IRNA - Associate Professor of Law at the University of Shahid Beheshti in Tehran and a consultant to UNESCO described handicrafts as an important Iranian intangible heritage.

Janet Blake made the remarks here Tuesday at the day-long Training Workshop for Journalists Reporting on Intangible Cultural Heritage that was held at IRNA central office.

About the goals of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which Iran joined in 2006, Dr. Blake said the committee of that Convention is following up 'safeguarding the heritage and raising awareness' of it.

As she said, it also seeks preservation of the diversity of cultures around the world.

According to Shahid Beheshti University website, Ms. Blake is also a member of the Cultural Heritage Law Committee of the International Law Association and has acted as an International Consultant to UNESCO since 1999, mostly in the field of intangible cultural heritage and implementing the 2003 Convention.

According to UNESCO website, the term �cultural heritage� has changed content considerably in recent decades, partially owing to the instruments developed by UNESCO.

Cultural heritage does not end at monuments and collections of objects. It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.