Unesco listing of Thai folk dance proposed

Encouraged by reports that Malaysia had put forward its Makyong dance-drama for world intangible listing, Nipit said he had instructed the Office of the National Culture Commission to study the idea.

However, ONCC secretary-general Somchai Seanglai warned that official listing was not possible because Thailand had not joined a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation convention designed to safeguard intangible cultural heritage items.

But there was a possibility of registering the Manora dance when information and opinions had been gathered from academics and artists, as well as declaration of the Manora as a Thai intangible cultural heritage item. The ONCC would then submit the dance for Unesco registration, after Thailand's ratification of the convention.