20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee India will host the 20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage from 8 to 13 December 2025 in New Delhi. About Intergovernmental Committee UNESCO defines Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) as the practices, knowledge, expressions, objects, and spaces that communities recognize as integral to their cultural identity. For the Safeguarding of ICH, UNESCO adopted the 2003 Convention on 17th October 2003 during its 32nd General Conference in Paris. Membership: It has 24 members who are elected for a term of four years. The election of new members takes place every two years during the ordinary session of the General Assembly of States Parties. India is currently a member of the committee (2022-2026). 150 Years of Vande Mataram Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee on 7 November 1875. Music composed by Rabindranath Tagore. Declared National Song on 24 January 1950. Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo started a newspaper titled “Vande Mataram.” Mahatma Gandhi adopted it as the national song in O. Chidambaram Pillai (VOC) inscribed the name “Vande Mataram” on a Swadeshi ship in 1907. Subramania Bharathi translated Vande Mataram into Tamil.
