In the 10th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage which took place in Windhoek (Namibia) from 30 November to 4 December, the association became the first Galician-Portuguese entity to be accredited as a consultant association on intangible cultural heritage.

The Committee on the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage affirms in its article 11b that member states should count on the participation of the Associations for the identification, safeguarding and definition of intangible cultural heritage. In order to obtain accreditation from UNESCO, NGOs should have proven competency, specialized knowledge and experience in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. Also, they will demonstrate having, at a minimum, four years of activity and they will present a description of the experiences in matters of cooperation with the Intangible Cultural Heritage’s communities, groups and professionals.

La asociación se convirtió en la primera entidad gallego-portuguesa en ser acreditada como asociación consultora del patrimonio inmaterial

Once the file is presented to the Secretary of UNESCO, all of the documentation is verified and its shipment to the Intergovernmental Committee is approved. This committee submits the files for approval and at the same time, sends them to the General Assembly which ratifies the conformity of the Committee’s recommendations. PONTE…NAS ONDAS!’s file was looked at positively by the Secretary, was approved by the Committee and was referred to the next General Assembly in June of 2016, where PONTE…NAS ONDAS!’s accreditation as a consultant NGO of intangible cultural heritage was ratified.