Shadhona believes that performance is understood as an individual and communal act, which aims at the transcendence of everyday limits of consciousness, and, merely, through the process itself, is capable of transforming the world we live in.
The ICH NGO Forum has adopted a declaration to better protect intangible cultural heritage against the effects of
climate change while simultaneously using this local knowledge and expertise to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
This declaration, titled 'The Declaration on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Climate Action' , has been adopted by the NGOs affiliated with the ICH NGO Forum.
The declaration builds on various Unesco initiatives and emphasises why we must safeguard intangible cultural heritage and utilise it as a tool to create a
climate-resilient and biodiverse landscape.
Shadhona - A Center for the Advancement of Southasian Culture is active in the ICH NGO Forum, an international network of 206 accredited NGOs involved in the Unesco Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2023, a working group was established within the NGO Forum, focusing specifically on intangible cultural heritage, climate change, and biodiversity loss. This working group is committed to continuing research and advocacy on the role that intangible cultural heritage can play in addressing the threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, including the drafting of this declaration. Together with NGOs from around the world, Shadhona is actively working towards the goals of the working group. Lubna Marium, Artistic Director of Shadhona, an expert in sustainable safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage contributed to the declaration on behalf of Shadhona. Marium remarks that the recommendations of the Declaration need to be urgently adopted by State Parties :
"Climate Action is neither a legal, nor a moral issue. Its is an existential necessisity . Furthermore, Shadhona firmly believes in people-oriented policies for Climate Action"
About the declaration: Safeguarding and utilising intangible cultural heritage against the effects of climate change
Climate change poses a significant threat to intangible cultural heritage, endangering traditions and practices worldwide. The declaration highlights the importance of integrating traditional and local knowledge with scientific research to enhance resilience and adaptation in times of climate change. Central to this are the communities that keep intangible cultural heritage alive, whose participation and knowledge are essential for building resilience against the impacts of climate change.
Broadly, the ICH NGO Forum’s declaration states that national and international climate policies should explicitly include measures to protect intangible cultural heritage from - and utilise it for - mitigating the effects of climate change. The declaration argues that countries worldwide should ensure the protection of intangible cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change and recognise its instrumental value in combating the adverse effects of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Furthermore, the declaration calls for more research into how we can measure the impact of climate change on intangible cultural heritage, including the development of indicators and conducting global surveys to map diverse situations.
Recommendations on climate adaptation and intangible cultural heritage
The declaration makes 11 recommendations aimed at states and governments, other NGOs, intangible cultural heritage communities, and individuals.
Read all recommendations
The declaration makes 11 recommendations aimed at states and governments, other NGOs, intangible cultural heritage communities, and individuals. The declaration calls for:
2. Better integrating traditional and scientific knowledge in climate strategies.
3. Strengthening the role of intangible cultural heritage in enhancing the resilience of communities against climate change.
4. Recognising and respecting the spiritual relationships of indigenous peoples with nature.
5. Supporting communities affected by climate change in using their knowledge for climate adaptation.
6. Integrating intangible cultural heritage into national climate policy measures.
7. Recognising the diversity of cultural and natural values in climate action.
8. Including the effects and consequences of climate change in the safeguarding plans for intangible cultural heritage.
9. Prioritising the inscription of intangible cultural heritage affected by climate change on UNESCO’s 'Urgent Safeguarding' list.
10. Conducting global surveys to map the different situations of intangible cultural heritage and developing relevant indicators.
11. Implementing comprehensive measures to protect intangible cultural heritage during climate-related disasters.
The full declaration can be read in English and French on the ICH NGO Forum website and was presented on 11 June 2024 during the 10th General Assembly of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Shadhona is an institute situated in the heart of Dhaka city. Other than being an institute for the cultivation of different performative practices of the sub-continent, we also promote cultural tourism, safeguarding of ICH traditions through practice and exposure for the performing artists, exchange programs and extensive documentations through photography and video recordings. Through our work we have promoted Intangible Cultural Heritages of Bangladesh, like Lathi Khela, Manipuri dance, and the folk ritual performances of the ‘snake litanies’ of Manasamangal, in particular ‘Behular Lachardi’. As a measure for ensuring transmission we also conduct regular workshops and long-term training programs.
In 2017, Shadhona and the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh conducted a ‘Pilot Inventory of ICH Practices within the Manipuri Communities of Bangladesh’ and submitted an ‘Assessment Report on Pilot Community-Led Inventorying Process’ to UNESCO Office in Dhaka, in February 2018, with detailed recommendations for creation of an online digital inventory. Shadhona also developed an online, digital inventorying program in the format of an ICH-pedia, which it is now processing with the help of a multi-organizational collaboration called the ‘Consortium for ICH-pedia, Bangladesh’.
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House 5, Road 27, Block J,
Banani, Dhaka 1213
Bangladesh
webmail
Email: info@shadhona.org
Phone:+880 1713040814,
+880 1718945999,
+880 1716658153
