Kebaya inscribed onto UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list
The kebaya was jointly nominated by five Southeast Asian countries – Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
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SINGAPORE: The kebaya has been successfully inscribed onto the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
This was announced on Wednesday (Dec 4) at about 9.50pm Singapore time, after a meeting of the 24-member UNESCO intergovernmental committee (IGC) in Asuncion, Paraguay, said the National Heritage Board (NHB) in a media release.
The inscription was witnessed by representatives of at least 130 state parties and accredited non-governmental organisations to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Culture Heritage.
The kebaya was jointly nominated by five Southeast Asian countries – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand – and is the largest nomination from Southeast Asia to date in terms of nominating countries.
“The five countries collaborated on a nomination for the first time as the kebaya celebrates our shared cultural identity, promotes cross-cultural understanding, and continues to be present and actively produced and worn by many communities across Southeast Asia,” NHB said.
The nomination fulfilled all five evaluation criteria used by the IGC. The nominating countries were commended for the level of community participation at both the national and regional levels during the nomination process.
They were also commended for "the cohesion in recognising (the) kebaya as a unifying element that connects diverse cultures and communities that cross geographically boundaries", NHB said.
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who is also the chairman of the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO, called the inscription "a milestone to be celebrated".
“For the first time, these five nations have joined forces to recognise the kebaya as a symbol of our shared history and cultural identity.
“Besides recognising its cultural significance, its inscription on the UNESCO list is also a chance to promote cross-cultural understanding and unity in Singapore and across the region."
Sufiyanto Amat Sopingi, founder of Kebaya Societe, said that with the UNESCO inscription, the kebaya "is further recognised on a global scale as a garment that's synonymous with our region".
The list was developed by UNESCO in 2008 and is made up of intangible cultural heritage elements from different countries.
It seeks to raise awareness of the importance of such practices and expressions, encourage dialogue that respects cultural diversity, as well as give due recognition to the practices and expressions of communities worldwide.
COMMUNITY EFFORTS
Since the announcement of the intention to nominate kebaya for the representative list, “there have been various ground-up efforts to raise awareness of kebaya, its socio-cultural significance and diversity, and our living heritage”, NHB said.
NHB highlighted Kawan Kebaya (Friends of Kebaya), a local community network consisting of more than 50 kebaya stakeholders, for its “instrumental role” in actively promoting the kebaya in Singapore.
The heritage board has also embarked on numerous outreach initiatives to engage Singaporeans in the multinational nomination and raise awareness of the kebaya, such as the Love, Kebaya exhibition that was showcased at 10 locations across the island.
A series of kebaya-themed merchandise will also be released in March next year.
NHB has partnered with Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Design and Media to design the merchandise as part of youth engagement efforts.
The public can look forward to keychains featuring various designs of cats clad in kebayas. The items will be released via vending machines at various public locations.
"Members of the public will be able to redeem the merchandise for free (while stocks last) while learning more about kebaya in the process," NHB said.
