UNESCO inscribes aitys on Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - On 2 December 2015 the joint Kazakh-Kyrgyz nomination "Aitys/Aitysh, art of improvisation" was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity. The decision was taken during the 10th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the ICH (30 November - 4 December 2015, Windhoek, Namibia) after its presentation by the delegation from Kazakhstan led by the Secretary-General of the National Commission for UNESCO and ISESCO Assel Utegenova.
According to the press service of the Kazakh MFA, the experts of 24 Member-States of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee emphasized that Aitys as a synthesis of several arts - poetry, music, drama and performance skills - plays an important role in strengthening social cohesion of people.
Aitys is the third nomination of Kazakhstan, which became a part of the UNESCO's prestigious register, which currently includes more than 300 masterpieces of intangible cultural heritage of the world. In November 2014 the first two Kazakh nominations "The art of traditional Kazakh dombra kuy" and "Traditional knowledge and skills of manufacturing Kazakh and Kyrgyz yurts" were included in the Representative List of the ICH of humanity. The work on the preparation of nominations is implemented by the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO (NatCom) and the National ICH Committee established under the NatCom in 2012, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The inscription of the nominations on the Representative List of ICH of Humanity provides for a greater promotion of the intangible cultural heritage of Kazakhstan at the international level and for the development of systematic measures for its safeguarding at the national level. In the coming years Kazakh side plans to prepare such nominations as "Kazakh kuresi - traditional art of wrestling", "Hunting with Burkyts (golden eagles)", "Folk games with Asyks", "Art of manufacturing Kazakh music instrument "Dombyra, "Orteke" and "Kara zhorga".