNESCO Secretariat which had been extremely helpful especially in preparing the meeting. On behalf of the Government of Japan, the Delegation expressed how rewarding it had been to host this second session of the Committee.
433. In the name of the Director-General and the UNESCO Secretariat, the Representative of the Director-General presented warmest thanks to the Japanese authorities, underlining the importance of the progress accomplished by the Committee during this session in Tokyo. She voiced her satisfaction that a certain number of incertainties and ambiguities had been resolved and that the Committee was increasingly better equipped. She also expressed her pleasure to be able to return to Headquarters and announce to the Director-General that the Convention could be launched following the next Director-General Assembly. She endorsed the thanks expressed to the participants, be they Committee members or observers, more and more numerous, the Secretariat, the interpreters and most especially the Japanese authorities for their efficiency, devotion and exemplary welcome. She then thanked the Rapporteur for his work, and the Chairperson for his efficiency and above all his infinite patience.
434. At 19:00, the Chairperson closed the second session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.