On the occasion of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May), this infographic includes data from the thirteen BSEC countries regarding their cultural diversity and tangible and intangible heritage.
The infographic focuses on the following:
UNESCO World Heritage List. World Heritage is “the designation for places on Earth that are of outstanding universal value to humanity and as such, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy”.
There are three types of sites:
- Cultural (cultural heritage)
- Natural (natural heritage)
- Mixed (both cultural and natural heritage)
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible Cultural Heritage “includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts”.
All these cultural practices are inscribed on one of the three following Lists:
- List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding (“intangible heritage elements that require urgent measures to keep them alive”)
- Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (“intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate the diversity of this heritage and raise awareness about its importance”)
- Register of Good Safeguarding Practices (“programs, projects and activities that best reflect the principles and the objectives of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage”)
According to UNESCO data, in 2023, 115 (9.6%) of the 1,199 World Heritage Sites are located across the BSEC region. Of these, 93 (80.9%) are cultural, 17 (14.8%) are natural, and 5 (4.4%) are mixed.
Nine Sites (7.8%) are transboundary, spanning the Black Sea region and beyond. The Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe cross the most countries, with a total of 18.
Furthermore, in 2023, the thirteen BSEC Member States have 97 Intangible Heritage Elements inscribed on the three relevant Lists, representing 13.30% of the total (730 Elements). Of the 97 Elements, 9 (9.3%) are registered on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, 85 (87.6%) are registered on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and 3 (3.1%) are registered on the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.
A total of 24.7% (24 out of 97) is multinational, with participation from countries in the Black Sea region and beyond. Novruz/Navruz[1] is the Intangible Heritage Element with the most participating countries, at 12.
[1] Nawrouz, Novruz, Nowrouz, Nowrouz, Nawrouz, Nauryz, Nooruz, Nowruz, Navruz, Nevruz, Nowruz, Navruz: the full name of the Element, as it is inscribed on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
For more about the cultural diversity of the BSEC region, you may visit the seven editions of the online BSEC Month of Culture here: https://icbss.org/bsec-month-of-culture/
Sources: UNESCO International Days https://www.unesco.org/en/days/cultural-diversity-dialogue-development (accessed on 14/5/24),
UNESCO World Heritage https://whc.unesco.org/en/faq/19 (accessed on 14/5/24)
UNESCO World Heritage List © UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992-2024 https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ (accessed on 14/5/24),
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage © UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage https://ich.unesco.org/en/what-is-intangible-heritage-00003, https://ich.unesco.org/en/purpose-of-the-lists-00807, https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists (accessed on 15/5/24)
Source: Global Sustainable Development Goal Indicators Database (last synchronized in December 2023), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal (accessed on 26 March 2024)
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