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CIOFF^® is an Official Partner of UNESCO, accredited to the UNESCO ICH Committee. Created in 1970, the duty of CIOFF^® is safeguarding, promotion and diffusion of traditional culture and folklore.

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CIOFF® World Congress in Bautzen, Germany hosts 200 from 54 Countries

Over 200 participants from 54 countries met in Bautzen, Germany for the CIOFF® World Congress October 16 – 26, 2014. 30 young people from 26 countries also spent several days meeting in the 6th CIOFF® Youth Forum, in Bautzen, as part of the World Congress. Participants included folklore festival directors, university professors, performers, NGO members and other cultural leaders, who share two important things: all are passionate about preserving the world’s cultures and all are volunteers. These cultural professionals actively worked during the week long Congress to help preserve intangible cultural heritage throughout the world. (Display the following...)

Important results of the Congress include plans for the organization’s flagship event, CIOFF® World Folkloriada, to be held in Zacatecas, Mexico July 27 – August 15, 2016. Occurring every 4 years, Folkloriada was last held in Anseong, South Korea in 2012. Organizers expect 2,000 performers from 60 cultural performing groups from all over the globe at the next World Folkloriada. Another important outcome of CIOFF® work at the Congress comes from the Committee on Training and Education and the Committee on Children. In their joint meeting, members agreed to develop an Open Forum regarding CIOFF® activities for and with challenged persons, especially children. New member countries accepted during the Congress General Assembly include: • Full Members: Puerto Rico • Associated Members: United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Pakistan, Iran, Palestine, and Philippines • Corresponding Members: Australia, Anguilla, San Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda In the World Congress Cultural Conference, titled “Awareness of Intangible Cultural Heritage—The Role of Ethnic Communities,” participants learned about the local Sorbian Community in and around Bautzen, Germany. Speakers included Dr. Christoph Wulf from the UNESCO Commission Germany, Dr. Dorthea Kolland from Berlin, and Dr. Ines Keller, Dr. Theresa Jacobs, and Dr. Fabian Jacobs from the Sorbian Institute. Best practices were then presented by Guy Landry of CIOFF® Canada, Mario Garcia Siani of CIOFF® Paraguay, and Kati Taal, of CIOFF® Estonia. In a new World Congress presentation, “Examples of Good Practice” were shared. These included: “Cooperation with UNESCO: International Folklore Festival in Debate—Perspective of the Organizer,” presented by CIOFF® Portugal; “Youth Activities,” presented by CIOFF® Argentina; “Cultural Activities: First Meeting of the National Folklore Festivals of Colombia,” presented by CIOFF® Colombia; and “Festival: Poetry in Motion—Combining Traditional and Contemporary Elements in the Festival Program,” presented by CIOFF® United Kingdom. Founded in 1970, CIOFF ® is now represented in 130 different countries in which there are more than thirty thousand folklore dance and music groups and folk arts organizations. Today CIOFF® globally coordinates over 300 annual international folklore and folk arts festivals, uniting thousands of volunteers around the world with its mission to encourage cultural exchange in order to promote a growing spirit of friendship and peace. According to the CIOFF® Festivals Commission, a Forum of Festival Directors will be held in Bogota, Colombia, April 7 -11, 2015. The Commission also reported that 329 CIOFF® Festivals held in 2014 hosted more than 40,000 folklore performers in 68 countries. The 2015 CIOFF® World Congress will be held in Arequipa, Peru. For more information about The 44th CIOFF® annual World Congress and 6th Youth Forum, please visit http://2014.CIOFF.de/index.php/en/. To learn more about the work of CIOFF® please visit www.CIOFF.org or email: info@CIOFF.org.

Karen Babcock