Preserve Angkor Ballet: UNESCO
Angkor's ballet is recognised as Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Cambodia and UNESCO on Tuesday inked agreements for projects to preserve one of the Angkor temple complex's most famed monuments as well as the kingdom's gracious royal ballet.
UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura, in Cambodia for a two-day visit, signed the pacts with the government which will see activities worth almost 2.5 million dollars, provided mostly by Japan, to get under way.
Matsuura said the royal ballet, whose heritage stretches back more than 1,000 years, and the Bayon temple at Angkor Thom in Cambodia's northwest showcased the "human spirit of Khmer artists."
UNESCO involvement "confirms their outstanding contribution of Cambodian culture to the history of humanity but also ... inspires a new generation of artists to express their creativity and skills," he said.
Support will be given to the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, recognised as a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, to pass on its knowledge to the next generation.The project will also promote awareness of the "importance to safeguard this intangible cultural heritage among the Cambodian community," he said.
The second agreement will boost preservation activities at Bayon, whose towers topped with enigmatic faces have intrigued visitors for centuries.
"The result expected includes research, conservation and restoration of the site and more important, the empowerment of local experts through various training activities," Matsuura said.
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An told reporters that Cambodia would contribute about 800,000 dollars towards the Bayon project. Exact figures were not provided.
Matsuura met with Prime Minister Hun Sen during his visit and was granted an audience with King Norodom Sihamoni, a trained classical ballet dancer and former ambassador to UNESCO, the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
