ICH NGO Network

The nineteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place in Asunción, Republic of Paraguay from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 December 2024.

An opening ceremony is scheduled on Sunday, 1 December 2024. The session will be chaired by H.E. Ms Nancy Ovelar de Gorostiaga, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Paraguay to UNESCO.

Attached are the programs from the EB:

The Executive Board is looking forward to seeing you at person in Asuncion, Paraguay or online at the ICH NGO Forum’s Symposium on Sunday, December 1^st at 9:30 Paraguay time (GMT -3, 1:30 CET), Presentation of Candidates for the Executive Board on Monday, December 2^nd at 17:45 Paraguay time (GMT -3, 21:45 CET) and the General Assembly on Wednesday, December 4^th at 13:15 Paraguay time (GMT -3, 17:15 CET). There will be a robust program of ICH NGO Forum associated side events throughout the week. You can find here a program listing of all the events organized by and associated with the ICH NGO Forum that will be held next week in Asunción. Attached are an agenda for the 2024 General Assembly, the minutes from the 2023 General Assembly and the changes to the Bylaws and Electoral Rules proposed by the Executive Board. The annual financial report , which will be sent to you prior to the General Assembly, will include expenses incurred during 19COM. We encourage you to also read the annual report of the Forum’s programmatic activities, which you can find here . .

All the best,

Executive Board of the ICH NGO Forum

International: Mr. Robert Baron – International Society for Ethnology and Folklore, International – President

Arab States: Mr. Mohamed Lemine Beidieu – Association mauritanienne pour la sauvegarde du partimoine culturel immatériel (Mauritania) – Vice President

Western Europe and North America: Mr. Matti Hakamäki – Finnish Folk Music Institute (Finland) – Secretary

Asia and the Pacific: Ms. Cholponai Usubalieva-Grishuk – Aigine Cultural Research Center (Kyrgystan) – Treasurer

Africa: Mr. Bachirou Njoya, Fondation Princesse Momafon Rabiatou NJOYA, (Cameroon).

Eastern Europe: Ms. Tamara Nikolić Đerić – Association House of Batana (Croatia)

Latin America and the Caribbean: Ms. Irina Ruiz, Fundación INDICRI (Panama)

2024 Bylaws and Electoral Rules Changes Proposed by the Executive Board

(1)The President can be reelected to the Executive Board for the second year of a

two year term by a majority vote of the Executive Board. This change would take

effect beginning with the elections in December 2025. The current Executive Board,

general members and past presidents have often noted that a one year term is too short

to accomplish what they would like to accomplish. The possibility of reelection will only

apply to Presidents who are not in their final year in office.

In this and other cases in the bylaws the office of the Chair would be changed to

President, and Vice Chair to Vice President. We view this change as consistent with

the change of the Forum’s governing body from “Steering Committee” to “Executive

Board” and the reference in Article 21 to a “President” rather than to a “Chair”.

(2)The current bylaws limits the period of Working Groups to two years, although

allowing for an extension of two additional years. The Executive Board feels that this

requirement should be eliminated since there are multiple Working Groups that have

been in existence and done fine work for well over 4 years. We propose replacing this

requirement with a requirement for each Working Group to report annually in

March on activities undertaken during the past year, including minutes of

meetings, provide a calendar of activities planned for the coming year, which may

be accompanied by a activity plan, and list current officers, with their contact

information, indicating how and when they were elected and their term of office.

Current Working Groups are reminded that them must have one meeting each year in

order to stay active.

(3)The Executive Board agrees with a recommendation from the 2023 Electoral Board

stating that if there is only one candidate from any region then that candidate will

be deemed as elected without a vote of the general membership.

The bylaws changes would read as follows:

Article 27

New:

Each year the Executive Board shall appoint four officers, namely a President, a Vice

President, a Secretary and a Treasurer at their first meeting, following their election. In

order to take advantage of the experience gained during the previous year,

the President and Vice President should be members who are entering their second

year on the Executive Board. The office of the President of the Executive Board can be

renewed for a second year by a majority vote of the Executive Board. The President is

responsible for convening Executive Board meetings and presiding during these

meetings, and in their absence the Vice President will serve as chair for that meeting.

Replaces:

Article 27

Each year the Executive Board shall appoint four officers, namely a Chair, a Vice-Chair,

a Secretary and a Treasurer at their first meeting, following their election. In order to

take advantage of the experience gained during the previous year, the Chair and Vice-

Chair should be members who are entering their second year on the Executive Board.

The office of the Chair of the Executive Board cannot be renewed for a second year.

The Chair is responsible for convening Executive Board meetings and presiding during

these meetings, and in their absence the Vice chair will serve as Chair.

New:

Article 6: NGOs shall complete the registration form to join the ICH NGO Forum,

consisting of basic contact information and the name of the contact person. Each NGO

shall identify its primary country and electoral region of establishment for the purposes

of governance and the administrative functioning of the Forum. Non-accredited NGOs

and any other stakeholders engaged in ICH safeguarding may subscribe to the

Newsletter; and they may take part in the ICH NGO Forum meetings and the General

Assembly, as observers without voting rights and can only take the floor if invited by

the President.

Article 7 – MEETINGS AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY The annual meeting of ICH

NGO Forum shall occur at the time and venue of the annual session of the

Intergovernmental Committee and should be held in a hybrid format (virtual and in-

person) to ensure the maximum attendance and, when this is not possible, it should be

in a virtual format. The General Assembly of the membership shall occur during the

annual meeting at the date and time to be determined by the Executive Board.

The President and/or the Vice President shall preside at the General Assembly.

Replaces:

Article 6: NGOs shall complete the registration form to join the ICH NGO Forum,

consisting of basic contact information and the name of the contact person. Each NGO

shall identify its primary country and electoral region of establishment for the purposes

of governance and the administrative functioning of the Forum. Non-accredited NGOs

and any other stakeholders engaged in ICH safeguarding may subscribe to the

Newsletter; and they may take part in the ICH NGO Forum meetings and the General

Assembly, as observers without voting rights and can only take the floor if invited by the

Chair.

Article 7 – MEETINGS AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY The annual meeting of ICH

NGO Forum shall occur at the time and venue of the annual session of the

Intergovernmental Committee and should be held in a hybrid format (virtual and in-

person) to ensure the maximum attendance and, when this is not possible, it should be

in a virtual format. The General Assembly of the membership shall occur during the

annual meeting at the date and time to be determined by the Executive Board. The

Chair and/or the Vice-Chair shall preside at the General Assembly.

New:

SECTION V – WORKING GROUPS AND AD HOC BODIES

Article 32: Working Groups (WG) are created on the basis of a common interest of

Accredited NGOs around ICH, and Ad Hoc Committees (AHC) are appointed by the

Executive Board to address a specific task. To create a new Working Group requires a

signed request by Accredited NGOs from at least three different Regions. The

Executive Board shall approve the request or provide the reasons for its rejection to the

promoters. Participation in a Working Group will be open to any member of an

Accredited NGO affiliated to the ICH NGO Forum. Every Working Group or Ad Hoc

Committee approved shall be listed in the ICH NGO Forum communication channels.

They should have a description and state clear goals (document, workshop, report,

recommendation or a special activity). Each Working Group must report annually in

March on activities undertaken during the past year, including minutes of meetings,

provide a calendar of activities planned for the coming year, which may be

accompanied by a activity plan, and list current officers, with their contact information,

indicating how and when they were elected and their term of office. Once an Ad Hoc

Committee has accomplished its stated goal its members will present their findings and

results to the Executive Board, to be included in its report to the General Assembly.

Once these have been approved by the General Assembly the Ad Hoc Committee may

be dissolved.