Dhaka: Bangladesh’s colourful ‘Mangal Shovayatra’, Cuba’s sensual rumba dance and Belgium’s thriving beer culture brought new effervescence to UNESCO’s coveted list of ‘intangible’ heritage on Wednesday, reports AFP.

Meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the UN body gave the nod to the Bengali new year procession; rumba, which it said evokes ‘grace, sensuality and joy’, while it said ‘making and appreciating beer is part of the living heritage... throughout Belgium’.

Mangal Shovayatra, a festival close to the heart of Bengalis, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The decision was made on Wednesday at the 11th session of the intergovernmental committee on intangible cultural heritage, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to a message received in Dhaka from Paris.

The committee in its decision noted that Mangal Shovayatra, organised by teachers and students of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts to celebrate the Bengali New Year’s Day, symbolises the pride of the people of Bangladesh in their living heritage as well as their strength and courage to fight sinister forces, and their vindication of truth and justice, reports UNB.

The Committee also recognised that the festival represents solidarity and shared value for democracy, uniting people irrespective of cast, creed, religion, gender or age.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UNESCO M Shahidul Islam is leading a four-member delegation to the Committee’s meeting at Addis Ababa.

The other members are Bangladesh Ambassador to Ethiopia and African Union Md Monirul Islam, and, Dean of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts Prof Nisar Hossain and First Secretary of Bangladesh Embassy in Paris Farhana Ahmed Chowdhury.

The inclusion of Mangal Shovayatra on the list of cultural heritage of humanity is the result of the government’s proactive cultural diplomacy, officials said.

The enhanced visibility of Mangal Shovayatra festival will help reinforce Bangladesh’s image as a secular and inclusive society.

The initiative to inscribe Mangal Shovayatra on UNESCO’s on the list of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage began two years ago when a nomination file on the festival prepared by Bangla Academy and approved by Ministry of Cultural Affairs was submitted to UNESCO.

The Cuban delegation to the Addis Ababa meeting dedicated the rumba’s selection to longtime leader Fidel Castro, who died on Friday aged 90.

UNESCO noted that Belgium produces some 1,500 types of beer, while in Cuba because the rumba sprang from poor communities the dance is an enduring ‘expression of resistance and self-esteem’.

Staying on the festive theme, the World Heritage Committee also enshrined the March 21 new year’s celebrations of 12 countries stretching from Turkey to India, as well as Bangladesh’s April 14 new year’s festival.

The list of ‘intangible’ cultural treasures was created 10 years ago, mainly to increase awareness about them, while UNESCO also sometimes offers financial or technical support to countries struggling to protect them.

On Tuesday, the UN body designated Ugandan traditional music, which is dying out partly because it requires materials from endangered species, as intangible heritage ‘in urgent need of safeguarding’.

The committee winds up its review of nominations to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list on Thursday.