Cooperation to Save Human Characteristics and Guard Their Survival

Mohsen Shalaan

General Director
Traditional Handcraft Centers
Fine Arts Sector
Ministry of Culture
Arab Republic of Egypt

The time may have come to realize that the traditional and humane features of our world can only be saved through international cooperation among governments and individuals. This could be accomplished by preserving our cultura1 heritage, lest it be lost beneath the wheel of modern technology embodied in the powerful machines that are replacing our humanity and our generations of inherited traditions and customs.

In May of 1999, I had the honor to be part of a regional study committee in Beirut, on the implementation of the 1989 UNESCO recommendations to preserve traditional and popular culture. I was impressed by the enthusiasm and hard work of the representatives of the participating nations to engage the heritage that is etched on this unique corner of this universe.

The various study groups represented in this committee produced well-balanced proposals on aspects of legality and authenticity, as these relate to the preservation and safeguarding of culture.

With this basis, in the present conference, I am honored to present the following recommendations: UNESCO is urged

to collect similar proposals from groups representing the different regions, to organize the proposals to preserve folklore in a unified pattern, and to rewrite them in a uniform way emphasizing their essential similarities and their common goals;
to preserve, protect, and safeguard all aspects of cultural heritage through international legislation that defines and qualifies the various aspects of the folklore of the participating nations;
to elect a permanent committee or work group to update UNESCO on proposals submitted by the participating nations; this committee would evaluate all the proposals submitted by the various nations and identify the thoughtful and effective ones that warrant further action;
to secure an international satellite media channel, monitored by UNESCO and funded by world governments and local organizations, which would transmit folklore and highlight messages about the importance of tradition all over the world in objectively researched, informative, and well-produced cultural programs with clear messages;
to designate an international day for folklore, proclaimed under the umbrella of UNESCO and funded by various governments;
to inform governments about the significance of introducing folklore to the curriculum at all stages of education, especially in the arts;
to honor and publicize the achievements of countries that exert special efforts to preserve and maintain popular culture and folklore. UNESCO should declare special mention of these countries annually;
to provide intellectual workshops to celebrate, document, and pass on the popular heritage. Towards this end, UNESCO should capitalize on the knowledge of storytellers and experts in authentic handcrafts to publicize popular culture and knowledge. This would preserve the sources of traditional culture;
to arrange the exchange of traditional and authentic culture and artistic events between nations and to develop proposals for museums that can preserve cultural heritage;
to facilitate the exchange of curriculums on cultural heritage between nations, especially those who are neighbors or share the same region; this would enable people of different nations to learn about each other;
to develop plans to collect a variety of heritage materials – parables, customs, poetry, myths, traditional games, and others – to help keep them from extinction;
to encourage countries to restore local control of folklore and cultural heritage through the just application of copyright law;
to invite Member Nations to establish legislation to protect culture-bearers’ rights;
to encourage governments to support training centers for folklore and traditional culture;
to bring together governments and program sponsors at conferences on cultural preservation;
to designate one country among Arabic-world countries every year to be “Heritage Country,” recognizing its efforts in preserving the legacy;
to produce an Arabic encyclopedia for popular and culture heritage;
to invite governments to protect traditional and popular heritage within a framework of cultural policy from misuse in tourism;
to ask governments to include traditional and peoples’ heritage (folklore) in educational curriculums at all levels as part of cultural policy;
to urge governments to give balanced attention to traditional culture in cultural policy;
to invite governments to explore the interrelationships between popular and folk culture in museum exhibits;
to assist museums in making use of the Internet to further understanding and preservation of traditional culture;
to declare an international day for folklore and traditional culture under supervision of UNESCO

Finally, I hope that representatives can agree on a unified way to preserve and maintain their folklore under the auspices of UNESCO.