Today, Sevdalinka is officially inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and thus recognized as a global symbol of cultural heritage. This is a milestone in the preservation and promotion of the traditional urban song, known for its emotional lyrics and melodies.
The Federal Minister of Culture and Sport, Sanja Vlaisavljević, emphasized that the process of inscribing Sevdalinka on the UNESCO list had been lengthy, but thanks to dedicated efforts, all five criteria were met.
“We went through the not-so-easy requirements that UNESCO places on states when they fill out the application forms for inclusion in this prestigious, representative list. The whole process took several years,” said Vlaisavljević.
Sevdalinka as part of the world’s cultural mosaic
By being included in the representative list, Sevdalinka becomes part of the world’s cultural mosaic as a worthy representative of the culture of our peoples and the richness of the intangible heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Assistant to the Federal Minister of Culture and Sport, Mirela Miličević-Šečić, said that our country has so far included six elements in the UNESCO list, three of which are nomination documents prepared by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport.
“We are talking about wood carving from Konjic, the custom of mowing in Kupres, and now Sevdalinka has also been found there. A prerequisite for all registered elements is that the proposed element is entered in the list in the home country, and Sevdalinka has fulfilled this first condition. After the Association of Music Artists from Tuzla presented the initiative, the preparation of the document was started, which was demanding. The most important segment is the support and approval of the Sevdalinka bearers, which was demonstrated by the large number of songs we collected for this nomination,” said Miličević-Šečić.
“The inclusion of Sevdalinka in the UNESCO list has opened many doors”
Professional support in the preparation of the nomination document was provided by the academic community, which is one of the reasons why Sevdalinka was included in the curricula of our country’s education system. Full professor of the Sarajevo Academy of Music, Tamara Karača-Beljak, said that the whole process was realized on the basis of previous research.
“We are happy that we have met all the criteria, and without the support of the sponsors and interpreters of the Sevdalinka, nothing would have come of it. The inclusion of Sevdalinka opened many doors for us and showed us that other traditional music forms of Bosnia and Herzegovina can also be included on the same representative UNESCO list,” said Karača-Beljak.
The nomination of Sevdalinka showed the efforts to preserve cultural heritage and its transmission to new generations and was also supported by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its importance was recognized by local experts and the international community, which sees Sevdalinka as a universal expression of human emotions and traditions.
The whole process will be finalized in a few hours and made official when Sevdalinka will be on the agenda of the 19th UNESCO session in Paraguay.
