One of the key areas for the Generalitat’s Foreign Action Plan is to foster Catalonia’s relations with multilateral bodies. It is, therefore, in this consideration that the Executive Council has signed a Government Accord to participate in the Building Capacities Programme in Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia as a part of the effective ‘Safeguarding’ of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. The allocation to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund will amount to €120,000 and is framed in the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding signed between the UNESCO and the Government of Catalonia.

 

The Memorandum of Understanding signed in Paris in 2013 by the President Artur Mas and the Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, focuses on the existing institutional cooperation and proposes new opportunities for collaboration. In this regard, the current programme aims to develop cooperation programmes of mutual interest.

 

Furthermore, the Accord signed during today’s Executive Council meeting will allow Government to contribute to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund and participate in the Capacity Building Programme, which also focuses on civil society, universities and government institutions, and will allow for the review policies and legal frameworks. Its implementation will be coordinated by UNESCO's Office in Rabat and will receive support from UNESCO’s Regional Office for Africa.

 

This cooperation between the two entities demonstrates Catalonia's commitment to UNESCO's founding values and represents another step forward in the multilateral cooperation between the organisation and the Government of Catalonia.