CIOFF^®

Dear national sections!

I hope that everyone is well and in the best of health!

This pandemic all over the world has infected the work of all of us. As the cultural events and festivals have been cancelled or postponed, CIOFF would like to share through our social media videos of intangible cultural heritage from different countries. Even though we can't present our culture and heritage live during these difficult times, we should still share the beauty and diversity of our cultures.

We would appreciate if every national section could share with us a video presenting intangible cultural heritage that has been recongnized by UNESCO. In addition to the video, a short text explaining the phenomenon and the author/copyrights holder of the video. The video could be of music, dance, handicrafts etc. The text should be in English, Spanish or French.

Please share the videos (through Wetransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive etc) or links of the videos (Youtube, Vimeo etc) and texts to cultural-commission@cioff.org by April 20th.

Thank you for your cooperation!



In the name of the Council, Cultural Commission and PR-team

Dear friends ;

the government of Bachkortostan on behalf of the Head of the Republic Radiy Khabirov announced the official decision during a press media in Ufa : THE VI CIOFF WORLD FOLKLORIADA is postponed to 2021...
An official letter will be sent next week with the new dates to all the participants (Groups and CIOFF National sections).

It is a sad news for all but we have to be responsible for 3000 young people(dancers- musicians) coming from around 80 countries !

The CIOFF world folkloriada in Russia - Ufa will not take place in July 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.. but will be organized next year !

Dear friends ;

the government of Bachkortostan on behalf of the Head of the Republic Radiy Khabirov announced the official decision during a press media in Ufa : THE VI CIOFF WORLD FOLKLORIADA is postponed to 2021...
An official letter will be sent next week with the new dates to all the participants (Groups and CIOFF National sections).

It is a sad news for all but we have to be responsible for 3000 young people(dancers- musicians) coming from around 80 countries !

The CIOFF world folkloriada in Russia - Ufa will not take place in July 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.. but will be organized next year !

Question: Are you a professional on animation – painting or creating logos or just an amateur?

Answer: Design is my passion, my trade, my world. Each design is the fruit of many ideas, concepts, dedication and effort, in the same way my work as a graphic designer has always been characterized in more than 23 years of profession.

Question: How do you feel from the fact that your creation is now the official logo for the 50th CIOFF® anniversary?

Answer: I am very fortunate to have the chance to create an image that commemorates 50 years of CIOFF® International. This design was a challenge, an exciting challenge, with a lot of responsibility for what CIOFF® means in the world and this design is and will remain in the retina of thousands of people for the celebration of the 5 decades of this beautiful organization.

Question: What were the ideas and the inspiration of the creation? Which was the reason of choosing specific objects to complete the logo? Is there any story to tell with this?

Answer: HERITAGE AS A CONCEPT, My closeness with Folklore and traditional arts as director for 21 years of the Bafca Ballet Folklorico de Carahue (www.bafca.cl) and as director for 19 years of the International Festival of the Araucanía in Chile, helps me understand and visualize a better concept of what is the "culture as heritage" of the people. In this sense, CIOFF is presented as an institution that safeguards heritage, an idea that inspired me and I wanted to stand out. The hardest; that the image, the concept, represents the different continents and identifies CIOFF members. Under that premise I looked for the largest number of icons and elements that represent different cultures; crafts, Flora, fauna, games, utensils, costumes, instruments, architecture, symbology, etc.

Question: What do you wish to CIOFF® for this special year?

Answer: I hope that this celebration of 50 years be a year of reflection of the peoples, that through folklore we will eliminate borders and the brotherhood among peoples will be enhanced.

Dan Ronen passed away last month, on January 2nd, 2020. Dr. Dan Ronen was chairman of CIOFF® Israel since 1985 and an active member of the organization since 1970. He received a great honor from the CIOFF organization with the award of the Golden Pin. As chairman of CIOFF® Israel he promoted international connections between the Israeli culture and the rest of the world. He acted to preserve Israeli folk dance and ethnic dance groups and encouraged them to participate in international festivals around the world.

Dr. Dan Ronen was well known within the Israeli dance community as well as the international folk dance community. His contribution spans over 70 years in various areas and positions he served. He was one of the founders of Karmiel Dance Festival in 1988. He participated in the steering committee of the festival for 12 years and was the main narrator of the central events. His life story intersects with all significant historical events of the state of Israel and specifically its arts, dance and culture history.
His contribution was very prominent in various fields of Culture and Arts in Israel as the head of the Art and Culture Department of the Ministry of Education, as well as member of boards of "Betzalel" Art School, The Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, theaters, dance companies, and many more art institutes in Israel.

Dr. Dan Ronen was also an admired lecturer and researcher of folklore, the preservation of folklore, multicultural society and folk dance. In 2010 he wrote many articles as well as a book on folk dance in Israel.

Many different ethnic groups such as the Kurdish and the Moroccan appreciated his contribution and awarded him with special awards. He was also awarded the title of Jerusalem most worthy person and more. He was member of many committees that advanced the Israeli folk dances, Dance in the Education system as well as many other art forms.
In the introduction to the 3rd Karmiel Dance Festival Ronen wrote the opening comment in the program and described the diversity within Israeli dance:
"Dances of the pioneers and the continuing generations, a mix of "Dabke" and the "Dibuk", Yemenite and Pop, Casablanca and Moscow, holiday traditions of now and then… If they ask us, why are we so happy? Maybe the answer is in the words of the Ba'l Shemtov to the Jewish people who were in trouble at the time"to be sad is a sin and to be happy is a commandment"- being happy will help us deal with all our troubles. Maybe another answer is in the words of the Braslav Rabbi: "a person has to dance at least one dance a day either by action or in thought".

Israeli folk dances are us! They have many faces: they represent vitality, strength and questions. They are a dream of returning to nature and simple life, in a very complicated and cruel world. They search for the answer in the Bible and the desert. They represent a whole life of diversity, contradictions between what we sing and what we do, but they also hold "hope that man was created to raise above the ground and not go under it". Dancing might not solve everything but it allows you to dream about everything.

Dan Ronen always appreciated the special unique qualities of Israeli dance and its capability to bring people together. Israeli dance is unique not only by the collection of dance languages but in the cultural phenomenon itself. Maybe one of a kind in the world in its influence and scope. Tens of thousands of dancers, hundreds of dances and performing dance groups. Dances that were created by the influence of the romantic dreams of revival of the Hebrew culture in the last century. They should probably have been a museum exhibit by now, but apparently they are very much alive and are being created even today, and they serve as pleasure for many.
Israeli dances are a blessing to the dancers in the circles that have no beginning or end, blessing to the songs that we sing and dance. Dances and songs are the past, and they are the future, they are reality, and they are the dream! Even now as we think of the future, we need to always remember that without the past there can be no future.
Dan Ronen's legacy and his love for the Israeli culture will remain in our hearts and we will do our best to continue the path he paved for us. The Israeli dance community will forever cherish his endless contribution and commitment to the field of dance in Israel and around the world.

May he rest in peace