The agreement signed on the sidelines of the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage lauds Morocco’s cumulative expertise in the field of preserving cultural heritage.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Morocco’s Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid said “Our heritage is recognized by all, all countries that are present here in Rabat. We can see the work done by the authorities, governments, and the Ministry of Culture in the field of preservation of its heritage that has been recognized once again.”
The minister continued, “the challenge today is to make other countries on the African continent benefit from this experience in the context of south-south cooperation.”
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay noted that the agreement would allow the UN body to train experts in the listing and protection of new world heritage sites in Morocco and across the continent.
“Morocco represents a model in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage in Africa, and its experience will enable it to train new actors to identify and list new sites,” Azoulay commented.
Given Morocco’s experience in promoting and protecting its cultural heritage in face of illegal smuggling of artifacts and cultural appropriation, the country is considered a leader in the field in Africa.
Morocco’s investments in the identification and preservation of cultural heritage through the creation of initiatives and establishments such as the recently-announced national center for intangible heritage are instrumental in celebrating the country’s history and boosting tourist activities, says Bensaid.
“As long as we preserve this tangible and intangible heritage, we will always have an investment in the tourism sector which has an importance in the national economy,” he explained.
