ICH-Policy Development

Developing a National Policy for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Sri Lanka
Preamble
Sri Lanka became a States Party to the UNESCO (2003) Convention (herein after ‘the Convention’) for the
Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in 2008. The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and
Cultural Affairs (herein after ‘the Ministry’) conceded the absence of a national policy as an impediment
to develop and implement programs and projects to safeguard the country’s ICH in compliance with the
Convention. Therefore, the Ministry appointed the following team of experts to develop a National ICH
Policy for Sri Lanka. The members of the Policy Development Team (PDT) are as follows.
Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya Dr. Danister Perera
Dr. Udaya Cabral Dr. B.D. Nandadeva
The PDT held its first meeting on 01 Jun 2023. Mr. Thilak Hettiarachchi, Senior Additional Secretary
Chaired the meeting. Dr. Prasad Ransinghe, Director for Cultural Promotion, and the staff of the newly
established National ICH Unit of the Ministry also attended the meeting. The PDT decided to prepare an
action plan as outlined below to achieve the objective.
Needs Analysis
UNESCO encourages (Convention Article 13; ODs 103–105) States Parties to develop or modify ICH-
related policies to create an environment within which,
a) ICH is valued and respected,

b) communities, groups and individuals concerned can be assisted where necessary in safeguarding
their ICH, and
c) community stewardship over that ICH can be recognized and protected.
As the first step, the PDT will conduct a desk review of the existing policy frameworks and previous
initiatives related to ICH or its safeguarding. Furthermore, the PDT will scrutinize the available UNESCO
guidelines to set out the parameters such as the scope and purpose of the intended policy, and to
determine the strategy and action needed to develop it.
 Providing Support for Policy Development in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage: General
Guidance Note (Pages 18)
 Providing Advisory Services for Policy Development in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage:
UNESCO Guidance Note1 (Pages 60)
1
Strategy and Action
The PDT has identified the following strategies and actions to develop the policy.
Brainstorming Sessions: The PDT will conduct several brainstorming sessions involving officials in the
Ministry, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and other relevant government institutions to identify the
main concerns of such institutions expected to be addressed by the intended policy.
Development of the Draft of the Policy: Based on the outcome of the Brainstorming Sessions, the PDT
will develop the 1st draft of the policy.
Stakeholder Consultation: The draft policy will be opened for consultation by a selected group of
stakeholders comprising academics and ICH practitioners for refinement and identification of any gaps.
Preparation of the Final Version: Based on the feedback from the stakeholder consultation, the PDT will
prepare the final version of the policy for submission to the Ministry.
Timeframe
The PDT estimates a timeframe of three months to complete the project.
Funding
It is expected that the Ministry will make arrangements to release necessary funds and other resources
to organize brainstorming sessions and stakeholder consultations and to compensate the time and
intellectual contribution of the members of the PDT.
--------------------------------------------
Definitions
Intangible Cultural Heritage: The national ICH policy uses the same definition given to the term in
Article 2(1) of the Convention with the categorization of ICH elements as belonging to five domains
(Article 2(2)). Additionally, it also includes sub-domains such as ‘traditional games’, ‘culinary
traditions’, ‘animal husbandry’, ‘pilgrimage’ or ‘places of memory’.
National Policy: In the context of safeguarding ICH, the term ‘policy’ means a national-level system of
courses of action, guiding principles and procedures considered beneficial for the specific purpose
of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. ICH-related national policy also concerns other policies
such as education, gender, health, food security, environment, sustainable development etc.
Safeguarding: In the context of ICH, the term ‘safeguarding’ means the measures stipulated in Article
2(3) of the Convention

ICH-Policy Development

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ICH-Policy Development

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Developing a National Policy for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Sri Lanka

Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya Dr. Danister Perera

Dr. Udaya Cabral Dr. B.D. Nandadeva

a) ICH is valued and respected,

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