Yo-de-lay-UNESCO? Swiss hope for yodel heritage listing
Lucerne, SWITZERLAND: Unesco’s Intergovernmental Committee, the United Nations’ cultural body, is meeting from Monday (today) to Saturday to consider nominations for the “Intangible Cultural Heritage List”, including Switzerland’s bid to add yodeling. The committee is responsible for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The primary purpose is to assess and inscribe new cultural traditions and expressions from around the world on the World Heritage Lists. Switzerland is hoping to get yodeling recognized by the UN to protect the alpine nation’s ancestral song tradition of herders and shepherds. The country currently has around 12,000 enthusiastic yodellers,
