Will Congolese rumba join the Unesco world heritage list?

The Democratic Republic of Congo has given the official kick-off to a campaign to put Congolese rumba, one of the most popular forms of music in Africa, on Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

King of Congolese rumba Papa Wemba helped bring rumba to a world audience. © AFP/STR

The bid is being pushed by both the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its smaller neighbour, the Republic of Congo, also called Congo-Brazzaville.

Culture minister Catherine Kathungu Furaha, in a ceremony in Kinshasa on Tuesday, called for Congolese embassies, universities, schools and social networks to throw their weight behind the effort.

Rumba "has been part of our identity, descendants of Africa and all of us, throughout the ages," she said.

The application to put rumba on the Unesco World Heritage list was lodged last year.

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The director general of the National Institute of the Arts, Andre Yoka Lye Mudaba, who is chairing the campaign committee, said work now lay in a "promotion and lobbying phase" which would unfold over the coming months.

Congolese band Bakolo Music International at the Rio Loco festival in Toulouse, southwestern France. © RFI

Congolese rumba developed in the Congo River basin in the 1940s, was inspired by Latin and Caribbean music.

It gained widespread popularity in the 1960s and 70s, developing spinoffs, including a high-tempo version called soukous.

The Cuban strain of rumba was admitted to the Unesco list in 2016.