UNESCO declares timber rafting an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity!

 

Joint nomination by Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Spain was successful.

 

On 1 December 2022, UNESCO declared timber rafting as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In doing so, the UN cultural organisation is honouring a tradition that has been alive in Europe for centuries. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Spain had jointly applied for the recognition.

The members of the International Association of Timber-Raftsmen (IATR) have received this recognition with great joy. It is a motivating moment for all raftswomen and raftsmen which are passionate about safeguarding and developing this craft and passing on their knowledge and skills to future generations. The nomination file was prepared firstly through discussions at the general assemblies of the International Association of Timber Raftsmen, especially in 2010. Many years of dedicated voluntary work by the bearer groups have now found their appreciation.

Today, the old craft is becoming increasingly widespread again and is open to both women and men. Timber rafting associations keep the traditional knowledge alive. At festivals and trips, in schools and kindergartens, they provide information about the cultural heritage and the importance of wood as a raw material in the past and in the future.

 

We members of the IATR are very happy about the inscription of timber rafting in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This also recognises the transnational cooperation that contributed significantly to the success of the nomination. Currently, almost 8,000 people in Europe are engaged in the safeguarding of this cultural heritage. The inscription in the UNESCO list will also give a corresponding impetus to the activities of timber rafting associations in the other member states where timber rafting is not yet inscribed in the national lists. These include, for example, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Romania and Slovenia.

 

Here are the links of the 7-min-video (in EN, FR; ESP, Floor) at YouTube about our award at the UNESCO session in Rabat:

EN-Version: https://youtu.be/8q8WPtdaYcQ

FR-Version: https://youtu.be/cWdjjqeqI1I

ESP-Version: https://youtu.be/bynpxiiV18A

Floor-Version: https://youtu.be/WzxqtCakC10

 

The complete documents in the UNESCO`s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity are here: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/timber-rafting-01866