A training workshop on the links between intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development was held in Tunis on 4 and 5 April 2018. the workshop emphasized the role of living traditions in the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

This workshop was followed by a second consultation meeting on the development of a policy for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage on 6 April 2018. Having brought together a number of government institutions and civil society actors, this meeting produced a roadmap outlining a policy adapted to the national context to ensure that not only the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage but also the development strategies and plans at local, regional and national levels are taken into account.

These activities are the last stage of the project of capacity building for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage that was launched in 2013 for Tunisia. Entered in its last year of implementation, this ambitious project, which is financed by the generous contribution from the Government of Catalonia, Kingdom of Spain, to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, has enabled to train a critical mass of professionals (institutions, civil society and communities) in Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, with a common goal of safeguarding living heritage.