Beer culture in Belgium becomes UNESCO intangible cultural heritage

2016 was a historic year for the Federation. At the end of November, UNESCO decided to include Belgium’s beer culture as intangible cultural heritage in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

On the 30th of November, UNESCO decided in Addis Abeba (Ethiopia) that Belgian beer culture deserves a place in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Obviously, the federation of Belgian Brewers was very happy with this positive news. UNESCO’s recognition signifies an important moral boost for Belgian beer culture and rewards everyone who has worked hard to keep this rich culture alive.

“Intangible cultural heritage encompasses all traditions, customs, social practices and skills that we cherish today and want to pass on to the next generations, and which express cultural identity and diversity”, according to UNESCO. Belgian beer culture is therefore rightfully included in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. After all, this culture is a tradition that is celebrated in the entire country since time immemorial right up to the present day. Beer in Belgium has had a fixed place in bars, at people’s homes, at parties and events, in Belgian cooking and in so many other places. The beer culture is therefore part of Belgium’s identity and cultural heritage. 

Belgian beer, the breweries and the beer culture are so closely interlinked with society that it has also become an unalienable part of Belgian identity. Belgian beers bring the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels people together in a shared and common identity. UNESCO has now also officially acknowledged that unique connection between beer and Belgium as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Belgian beer culture is more alive than ever thanks to the creativity of the brewers, the choice of ingredients and the different brewing methods.

The German language community submitted the request to UNESCO on behalf of Belgium’s three communities, with the support of brewers’ organizations, beer tasting associations, beer promoters, specialized NGOs and training institutes. The assessment of the dossier took one and a half years. Moreover, the dossier was one of very few that passed the strict selection procedure. The numerous activities of various organizations and institutions which guarantee

Belgian beer culture’s long-term survival convinced UNESCO to acknowledge Belgian beer culture. Its decision explicitly referred to the fact that the beer culture is continually adapting to changing society and that the necessary measures are put in place to combat excessive alcohol use.

A toast was made in the Brewers’ house on the Grand-Place in Brussels to celebrate this memorable news in the presence of the Ministers of Culture, Isabelle Weykmans, Alda Greoli and Sven Gatz, of the German-speaking, French and Flemish communities respectively and Rudi Vervoort, the Prime Minister of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Intangible Cultural Heritage. The certificate was officially handed over in 2017.

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