Multi-National Nomination of Kebaya to The 2023 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
4th April 2023 - Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) on behalf of Malaysia is leading a multi-national initiative to nominate ‘Kebaya: Knowledge, Skills, Traditions and Practices’ to the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for the year 2023.Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand have jointly submitted the multi- national nomination for Kebaya to UNESCO as it represents and celebrates our rich shared history, promotes cross-cultural understanding, and continues to be present and actively practised by many communities across Southeast Asia.
With the consensus for multi-national nomination, all participating countries were involved in a series of working meetings since early 2022. Malaysia hosted the first physical workshop in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan in November 2022 and this was followed by the second workshop in Jakarta hosted by Indonesia in February 2023.
With the involvement of government officials, experts, and Kebaya community representatives from all participating countries, the Kebaya nomination dossier was updated and streamlined as per the new format by UNESCO. A final online workshop was led by Singapore to finalise the nomination dossier in March 2023.
Kebaya is a garment that represents a significant part of the cultural heritage and identity of women from the Malay, Peranakan (Chinese, Baba Nyonya, Chetti, Siamese, Kristang) and other communities in Malaysia, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia. Kebaya meets the definition of an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) element as it involves the traditional craftsmanship skills such as embroidery and sewing techniques to make this traditional women’s garment.
Kebaya is also associated with other forms of cultural heritage, such as festive occasions and weddings. There is an active community of makers and wearers of Kebaya who share and transmit the knowledge and socio-cultural value of Kebaya from one generation to another.
The UNESCO 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of ICH emphasises the importance of ‘safeguarding’ and the inherent value of ICH initiatives for cultural conservation among practitioners or communities. This allows for culture to be a platform of mutual understanding and dialogue, thus making the listing process an opportunity for international collaboration. This multi-national nomination effort shall ensure that Kebaya be safeguarded through transmission (formal courses and workshops), promotional efforts, as well as documentation or research efforts with the support of nominating States and by its communities.
Kebaya presents us an opportunity to promote and celebrate this shared cultural heritage found in the Southeast Asian region. The results of this nomination would be decided during the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024.
Dikeluarkan oleh:
UNIT KOMUNIKASI KORPORAT
KEMENTERIAN PELANCONGAN, SENI DAN BUDAYA (MOTAC)
Tel: 03-8000 8000 Fax: 03-88917181
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