Elaboration of a policy paper on the contribution of community-based approaches to safeguarding living heritage to sustainable development frameworks in Africa

UNESCO invites organizations or consortia to develop a policy-paper on the contribution of community-based approaches to safeguarding living heritage to sustainable development frameworks in Africa , for the project ‘Building capacities for safeguarding living heritage and preparing nominations to the Lists of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa’, supported by the Japanese Funds-in-Trust.

Proposals should reach UNESCO ( [contact details removed] with a copy to [contact details removed] and [contact details removed] ) no later than 20 August 2026 (midnight, Paris time).

A period for questions is foreseen between 16 July 2026 and 13 August 2026 , (midnight, Paris time). Questions must be submitted to all the email addresses mentioned above.

1. Context

The project ‘Building capacities for safeguarding living heritage and preparing nominations to the Lists of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa’ is dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the rich diversity of intangible cultural heritage across Africa, with a focus on nine countries that had no elements inscribed on the Lists of the 2003 Convention in December 2023. The project countries are Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Sao Tome and Principe and South Sudan.

The project aims to strengthen the skills and knowledge of States Parties to prepare nomination files to the Lists and the Register of the 2003 Convention. Through a combination of capacity-building initiatives, peer learning and experience-sharing opportunities among stakeholders, the project encourages South-South cooperation for intangible cultural heritage safeguarding. By facilitating dialogue between States Parties in Africa, it aims to create a supportive environment where expertise and good practices can be shared to strengthen nomination processes.

Furthermore, by encouraging the integration of living heritage into broader culture sector policies, notably through strengthened community-based approaches in policy design, the project seeks to embed intangible cultural heritage into national and regional sustainable development frameworks. In particular, it aims to strengthen States capacities to identify the opportunities and challenges of creating synergies between the policy frameworks for safeguarding living heritage and those of other UNESCO culture conventions with a view to articulate them better in cultural policy design for safeguarding living heritage and sustainable development.

To that end, a policy paper will be developed on integrating intangible cultural heritage into sustainable development frameworks in Africa through bottom-up approaches. It will aim to demonstrate how community-based approaches to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage can contribute to the objectives set by sustainable development frameworks in Africa, identify and analyse good experiences that showcase this dynamic, and provide recommendations to States Parties and relevant stakeholders on how to strengthen this contribution in policy design and implementation.

The good experiences identified will also be considered for inclusion in an online platform for sharing good safeguarding experiences. The platform, developed by UNESCO, intends to highlight safeguarding approaches across the various domains of intangible cultural heritage, ensure representation of the thematic initiatives of the 2003 and other initiatives related to UNESCO priority groups, while providing a space for communities and other stakeholders to share, exchange, and find inspiration regarding safeguarding approaches.

2. Work assignment

To that end, the contractor shall undertake the following tasks:

2.1 Review of existing policies, legal and administrative measures for safeguarding living heritage in Africa and their degree of integration into regional sustainable development frameworks

2.1.1 Provide a crosscutting overview of the state of policies, legal and administrative measures for safeguarding living heritage in Africa and how they consider the relation between living heritage safeguarding and sustainable development, structured according to the areas identified in Chapter VI of the Operational Directives of the Convention (inclusive social development, inclusive economic development, environmental sustainability, and intangible cultural heritage and peace), which will serve as the analytical framework for the assignment as a whole. This overview should be mainly based on the information provided in the periodic reports on the implementation of the Convention and on the status of elements inscribed on the Representative List by States Parties in Africa, as well as on the analytical reports (Documents LHE/24/19.COM/6.b et LHE/25/20.COM/INF.6.c) and on relevant literature addressing the topic. The overview should typically have a length of 5-10 pages.

2.1.2 In parallel, review major policy frameworks at the regional level and identify their degree of integration of living heritage. These include in particular frameworks developed by the African Union (such as the Agenda 2063 and the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan) or Regional Economic Communities (such as the Economic Community of West African States - ECOWAS, the Southern African Development Community - SADC and the Economic Community of Central African States - ECCAS), as well as relevant thematic frameworks corresponding to the areas identified in Chapter VI of the Operational Directives. In the review, the contractor may also refer to the thematic guidance notes and other tools endorsed by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Economic dimensions of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, Climate action for living heritage, Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts, Operational principles and modalities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies).

2.2 Identification and analysis of experiences of community participation in policy design and community initiatives that have resulted in a better integration of living heritage safeguarding in sustainable development actions

2.2.1 Select, jointly with the Secretariat, two examples in each subregion (Eastern Africa, Central Africa, Western Africa, Southern Africa), as well as two examples for African Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), to identify and analyse good experiences of community participation in policy design and community initiatives that have resulted in a better integration of living heritage safeguarding in sustainable development actions, seeking where possible a balanced coverage across the areas identified in 2.1.1.

2.2.2 Coordinate the research and writing of five (5) ‘stories’ on the good safeguarding experiences analysed for the online platform for sharing good safeguarding experiences. This includes:

2.2.2.1 Establish a draft list of the safeguarding experiences to be considered for the platform. Such list shall include the contact details of the stakeholders involved (including community organizations) and a summary text presenting each experience.

2.2.2.2 Upon validation of the selection by UNESCO, conduct remote recorded interviews with stakeholders involved in the safeguarding experiences previously identified (at least two people per experience). Their free, prior, sustained and informed consent should be ensured, in line with the Ethical Principles for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage.

2.2.2.3 Based on the interviews and documentary research, write stories of approximately 1,000 words each, on safeguarding experiences, according to a template to be provided by UNESCO. The texts shall be drafted in English or French and include quotes from the interviews.

2.3 Stakeholder consultations

2.3.1 Design and conduct consultations with selected stakeholders in the region (estimated between 15 a