The Department of Archaeology and National Museum has announced that Myanmar’s Thanaka culture has been initially included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

A draft decision by the UNESCO Evaluation Body has been submitted, recommending the inscription of Myanmar’s Thanaka culture on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

According to the draft decision, the Committee has assessed that the nomination of Thanaka culture meets the required criteria. The assessment took into account factors including the role of Thanaka in the daily lives of Myanmar people, its transmission from generation to generation, and efforts to safeguard the tradition.

Myanmar’s Thanaka culture represents balance, care and solidarity in the daily lives of its practitioners and plays an important role in religious ceremonies, festivals and social activities. Knowledge and skills related to Thanaka are passed down within families, while training activities and cultural programmes also help sustain the tradition. Communities, practitioners, growers, sellers, educational institutions and government departments are working together to safeguard Thanaka culture through educational programmes, community festivals and media activities. The nomination dossier was prepared through a national inventory and workshops involving social organizations, cultural associations and people from various regions. Free, prior and informed consent was also obtained from the relevant stakeholders, according to the department.

Thanaka culture was included in Myanmar’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in March 2020. The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and the Department of Archaeology and National Museum have been regularly updating the inventory every two years. The department also stated that efforts are continuing to secure the inscription of Myanmar’s Thanaka culture on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Myanmar submitted its nomination of Thanaka culture for inclusion in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2025.