THE UNESCO nomination of Myanmar’s traditional Htamanè culture as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is planned for 2027, according to the Ministry of Hotels, Tourism and Culture.
“Thingyan has already been inscribed as an intangible cultural heritage. Thanaka has already been submitted as well. Laphet culture has also been submitted. A proposal has been prepared to submit Htamanè next year. We plan to continue submitting disappearing traditional Myanmar customs every year, whether they are related to food culture or handicrafts. However, it has not yet been confirmed which subject will be given priority for submission. For next year, Htamanè has been selected as the proposed nomination,” an official from the Ministry of Hotels, Tourism and Culture said.
In 2024, the traditional Myanmar New Year Ata Thingyan Festival was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for the first time. Afterwards, the traditional practice of applying Myanmar Thanaka was submitted for a second nomination, and it is expected that confirmation of whether it will be accepted by UNESCO will be known in December 2026.
This year, Myanmar’s Laphet culture has also been submitted to UNESCO as a Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A total of 2,289 cultural heritage items have already been recorded on the national heritage list.
According to the policy for nominations to UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, only one cultural element may be submitted either each year or once every two years.
UNESCO established the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Convention in 2003, and Myanmar became a signatory to the convention in 2013. — ASH/ MKKS
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