The Ministry of Culture will launch in mid-September the National Campaign for Collecting and Documenting Non-material Cultural Heritage including the performing arts, verbal expression forms like tales and public bibliographies, social traditions, knowledge and perceptions connected with cosmos, nature and others and preparing lists and establishment of the living human encyclopaedia for the cultural heritage campaign, its narrators and practitioners.
Director of the Folklore Department at the Ministry of Culture Imad Abu Fakher told SANA Tuesday that this plan comes in the framework of the Ministry's efforts to collect and document the Arab heritage, protect it from fading and save it from negligence.
Abu Fakher added that the Ministry's plan based on registering the most vulnerable elements to oblivion.
The Heritage Committees at the Departments of Culture in the Syrian governorates will form research and field collection committees for the elements of the non-material heritage.
He also called for wide public and official participation in this campaign to enhance awareness of importance of the cultural heritage and fortify the cultural and civilized identity of the nation.
The campaign will document the heritage songs, tunes and dances with unknown sources, composer which the people's memory has saved over generations.
Abu Fakher pointed out that the campaign will also include a list of the preliminary inventory list of the songs of work like the songs connected with the people's lives in farming, harvesting and threshing and harvesting of crops and workers, artisans and industry men and other songs.
The list will also include traditional songs and dances like al-Kodoud, Mowashahat, Mawaweel al-Ataba and al-Haijana al-Hageny, al-Shrouqi, al-Samah dance, al-Arada and al-Dabka and other traditional forms of heritage.
The campaign will be accompanied by a series of activities including holding symposiums and lectures on the importance of non-material cultural heritage.
Author: H. Zain | Source: Global Arab Network [August 31, 2010]