Reggae Music Now Protected As International Cultural Treasure By UNESCO

Reggae music is now protected as a global cultural treasure by UNESCO. Reggae has influenced pop, hip-hop and likely every other genre of music. 

Additionally, it has cultivated and inspired various lifestyles and social activities from chilling on the beach, meditating, to smoking a joint with your friends. Since the 1960s, Reggae has quickly become a part of society’s ever-growing culture, which is why UNESCO, the United Nation’s cultural and scientific agency, has decided to make the genre a global cultural treasure. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) works to connect nations through an international corporation in education, the sciences and culture.

Reggae will join the list of UNESCO’s more than 300 protected cultural traditions like the Spanish art-form flamenco, Mongolian knuckle-bone shooting, and yoga in India. UNESCO refers to the list as “intangible cultural heritage.” Reggae music’s “functions as a vehicle of social commentary, as a cathartic experience, and means of praising God remain unchanged, and the music continues to provide a voice for all,” UNESCO said.⠀

“Students are taught how to play it from an early age, and festivals and concerts are central to ensuring its viability,” it added. As stated, reggae was started in the 1960s by artists like #BobMarley and Toots and the Maytals; it was known as the sound that gave a voice to the oppressed Jamaica, according to CNN. Reggae moved to an international level and became popular in Britain and the U.S. where many Jamaicans relocated following World War II.