Morocco launched on Monday a nationwide consultation for a UNESCO project that aims to publish, for the very first time, an International Atlas of Food Heritage, as well as a digital platform for safeguarding, promoting and transmitting food heritage to future generations.
According to a press release from the United Nations, this innovative project, financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and carried out in collaboration with the Moroccan Department of Culture, is part of the implementation of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted in 2003. It strives to map, document and transmit the world's food traditions, acknowledging them as a key living heritage to cultural diversity, sustainable development and social cohesion.
Morocco, with its exceptional culinary heritage, is one of the countries selected for the pilot phase of the project, which will pave the way for publication of the first version of the Atlas by end 2027. This first stage will involve identifying traditional food practices and building local capacity to safeguard them.
Five of the fifteen Moroccan elements inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage lists are linked to food practices, namely the Sefrou Cherry Festival or the practices associated with the Argan tree.
“By actively participating in UNESCO's Food Atlas project, Morocco is highlighting the richness of its culinary traditions as a living expression of its intangible heritage. Alongside local communities, it is working to preserve know-how handed down from generation to generation, stating the profound link between food, cultural identity and sustainable development”, Director of Cultural Heritage Mustapha Jlok said, quoted in the release.
MAP: 21 avril 2025
