Algeria Submits Application for UNESCO Registration of Kabylie’s Ornamentation Art
ALGIERS- Algeria has electronically submitted an application for the inscription of “the art of ornamentation with enameled silver jewelry in women’s attire from the Kabylie region: manufacturing, design, and wearing” on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), according to a statement released Wednesday by the Ministry of Culture and Arts.
This initiative comes as part of “the Algerian state’s ongoing efforts to protect and promote its tangible and intangible cultural heritage,” said the source.
The Minister of Culture and Arts, Zouhir Ballalou, chaired a ceremony last Sunday at the headquarters of the National Center for Research in Prehistory, Anthropology, and History (CNRPAH), in Algiers, marking the electronic submission of Algeria’s application file for the inscription of “the art of ornamentation with enameled silver jewelry in women’s attire from the Kabylie region: manufacturing, design, and wearing” on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This was done in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Community Abroad, and African Affairs, in accordance with established procedures, added the source.
This new candidacy comes “as a continuation of Algeria’s successes in the field of registering elements of its intangible cultural heritage with UNESCO, totaling eight national elements, the most recent being the “festive female costume of Eastern Algeria” in all its components – gandoura, melhfa and caftan, along with the matching traditional jewelry,” according to the same source.
Algeria has also registered five shared heritage elements with Arab and African countries, thus placing itself among “the leading countries in terms of registering living cultural heritage,” which confirms its commitment to preserving its cultural identity and showcasing its centuries-old heritage on a global scale.
