Egypt’s Ministry of Culture inaugurated the “House of Heritage” on Sunday, providing a dedicated venue to showcase and safeguard the nation’s invaluable intangible cultural heritage. The launch event was marked by a ceremony graced with traditional music and dance performances.
Situated within the Foustat Traditional Crafts Center in Cairo, the establishment of the House of Heritage aligns with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) spanning from 2003 to 2023.
Minister of Culture Nevine El Kilany highlighted the multifaceted offerings of the new venue, stating, “The House of Heritage includes shops for selling handmade products, a museum for showcasing traditional crafts, and places for organizing a variety of heritage-related cultural activities throughout the year.”
During the event, Egyptian artisans mesmerized visitors with live demonstrations of their craftwork, ranging from weaving, copper engraving, and wood carving to pottery making and ceramic drawing. The House of Heritage is poised to serve as a vibrant hub to celebrate and promote Egypt’s rich cultural legacy while nurturing the continuation of traditional crafts.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Egypt signing the “Agreement for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” with UNESCO
The Minister of Culture opens the Heritage House at the Center of Traditional Crafts in Fastata
Nevin Kelani: “Heritage House” is an episode of the episodes of protecting Egyptian heritage and identity through the establishment of the National Archive of Intangible Heritage
UNESCO Regional Director: Egypt is recognized as the capital of the World Heritage Treaty, where Egyptian authorities and experts have played a pivotal role in the preparation phase for the adoption of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Treaty
Dr. Nevin Al-Kilani, Minister of Culture, and Nouria Sanz, UNESCO Regional Director in Cairo, opened the Heritage House, the Center for Traditional Crafts in Fastata, in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Egypt’s signing of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Agreement” with UNESCO, in the presence of Ambassador Saha Jundi, the Minister of Immigration, Major General Khaled Abdel Al, Governor of Cairo, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Muslim, President of the Sharjah Heritage Institute, a number of ambassadors, UNESCO representatives, Ministry of Culture leaders, and civil society organizations related to heritage.
The events to celebrate the inauguration of the “House of Heritage”, took advantage of the late artist Ikram Ammar’s exhibition “The Journey of the Holy Family”, which includes a number of the most important visual works of the late artist, documenting the many stages of the Holy Family journey, along with the inspection of the Arabic Calligraphy gallery produced by the artist Khadir Al-Borsaidi School of Arabic Calligraphy and Decoration Arts.
On the occasion of 20 years since Egypt signed the “Agreement for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” with UNESCO, the exhibition of heritage crafts produced by the workshops of the “Industrial Egypt” initiative
Dr. Nevin Al-Kilani said in her speech: “Today Egypt celebrates the partnership with UNESCO for twenty years on the non-tangible cultural heritage preservation agreement, the Ministry of Culture launches the Heritage House, to complete a series of Heritage preservation episodes, and begins its mission entrusted to it to preserve the Egyptian identity, which she started early, taken to this end All the ways and possibilities available, to establish a national archive of intangible cultural heritage, and to provide space to promote all heritage elements”.
The Minister of Culture added: “Today the Ministry of Culture offers a space to celebrate heritage, in which every Egyptian has the opportunity to practice our heritage, to see and interact with his ancestors’ heritage positively. This is the right of Egyptians to us, and we are continuously committed to this effort to achieve the goal together, and we must all turn together to activate the role of this organization regarding our ancient heritage that is worthy of documenting, protection and restoration. R E V E R I T H I N G “.
For her part, UNESCO Regional Director Nuria Sanz said: “Egypt recognizes it as the capital of the World Heritage Treaty, where Egyptian authorities and experts have played a pivotal role in the preparation phase for the adoption of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Treaty, and Egyptian officials and academics actively participated in international expert meetings and international governmental meetings by making their contributions to the World Heritage Covenant The global debate, and after ratifying the Intangible Cultural Heritage Agreement, Egypt has succeeded in registering and listing 7 “patriotic and multinational” items listed, reflecting Egypt’s rich and diverse intangible treasures, as Nouria reviewed a number of files on heritage and protection in cooperation with Egypt over the period ahead to preserve and pass on to new generations.
Dr. Nahla Imam, thanked the Minister of Culture, for her belief in the importance of the idea, her great zeal to provide support, and the possibilities needed to build the Heritage House, expressing her aspirations for the “house” to become a fortress and a fortress preventive against all attempts to blur identity, and said: “In this historic moment we open our hearts with the Heritage House, to every sincere effort to gather” Documenting and restricting Egypt’s intangible cultural heritage, and to proudly transfer the skills, knowledge and practices associated with it to future generations, so that we have handed over the trust of our ancestors, and recommended them the heritage well.
He added: “As we celebrate twenty years since the agreement of protecting the intangible cultural heritage, we remember Egypt’s early steps to protect heritage since the 1950s, to make sure that in heritage we are a great nation
She emphasized that the Heritage House will serve as a hub for the National Archives for Intangible Cultural Heritage, and events reflecting the diversity of intangible cultural heritage.
The celebration ended with an art show directed by the artist Hisham Atwa, including art performances by the two groups Sohaj for Folk Arts, and Saeed for Folk Arts, belonging to the General Authority for Cultural Palaces.
It is mentioned that the “Heritage House” will contain the National Archive for Intangible Cultural Heritage, which means the implementation of heritage protection procedures by preservation, documenting, transfer, promotion and revitalization, and its launch is an important step to promote public awareness of the values of cultural heritage, foster communication and dialogue within the country, with the international community, and boost national efforts to preserve cultural heritage The material, deepening society’s understanding of this heritage rich in values, customs and practices that distinguish the Egyptian people.
