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On October 23, the National Library of Belarus hosted the grand opening of the exhibition project "To Touch the Heritage With Soul", dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The language, customs, traditions, knowledge and technologies that were handed down to us by our ancestors from hand to hand, from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart, through the centuries, as precious signs of memory, form a complex of living, intangible values – the cultural heritage of Belarus.
The unique project is dedicated to the most important themes of the Year of Peace and Creation – the preservation of the intangible dignity of Belarus and the cultural traditions of the Belarusian people.
The Republic of Belarus became one of the first countries to adopt the UNESCO Convention. The exhibition demonstrates the tremendous work done over the past decades to implement the 2003 Convention into national legislation and the activities of cultural institutions.
The traveling exhibition presents 25 stands, thanks to which visitors can get acquainted with folk traditions and customs, original rituals that can found only on the territory of Belarus.
Separate stands of the exhibition are dedicated to Belarusian elements included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: the rite of the "The Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars)", the "Budslav Fest" and others.
The event was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Chairman of the National Commission for UNESCO Sergey Aleynik, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Belarus Valery Gromada, Director of the Republican Center of National Cultures, author of the exhibition "To Touch the Heritage With Soul" Olga Yakobson.
As part of the opening of the exhibition, certificates of inclusion in the UNESCO list of the spring detachment "Yurievsky Round dance", the culture of forest apiculture, an element of the intangible cultural heritage "Straw Weaving of Belarus: art, craft, skills" took place.
The presentation of the exhibition is supplemented with publications from the Fund of the National Library of Belarus. About 100 publications are presented. Among them are fundamental books devoted to various issues of preservation of intangible cultural heritage and participation of the Republic of Belarus in UNESCO programs and projects on this topic. Illustrated publications on the preservation of performing arts, oral tradition and forms of expression (folk games, fairy tales), mythology, folk ritual holidays, traditional crafts and national cuisine.
A separate set of materials – collections of international scientific and scientific-practical conferences on the following topics: traditional culture and children, folklore studies, problems of preservation and popularization of cultural heritage, traditional culture and folklore heritage in the modern cultural space, etc.
The exhibition project was prepared by the Republican Center of National Cultures with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus.
The exhibition will last until November 30, 2023 in the Atrium gallery (2nd floor).
The completion date of its work can be changed.
The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the Library opening hours.
Admission is by a library card or by the Social and Cultural Center ticket.
For more info: (+375 17) 368 37 37.
The material was provided by the Public Relations Department.
