Safeguarding of Georgian Cultural Heritage

Safeguarding of Georgian Cultural Heritage

About the Programme:

The "Safeguarding of Georgian Cultural Heritage" program was initiated by GACC in 1996. The program primarily focuses on three fields:

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage;

Support to Georgian Museums;

Preservation of Tangible Heritage.

In 2015 for its input in safeguarding Georgian Cultural Heritage GACC was awarded European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra's Jury Special Mention in category "Dedicated Services".

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), primarily emphasizes heritage crafts while also encompasses other ICH traditions such as poliphony, culinary etc. GACC being the accredeted NGO to the UNESCO ICH Convention 2003 adheres to the guidelines set forth by the document, acknowledges the pivotal role of communities and works closely with ICH bearers all over the country. The program engages in sector studies, policy development, capacity building, and various activities aimed at ensuring the intergenerational transmission of traditional knowledge. For the Institutional development of crafts sector GACC founded diverse entities such as: Georgian Heritage Crafts Association, Social Enterprice Istoriali and Tbilisi International Summit of Crafts and Design EthnoFest.

GACC is a member of World Crafts Council-Europe and actively cooperats with its European peers through joint projects. For its achaivement in the development of craft sector in Georgia GACC in 2021 has been awarded 5th International Crafts Awards for “Organization for Sustainable Development of Crafts Sector”; in 2017 won EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in the category Education, Training and Awareness-Raising.