UNESCO’s work on intangible cultural heritage commenced at the beginning of the seventies, and included cooperation with WIPO on the elaboration of model provisions on the protection of expressions of folklore in 1982, and the conduct of meetings including the Phuket Forum on folklore, followed by four regional meetings in 1999.
Parmi les domaines qui appellent une coopération étroite de la part des deux institutions, figure la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel, qui constitue également une des priorités pour l’UNESCO.