Türkiye in second place on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List

MUĞLA

Türkiye continues to rank second on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List, Professor Öcal Oğuz, president of the UNESCO Türkiye National Commission, has said, stressing that the country is “one of the most successful nations in the world” in this field.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Oğuz recalled that UNESCO held its 43rd General Conference in Uzbekistan between Oct. 30 and Nov. 13.

Oğuz noted that a joint initiative with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan led to the recognition of Dec. 15 as “World Turkic Languages Family Day” with written support from 26 countries and approval from 194 member states.

He also said UNESCO designated 2026 as the 700th anniversary of the death of Sheikh Edebali and the 500th anniversary of the birth of poet Baki, adding that he was elected for a third time to the UNESCO Executive Board during the same meetings.

Highlighting the country’s progress, Oğuz said Türkiye has achieved significant gains with its cultural heritage efforts. “One of the most important areas is Intangible Cultural Heritage. Türkiye is among the world’s most successful countries in this field,” he said.

Oğuz stated that the traditional craft “Antep embroidery” was approved during a meeting in India and added to the list, raising Türkiye’s number of registered Intangible Cultural Heritage elements to 32. China ranks first on the list, followed by Türkiye, France, Iran and Croatia.

Noting that language is humanity’s strongest communication tool, Oğuz said preserving languages also helps protect cultures, geographies and intangible heritage.

“UNESCO’s core focus is first to protect biological diversity, second geological diversity and third cultural diversity. By safeguarding cultural diversity, we believe we also safeguard humanity’s future. And if we preserve scientific diversity, we enable new scientific production,” he said.