As part of efforts to preserve its cultural heritage, Egypt has secured the inscription of 11 elements of its intangible cultural heritage on UN cultural agency UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity following years of documentation, research, and fieldwork.
Through their inscription in the framework of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Egypt seeks international recognition for its heritage elements, helping protect them from misappropriation, said Hossam Mehasseb, a professor at the Institute of Folk Arts in Cairo.
The UNESCO List was established under the 2003 Convention to recognise and promote cultural traditions and practices that countries identify as part of their cultural heritage.
“Registering cultural elements on the UNESCO List is one of the most effective official means of confronting the misappropriation of cultural heritage. We have had to move quickly to register as many Egyptian heritage elements as possible as the international community only recognises what countries officially register and document with the relevant international bodies,” Mehasseb said.
“Today, although social media has made it easier to introduce Egyptian culture to new audiences and spread its identity globally, this can be a double-edged sword when it comes to cultural identity. On the one hand, it allows information to circulate widely. But on the other, it opens the door to the spread of practices that are difficult to verify. Some people may seek rapid visibility without proper verification,” he added.
Nahla Emam, a professor of folk customs and a UNESCO expert on intangible cultural heritage, said that “registering elements of intangible cultural heritage on the UNESCO List has far-reaching benefits. It strengthens the Egyptian appreciation of heritage and cultural identity, and it reinforces Egypt’s presence in international forums as a country whose ancient heritage is second to none.”
“The registration of heritage elements also benefits tourism. We witnessed this while working on the koshari file [a traditional Egyptian dish], as many people expressed a desire to visit Egypt to try it in its country of origin. The same thing has happened with the growing interest in visiting the Grand Egyptian Museum [GEM] and discovering other aspects of Egyptian culture.”
Besides the importance of international documentation, Emam stressed that Egypt’s commitment to its traditions and customs remains the most important way to revive and preserve heritage. “Cultural heritage stays alive when Egyptian people hold on to their traditions, for example by wearing traditional clothing, including the galabiya, or preparing food according to traditional recipes,” she said.
“Many elements of Egyptian heritage have deep historical roots, and some may date back to ancient Egypt, providing compelling evidence that they are an integral part of Egyptian identity. For example, tahteeb, a traditional stick-fighting game, is depicted on temple walls. And henna, the art of decorating the body with plant-based dye, was used by the ancient Egyptians.”
“Products crafted from different parts of the date palm have also been associated with the Egyptians since ancient times. Many other elements, including Arabic calligraphy, also have long historical continuities,” Emam said.
“Egypt possesses all the qualifications to be among the leading countries in registering its intangible cultural heritage because it has an ancient, rich, and diverse heritage. The traditions of Upper Egypt differ from those of Lower Egypt, which in turn differ from the traditions of the Canal cities, Sinai, and the oases. This cultural diversity gives Egypt exceptional richness in its intangible cultural heritage.”
REGISTRATION: The formal registration of heritage elements takes place on two levels.
The first is registration at the national level, where elements are recorded within the country in a heritage archive that UNESCO refers to as inventory lists. It requires countries to maintain these lists before they can register heritage elements on its own lists. In Egypt, there is more than one national inventory list.
“The second level is the inscription of heritage elements on the List established under UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” Emam said.
“In 2008, UNESCO transferred heritage elements that had been recognised under an earlier initiative to the Convention’s Representative List. They were inscribed under the names of their respective countries, encouraging states parties to the convention to nominate additional elements of their intangible cultural heritage,” she added.
Among the elements transferred was the Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyah, a famous Arab oral epic. It was inscribed under Egypt’s name in 2008. The Ministry of Culture, in charge of the national level of inscriptions, then decided to take further steps towards registering elements on the UNESCO List. By 2025, it had registered an additional 10 elements, and not a single year passed without Egypt registering a new element.
There are now 185 countries that are states parties to the Intangible Heritage Convention. When the inscription process began, countries submitted multiple nomination files, and some succeeded in inscribing as many as three elements in a single year. The committee in charge of inscriptions later concluded that this exceeded its capacity for evaluation and related procedures and limited each country to one inscription per year. The rule was later amended to allow one inscription every two years.
“When the decision was made to allow registrations every two years, I took advantage of the intervening years to help with multinational files, ensuring that Egypt remained represented on the UNESCO List every year,” Emam said.
“As a UNESCO expert responsible for preparing and drafting joint Arab files, I made sure Egypt was included whenever elements were shared with participating countries. This allowed Egyptian heritage elements to be inscribed without affecting the country’s quota for individual registrations,” she said.
The registration process can take up to two and a half years. If a country submits a file in March, it may receive a letter from UNESCO in August indicating that there are missing items or technical observations that must be completed. The following year the file goes to an evaluation committee, where it remains under review until November. It is then submitted to the Intergovernmental Committee in charge of the Convention for a final decision based on the opinion of the evaluation committee.
Before these stages, a country will already have spent nearly a full year preparing the file, writing its content, and collecting the required documentation, Emam said.
“The preparation of the file begins with a form that differs according to the List on which the element is to be inscribed. If we want to inscribe koshari on the Representative List as an element representing Egypt, we begin by completing the form associated with this, for example,” she said.
“It includes basic information such as the name of the element, the communities that prepare it, the places where it is part of local traditions, and an accurate description of the element.”
Emam said the description of the element is particularly important because members of the evaluation committee review elements from different countries that they may know little about. Therefore, the description must clearly explain what the element is and its heritage significance.
In the case of koshari, for example, it was explained that this is a dish served every day with a set range of ingredients. People eat it on different occasions and prepare it for one another, and it is sold in restaurants and has different variations in different regions of Egypt. The file explained that koshari is a vegetarian dish and complies with religious dietary rules.
“The main purpose of the description is to explain the element and its cultural and social significance rather than to go into technical details about it or provide a lengthy historical account,” Emam explained.
“It also includes an explanation of the social functions and cultural meanings of the element as well as identifying the bearers of the tradition concerned. In the case of koshari, the bearers are not limited to consumers. They also include restaurant owners and the farmers that produce rice, lentils, and onions. Pages and platforms promoting koshari on social media could also be considered to be bearers of the element.”
According to Emam, a nomination must also demonstrate that an element does not conflict with human rights and is accessible to everyone without exclusion or discrimination. It must also show that an element contains nothing contrary to environmental protection. It must explain the element’s role in promoting dialogue and social interaction, as well as its contribution to sustainable development.
In the case of koshari, this can be demonstrated through the employment opportunities it creates for restaurant workers, farmers, and others and through its role as an economic activity that supports livelihoods.
BEARERS: The nomination file sent to UNESCO must present the safeguarding measures taken to ensure the continuity of the element within society.
In the koshari file, several examples of this were used, including Egypt’s Guinness World Record for the largest dish of koshari ever made. The file referred to the dish’s presence on international tourism platforms and Websites as recommended for visitors to Egypt. Koshari is also served at activities organised by Egyptian embassies abroad as one of the elements representing Egyptian identity.
“Local communities and the bearers of the element concerned participate in preparing the file,” Emam said. “In the case of koshari, the proposal to inscribe it on the UNESCO List originally came from the community itself. It was raised when a well-known koshari restaurant expressed its desire to register it. The proposal received broad support, and other restaurant owners actively participated in preparing the file.”
“Among the required documents is a film showing the element, and in the case of koshari, the script was prepared and then filmed and translated in cooperation with the participants involved. A large collection of additional documents was also attached, including written and signed consent forms from local communities, civil society associations, and the individuals concerned. These were accompanied by high-quality photographs that met specific technical requirements,” she said.
The procedures used to register koshari were used for other items of Egypt’s intangible heritage. These have included the Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyah, tahteeb, the aragoz (traditional puppets), weaving in Upper Egypt, Arabic calligraphy, and knowledge associate with date palms along with their skills, traditions, and practices.
Other registered items include engraving on metals such as gold, silver, and copper, celebrations associated with the journey of the Holy Family in Egypt, the musical traditions of semsemiah, a traditional stringed instrument, and henna.
All these are now registered in the name of Egypt, Emam said.
“There are also new nomination files currently under consideration,” she added. “The Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention will meet in China next December to examine a number of nominations, among them the joint Arab nomination of the oud, a traditional musical instrument. This was submitted by Egypt along with several Arab countries last year, following Egypt’s individual nomination of koshari.”
There are also other joint files waiting for the committee’s opinion, including palm weaving, which covers crafts related to palm fronds, palm leaves, and other palm-based products. This is a joint file because the traditions of the palm are also upheld in other Arab countries.
Other joint files already submitted to UNESCO include the Arabian horse and traditional sailing boats.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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