The raiers of the Noguera Pallaresa, on the verge of being declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity by Unesco

There are only a few days left to know if the Raiers de la Noguera Pallarosa, a Traditional Festival of National Interest since 2002, will also be declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. I point to yes and the final answer will be known on Thursday, December 1.

At the end of October, the UNESCO Evaluation Body, meeting in Paris, recommended the joint candidacy of Timber Rafting (Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Poland, the country that leads the candidacy) to register on the representative list of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

This candidacy has the best omens for the ancient trade of raiers to be declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity at the 17^th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which will meet from November 27 to December 3 in Rabat, and where it appears in the item on the agenda of the meeting on December 1.

The Association of the Raiers de la Noguera Pallaresa will celebrate the declaration in a joint act with the Town Hall of La Pobla de Segur on Saturday the 3^rd in what will be the new space of the Museum of the Raiers of La Pobla. The central act will be a live radio program with connections to Rabat (Morocco), where the convention for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage is held, and pre-recorded guests from members of raier associations around the world.

The evaluation body considered that the nomination satisfies sufficient criteria for inscription on the representative list. Value is given to aspects such as the fact that this ancient trade was used to transport wood, merchandise and people from the Middle Ages until the beginning of this century.

Also, that the knowledge that involved it, such as the lifestyle that the raiers led for months of the techniques to build rais have been passed from generation to generation through oral and also campus, youth listening, festivals and workshops all over the world.