Armenian Duduk Listed in UNESCO's Register Since 2008: Ministry of Education

The music of the Armenian duduk was recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity back in 2005, and in 2008, the element titled 'Duduk and Its Music' was included in UNESCO's representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

This information was provided by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of the Republic of Armenia, responding to recent reports claiming that Turkey and Azerbaijan intend to include the duduk in the UNESCO list.

The ministry emphasized that the duduk is a characteristic manifestation of the Armenian musical cultural heritage and that its music is not only widespread and vibrant in instrumental performance art but also within society, in families, communities, and various cultural and educational organizations.

In recent years, numerous projects have been initiated to preserve, transmit, and promote the duduk, with local and international festivals, flash mobs, and various events being organized. One such example is the flash mob 'Let's Dance Kochari,' which has kicked off in Grenoble, France, this year dedicated to the duduk, revealing talented duduk players and making the sound of the Armenian duduk recognizable worldwide.

With the goal of registering in UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2021, two countries, Azerbaijan and Turkey, submitted a joint application titled 'The Art and Craft of Balaban Performance.' Azerbaijan had previously submitted a request to UNESCO for the registration of the musical instrument known as balaban back in 2012, but the process was halted and placed on the list of pending applications. It will only be presented to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021, pending a positive assessment from independent experts.

It is also noteworthy that according to the convention, the registration of any element in the intangible cultural heritage lists by a given country does not imply ownership rights over that element. Recognizing an element in the list acknowledges the cultural expressions, characteristics, and viability of the element as reflected by communities, groups, or individual bearers in that country (or in the case of multinational applications, in those countries).