Straw weaving in Belarus is included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

On December 1,  the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Morocco, took a decision to include the Belarusian nomination "Straw weaving of Belarus: art, craft, skills" in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. BelTA informs this, referring to the Ministry of Culture of Belarus.

Deputy Head of the Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, Maria Netsvetaeva, participated in the session.

The nomination is prepared in 2020-2021, with the financial and organizational support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus.

Belarusian straw works have no analogues in the world and are one of the most nationally distinctive forms of revealing the spiritual values and artistic traditions of the Belarusians. It is no exaggeration to say that in Belarus, this kind of craftsmanship has found a new life, has enriched the arsenal of folk art with new finds, and has become a mass type of modern artistic creation. The definition "Belarusian straw" has acquired the meaning of a national brand. Artistic products and souvenirs made of straw are unmistakably associated with Belarus, testify to the creative abilities and diligence of the Belarusians.

Straw weaving is an important part of Belarusian culture and art, it reflects the social history of the people, their character, mental and spiritual preferences. The practice has an expressive ecological context. For their purposes, the masters use exclusively natural material, which is extracted by traditional methods. Long stalks of rye or wheat are cut by hand, with a sickle, in order to preserve their quality and elasticity, as well as color features.

In order to promote the Belarusian heritage at the international level, the Ministry of Culture together with the Belarusian University of Culture and Arts prepared a nomination for the element of intangible historical and cultural heritage "Straw weaving of Belarus: art, craft, skills", which in March 2021 was submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.