The BRICS Culture Working Group's June 5 discussions in Varanasi addressed both the return of cultural property and possible joint nominations under UNESCO programmes.
These are different forms of cooperation. A discussion about returning an object concerns its custody and restitution; a joint nomination concerns recognition and safeguarding through a particular programme. One does not automatically accomplish the other.
The meeting named World Heritage, intangible heritage and Memory of the World. UNESCO's Memory of the World programme focuses on documentary heritage, including preservation, access and awareness.
The documentary strand brings archives and recorded material into cooperation alongside monuments and intangible heritage.
