The General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage convened its forth session from June 4-8 in Paris.

The Head of the Vietnamese delegation to UNESCO, Ambassador Duong Van Quang, said that the meeting took place in a context that UNESCO is running into financial difficulties.

Participants at the meeting reviewed 10 years of the implementation of the convention and sought ways to raise fundings to maintain the implementation of the convention.

The meeting also discussed revisions to documents guiding the convention implementation and elected of the intergovernmental committee on the convention as well as approved of a resolution on a celebration programme marking 10 years of the establishment of the Convention in 2013.

This year, the Vietnamese delegation, one of the active participants at the meeting, included representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnamese Delegation at the UNESCO.

A delegation from Phu Tho province led by Nguyen Doan Khanh, Phu Tho Provincial Party Secretary also attended the meeting, aiming to strengthen contacts with members of the convention as well as introduce the worship rituals dedicated to the Hung Kings which was submitted in 2011 for recognition as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The application will be considered later this year.

To date, Vietnam has 10 natural and man-made works which are recognised as part of the world cultural heritage.-VNA