A student of the Faculty of Fine Art painting a mask for use in Mangal Shobhajatra on Pahela Baishakh. The activists carry a wide range of colourful masks when they participate in the vibrant procession on 14 April. ? Bangla Academy, 2014

UNESCO Dhaka Office in cooperation with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy is convening a series of training workshops to strengthen the national institutional capacities of Bangladesh to implement the 2003 Convention under the project ‘Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Development in Bangladesh’.

Funded by the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund with the generous contribution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the third and final capacity-building training is scheduled to take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 6 to 10 May 2018.

The upcoming workshop focusses upon training relevant stakeholders on ‘nomination’, providing insights on preparing nomination files for the Urgent Safeguarding List and Representative List. Through combining theoretical and hands-on sessions, UNESCO-accredited facilitators, Ms Noriko Aikawa and Ms Suzanne Ogge, will guide the workshop and in addition provide an opportunity for participants to understand the inter-linked process of nomination and safeguarding.

The training will gather around 35 participants, comprising of practitioners, community representatives, NGO representatives, researchers, academia, and government officials.