Htet Nadi/Saw (NP News) - November 8
Myanmar’s Thanakha culture only needs official approval to be included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List as the country’s second entry, according to Daw Sandar Khin, chairperson of the Myanmar Cultural Heritage Trust (MCHT). She informed the media of this at the Myanmar Traditional Fair, held at the Yangon Convention Centre (YCC) in Mayangone Township, Yangon, on November 6.
Currently, the Myanmar Thanaka culture has been included in UNESCO's nomination list and will be approved at the 21st session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which will be held in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, in early December.
“This is a preliminary stage. The evaluation body has submitted its nominations with full agreement. Therefore, at the 21st session to be held in Xiamen, all that remains is for them to stamp final approval for our Thanaka culture,” said Daw Sandar Khin.
The Myanmar Thanakha culture was submitted for inscription in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2020, but UNESCO requested a re-submission due to certain requirements, so it was submitted again in March 2025.
“We submit applications to obtain the UNESCO heritage status. Every country does. In Thailand, they have already received around 8 approvals from UNESCO, speaking as a neighboring country. Laos has about three to four of cultural approvals. Likewise, in our neighbors, China and India, they have more than ten approvals,” she continued.
Currently, there are a total of 2,289 intangible cultural heritage practices on the national list for submission to UNESCO.
The Myanmar traditional Thingyan festival was first inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2024, and now, if the Myanmar Thanaka culture is included in the list, it will become the second cultural heritage for Myanmar. –
