In order to promote the cultural heritage of the country and preserve the national intangible heritage for later posterity of Pakistan, Pakistan National Commission for UNESCO (PNCU) in collaboration with Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and Ministry of National Heritage and Integration successfully completed a short-term pilot project during August 2009- December 2009.
On the completion of its Project Report Phase- II, PNCA on Thursday arranged a seminar entitled “National Intangible Heritage Archives (Dance, Music and Drama) with an aim to establish critical knowledge, while setting basis for future preservation together with building institutional capacities within PNCA to undertake, continue and broaden scope of intangible heritage archival work. The current project is an extension of the earlier implemented Pilot Project titled ‘National Intangible Heritage Archives (pilot project) – 2009. Both the projects focused on building the infrastructure and corresponding human resource capacities has gradually been institutionalize and mainstreamed into PNCA’s National Centre for Performing Arts.
PNCA DG Tauqir Nasir UNESCO secretary Daud, Syed Arif Jafferi, Zarri Salman Panna, Kanwal Naseer and others spoke on the occasion.
Nasir said Pakistan was a signatory of the UNESCO’s Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage (October 2003).
On its successful completion, he said, the second phase of the project was launched in May, 2011 for intangible heritage archival work. “This project has provided a strong base for national intangible heritage achieves in Pakistan and it is hoped that it will go a long way in promotion of arts in the country,” he added.
The PNCA chief said the council had already paid tributes to legendary artists including king of Ghazal, Mehdi Hassan, Reshman, Ustad Shagan, Surayya Multanikar, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, and drama artists including Qavi Khan, Ali Ijaz, Shakeel, Iftikhar Qaisar. “While Bushra Ansari and Anwar Maqsood will shortly be invited since they too are the living legends and PNCA wants to pay tribute to them while we listen they are no more with us. ‘We must acknowledge and honour their work,” Nasir said.
UNESCO Secretary Daud said that it was a small but an important step towards a long journey for presenting a soft image of Pakistan across the world.
“These archival would help other nations, races and communities to properly understand vibrant colours of our diverse culture, custom, and traditions and all those who intend to increase their knowledge about us, both as individual and as a unified one nation,” he observed. Other who also spoke on the occasion included Syed Arif Jafferi, Zarri Salman Panna, Kanwal Naseer and others.
The students of National Performing Art Group (NPAG) of PNCA also staged a play, performed folk and traditional dances and songs.
