1 December 2016 - The Batana Ecomuseum project from Rovinj was included into the UNESCO Register of Good Safeguarding Practices for the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of the world at the meeting of UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 28 November to 2 December 2016.

Besides Rovinj batana, seven proposals have been submitted for the selection on the Register in 2016. So far, only 12 practices for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage from all over the world have been selected on the UNESCO Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.

The Batana project represents a unique approach to the preservation of the total material and non-material heritage of Rovinj, initiated by the local community and based on development projects that have been implemented over the years in cooperation with experts, starting with conservator Dragana Lucija Ratković, who has devised the foundation of the project. Batana is listed in the Register of Cultural Assets of the Republic of Croatia since 2008.

This exceptional engagement of the champions of Rovinj's traditional heritage is supported by the City of Rovinj and the Ministry of Culture. Various activities are carried out to protect and preserve the craftsmanship of this traditional wooden boat, traditional songs called the bitinadas, local speech, the making of various traditional usage objects and other traditional values. Such a comprehensive approach that involves the project proponents, experts and expert institutions, as well as governmental and local authorities, has resulted in the long-standing and continuous preservation of Rovinj's cultural heritage, and the quality promotion of the Rovinj heritage in Croatia and abroad.

The international institutions and experts, with whom the cooperation was established prior to submitting the proposal, backed the nomination, among them the University of Newcastle from the UK, European association of traditional ships European Maritime Heritage, museums from Pesaro, Venice, and others.

Representatives of the Republic of Croatia also participated in the session: Assistant Minister of Culture Davor Trupković, Chief Secretary of the Croatian Committee for UNESCO Rut Carek, Senior Advisor - Conservator at the Department for Movable, Ethnographic and Intangible Cultural Heritage Mirela Hrovatin, and Professional Program Manager of the Batana Ecomuseum Tamara Nikolić Đerić, who worked on the preparation of the nomination.

(source: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia)