Angklung inscribed in UNESCO`s intangible cultural heritage list

Angklung, Indonesia`s traditional bamboo music instrument, has been inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, together with 46 other elements from 28 countries this year.

The decision was made at the Fifth Session of the UNESCO Inter-Governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (IGC-ICH) in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday (Nov 17).

"The inclusion of angklung in the Intangible Cultural Heritage list will contribute positively to the preservation (of angklung) nationally and regionally," Tjetjep Suparman, director general of film, art and cultural values at the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Tjetjep Suparman was the head of the Indonesian delegation in the Nairobi meeting.
The Indonesian delegation consisted also of representatives of the coordinating ministry for people`s welfare, the foreign affairs ministry, culturalists, Indonesian diplomats from the Indonesian embassies in Paris and Nairobi.

With the support of UNESCO, Indonesia would intensify angklung`s preservation and promotion, he said.

UNESCO had concluded Indonesia`s angklung has met criteria of world intangible cultural heritage because it had basic values of cooperation, mutual respect and social harmony, which are main elements of the cultural identity of West Java and Banten people.

He hoped that the younger generation would be more interested in learning and playing angklung in schools in Indonesia and overseas.

In 2007, Indonesia ratified the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, which has been applied since 2003. The Convention has been ratified by a total of 132 nations so far.

The UNESCO session being held until November 19, was officially opened by Kenyan President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, accompanied by UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and the session`s Chairperson Dr Jacob Ole Miaron of Kenya.

The meeting is being participated in by 460 representatives of, among other things, UNESCO member countries, international organizations, and NGOs

Earlier: Angklung to be confirmed by the UNESCO as world cultural heritage native to Indonesia