9724 proposals have ended up in the Minister of Culture’s inbox since Jakob Engel-Schmidt (M) called for the best bids on unique Danish cultural heritage before Christmas.
The Minister of Culture asked for proposals for special Danish traditions, customs or skills that can qualify for the UN’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
Several thousand Danes have submitted their proposals, which, according to the minister, shows great interest in the matter.
– I am incredibly positively surprised that so many have followed the call and expressed their opinion.
– It tells me that there are a lot of people who want to take part in the debate about what our living cultural heritage consists of, says Jakob Engel-Schmidt.
Voting began on 23 December and closed on 8 January.
The Minister of Culture himself suggested the hot dog culture, smørrebrød, hygge and folk high schools when he started his – in his own words – public hearing.
The next step is for a selection committee consisting of the actor Ghita Nørby, the TV host and author Søren Ryge Petersen and the minister himself to review the submitted proposals and make a gross list.
Danes will then be invited to vote on the proposals.
After that, Jakob Engel-Schmidt will go to Unesco, the UN’s cultural organization, to get the most popular proposals included in the cultural heritage list.
Today, Denmark and the Commonwealth are sparsely represented on the list of intangible cultural heritage from Unesco.
Greenlandic drum dance is on the list. The same is the Nordic tradition of building ships according to the clinker boat method.
Question: Why do you want the Danes to relate to colleges and hygge in a time when the world seems more troubled than ever before?
– When the world is in flames, it is precisely important to remember what it is to be Danish. What has shaped us as people and as a country, and what our parents have passed on to us. All that is more important than ever before, says Jakob Engel-Schmidt.
The plan is that the best proposals will be sent to a vote “before winter turns to spring”, as the minister puts it.
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
