The next time you wash your hands, it could be a UNESCO-protected gesture... if a group of Austrian monks has its way. A general view of the old city of Salzburg.Photo: AFP jQuery(function() { jQuery('#teaser_image a.teaserItem').lightBox({ imageLoading: '/img/lightbox/lightbox-ico-loading.gif', imageBtnClose: '/img/lightbox/lightbox-btn-close.gif', imageBtnPrev: '/img/lightbox/lightbox-btn-prev.gif', imageBtnNext: '/img/lightbox/lightbox-btn-next.gif', imageBlank: '/img/lightbox/lightbox-blank.gif' }); jQuery('#teaser_image a.contentlink').click(function(event) { event.preventDefault(); jQuery('#teaser_image a.teaserItem:first').click(); }); }); The Benedictine monastery of Gut Aich near Salzburg said Tuesday it had submitted its custom of hand-washing -- a greeting ritual -- to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to add to its Intangible Heritage … [Read more...] about Austrian monks want UNESCO to protect hand-washing
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Five Vietnamese female scientists win L’Oreal-UNESCO awards
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoai, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine under the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Dr. Tran Thi Ngoc Dung, head of the Department for Environmentally Friendly Technology of the Institute of Environment Technology under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology won the L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. Meanwhile, three young female scientists received the L’Oreal National Fellowship for Women in Science. They are Dr. Tran Phuong Thao from the Hanoi University of Pharmacy; Dr. Hoang Thi Dong Quy from the University of Science – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City; and Dr. Nguyen Thi Le Thu from the University of Technology – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. The awardees have made significant contributions to the health of the community by seeking new medicinal materials for the treatment of cancer and Alzheimer’sdisease, as well as studying new materials to produce smart silicon … [Read more...] about Five Vietnamese female scientists win L’Oreal-UNESCO awards
UNESCO stops new programs following US’s finance cut
The United Nations' cultural agency has suspended new programs in response to the US decision to cut off funding after UNESCO granted the Palestinians membership, the agency said on November 10. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova told the UNESCO General Conference in Paris the US cut had left a $65 million (41 million pound) hole in the agency's 2011 budget. "We have to take radical steps and we have to take them now," Bokova told the conference in Paris on November 9, according to the text of her speech made public on November 10. UNESCO, which promotes education and press freedom among other tasks, said it would put new commitments on hold between now and the end of December while it conducted a review of its activities to try and find savings. A UNESCO spokesperson said priority programs would be maintained, and there were no plans for job losses at the organization for the time being. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was plunged … [Read more...] about UNESCO stops new programs following US’s finance cut
UNESCO recognition likely for Vietnam music genre
Northern Vietnam's traditional Xoan Singing is likely to become the next UNESCO world intangible heritage, a senior official at the UN body told the media in Paris, France, Tuesday. It is in a nomination list with others like Balinese Traditional Dance or Noken Papua Handicraft from Indonesia and will be considered to choose the world's new oral and intangible heritages at a meeting in Bali (Indonesia) from November 22 to 29. To qualify for the recognition, a heritage has to be traditional but still alive, inclusive, representative, and community-based. Xoan Singing, or Hat Xoan as it is known in Vietnamese, is a festive music performed during spring festivals and for worshiping genies in Phu Tho Province for the last hundreds of years. Cecile Duvelle, Secretary of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of The Intangible Cultural Heritage told the media that Xoan Singing had a high chance of success since it was one among the world's 23 heritages urgently in need … [Read more...] about UNESCO recognition likely for Vietnam music genre
Hat Xoan on UNESCO’s waiting list for recognition as world cultural heritage
Hat Xoan (Xoan singing) is one of Vietnam's projects to be considered for recognition as the World's cultural intangible heritage at the sixth Conference of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage which will be held in Bali, Indonesia from November 22-29. This was announced by Cecile Duvelle, Chief of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Section at a press briefing held at Paris-based UNESCO headquarters on November 8. Mrs Duvelle said Vietnam is likely to succeed as its Xoan singing has met five categories set by the scientific consultancy agency even though the country's conditions to meet these categories are still modest. Xoan signing is one of 23 projects on the list of cultural heritage that needs urgent protection and preservation under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The press briefing was part of the 36 th meeting of the UNESCO General Assembly which is taking place in … [Read more...] about Hat Xoan on UNESCO’s waiting list for recognition as world cultural heritage