FSAC was accredited to the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016 and its accreditation was successfully renewed in 2021. There are currently 184 NGOs from more than 70 countries in the world accredited to the Convention. The Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) NGO FORUM federates these NGOs and is governed by a Steering Committee made up of 7 elected members, representing each of the six electoral regions of UNESCO as well as one international NGO. The Steering Committee provides advice to NGOs, the Secretariat and the intergovernmental Committee of the Convention, organizes a symposium yearly on a specific theme, encourages networking among NGOs and presents a yearly report of its activities. The Steering Committee is currently preparing a report to present the results of an online survey and one-to-one interviews carried out in the Fall of 2021 to map the expertise of NGOs. The representative of FSAC at UNESCO, Laurier Turgeon was elected last year to represent the electoral region of Western Europe and North America and acted as Secretary of the Steering Committee in 2021. He was nominated President of the Steering Committee this year.

Read more about ICH NGO Forum on the UNESCO’s website.

Composition of the Steering Committee for 2022

Western Europe and North America: Mr. Laurier Turgeon – Folklore Studies Association of Canada (Canada) – President

Eastern Europe: Ms. Tamara Nikolic Deric – Association House of Batana (Croatia)

Latin America and the Caribbean: Mr.Martín Andrade-Pérez – Erigaie Foundation (Colombia) – Treasurer

Asia and the Pacific: Ms. Janet Blake – Persian Garden Institute for Living Heritage – (Islamic Republic of Iran) – Vice President

Africa:  Mr. Sekou Berte – Mali Cultural Heritage Agency (Mali) – Responsible for Communications

Arab States:  Mr. Mohamed Lemine Beidjeu   – Association mauritanienne pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel (Mauritania)

Executive positions of the Steering Committee for 2022: 

Laurier Turgeon – President

Janet Blake – Vice President

Robert Baron – Secretary

Martín Andrade-Pérez – Treasurer

(From top left to bottom right: Mr. Martín Andrade- Pérez, Mr. Laurier Turgeon, Mr. Sekou Berte, Mr.  Mohamed Lemine Beidjeu, Ms. Janet Blake, Mr. Robert Baron, and Ms. Tamara Nikolic Deric)