September 12 has been declared National Heritage Day.

This was announced by the President’s Office on Tuesday.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih reached the decision to declare September 12 of every year as National Heritage Day following a meeting held with his Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday.

Deliberations were held on a paper presented by the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage during Tuesday’s meeting.

The paper shed light on the lack of comprehensive legislative framework as one of the most significant problems faced in previous efforts to protect and preserve heritage sites and artefacts, at national and international levels.

Presenting the paper, Heritage Minister Yumna Maumoon highlighted that it was best to establish September 12 as National Heritage Day as the incumbent administration ed the Cultural Heritage Act No. 12/2019 (Maldives Cultural Heritage Act) on 12 September 2019.

The ratification to the Maldives Cultural Heritage Act in questions, ensures the documentation, preservation and protection of Maldivian Cultural Heritage.

Further, the paper goes on to state that proclaiming a national Heritage Day is a crucial step to ensure that the heritage inherited by forbearers gets passed on to future generations.