General
Corso Valkenswaard on the International Intangible Heritage list of Unesco
As of Thursday 16 December 2021, the Dutch national corso culture and therefore also Corso Valkenswaard will officially belong to the ‘International Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity’.
Unesco's worldwide recognition has definitely been a team effort of dozens of flower parades in the Netherlands. The Corso Dome (a partnership and spokesperson for 30 Dutch flower and fruit parades) submitted a nomination at the beginning of 2020 with input from Corso Valkenswaard, Knowledge Center Intangible Heritage Netherlands (KIEN) and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Intangible heritage
Since 2013, Corso Valkenswaard has been recognized as National Intangible Heritage, and the organization is therefore very proud with the worldwide recognition.
Chair Gabriella Buijs: “It is great that our flower parade tradition (together with the other parades in the Netherlands) has received such great worldwide recognition. The corso culture lives on from generation to generation and is cherished by a large community within Valkenswaard. On behalf of the board of the ‘Bloemencorso Valkenswaard’, I would like to thank all the parade friends and all the parade enthusiasts. Thanks to your enormous dedication, special creativity and insane perseverance, Corso Valkenswaard has today been added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. We really make Corso together!”
The purpose of the Intangible Heritage List is to protect customs, rituals and crafts for the future and to promote the appreciation of intangible heritage. To be included on the international UNESCO list, the heritage must have strong support within a community that explicitly supports the nomination. It also has to move with the times to stay alive.
Spotlights on Valkenswaard
There is a unique situation for the municipality of Valkenswaard. In addition to Corso Valkenswaard, the Falconry has also been added to the Unesco International Intangible Heritage list. Valkenswaard owes its name to falconry and was once the most important center of falconry in Europe. Valkenswaard has gained two Unesco recognitions in one fell swoop!
More information about the Flower Parade Valkenswaard:
Robin Wijnen (PR & Communicatie)
communicatie@corsovalkenswaard.nl
