Ethiopian officials want to see over a dozen heritage practices and sites inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) after a submission to have a girls' festival held in the north listed last year was withdrawn.

An annual three-day traditional girls' festival in August, celebrated in the Amhara and Tigray regional states, goes by different names: Ashenda, Shadey or Solel. It corresponds with the end of a two-week fasting period commemorated by the followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Although it has religious overtones, the festival has evolved into a cultural ritual and a popular attraction in recent years.

In early 2019, tourism bureaus from the Amhara and Tigray regional states petitioned the Authority for Research & Conservation of Cultural Heritage, under Mulugeta Fisseha (PhD), to have the festivals inscribed by UNESCO. Last September, the Authority filed a formal request before UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Countries can request intangible heritage practices be included in the nomination list every two years, while tangible heritage sites are eligible every year. Six African countries, including Ethiopia and Djibouti, comprise the committee's 24 members. Its primary purpose is to review applications submitted by governments for the inscription of intangible heritage. In the days leading up to the committee's session held virtually at the end of 2021, the Authority decided to withdraw its application.

The withdrawal was prompted by fears of nonacceptance, which would jeopardise future attempts for the inscription of the heritage practice, according to Andualem Girmay, cultural heritage research director at the Authority. Members of the sub-committee who reviewed the nomination of the girls' festival had expressed concerns over insufficient information on the festival's compatibility with human rights and its relation to gender equality. Their report also indicated the application failed to demonstrate how the festival's inscription would contribute to its growth.

“There was no need to wait for the final decision once we'd seen the report,” said Andualem.

The festival would have been Ethiopia's fifth intangible world heritage practice listed by UNESCO if it had been accepted. Ethiopia has four traditional festivities registered by UNESCO in the six years since 2013: Mesqel and Timket; Fichee-Chambalaalla, a new year festival observed in the Sidama Regional State; and Gadaa, a traditional governance system.

Andualem says the nomination for the girls' festival failed partly due to a lack of support and lobbying from the committee members. An Ethiopian delegation led by Henok Teferra, Ethiopia’s ambassador to France, where UNESCO is headquartered, had tried to convince representatives of other countries to support Ethiopia’s bid. Members of the review committee were unable to visit the country and attend the festivals due to the COVID-19 restrictions on travel and the civil war raging in the north affecting the two regional states.

The delegation advised the Authority to withdraw the submission, according to Andualem.

“If the evaluators were to visit, they'd have seen concerns they raised could be addressed," he said.