News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 28 November (BelTA) – The Budslau Fest has been added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, BelTA learned from the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

“During the 13th session the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage unanimously supported the decision to inscribe “Celebration in Honor of the Budslau Icon of Our Lady (Budslau fest) on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” the press service informed. The session of the committee was held in Port Louis, Mauritius.

The Budslau Fest is one of the symbols of the national identity of Belarusians. It celebrates respect and friendship between people from all walks of life regardless of their religious beliefs, social status and gender. The inclusion of the Budslau Fest in the UNESCO list was the result of many years of work of the Commission of the Republic of Belarus for UNESCO, the Culture Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with active involvement of local authorities, NGOs and the expert community.

In 2009, the unique Belarusian rite of the Kolyady Tsars, which is performed only in the village of Semezhevo (Kopyl District, Minsk Oblast), was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2018 Belarus submitted another file for the inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. That was the ancient rite Yurievsky Khorovod (Yuriev Round Dance). The decision on this file is to be made in December 2019.