The ministry clarified the position regarding the application of  Azerbaijan to include the balaban in the UNESCO list

ArmInfo.The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia has clarified its position regarding the application of Azerbaijan and  Turkey to include the balaban in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural  Heritage List. Balaban is a reed wooden wind musical instrument,  which, like the Armenian duduk, can also be made from apricot wood.  Some saw in this application an encroachment on the duduk, but the  ministry recalls that this Armenian instrument was included in the  UNESCO List back in 2008.

An application for including the balaban in the UNESCO list was  initiated by Azerbaijan back in 2012, but the process was suspended,  and consideration of the application is planned only for 2021.  Meanwhile, the ministry recalls that registration of an application  does not imply the ownership of a particular country for a particular  element. In this case, only cultural manifestations and features of  this element, its prevalence and use by communities, groups or  individuals in the country that submitted the application are noted.

As for the duduk, both the instrument itself and its music are one of  the characteristic manifestations of the Armenian folk culture. In  recent years, many programs have been implemented to preserve and  popularize the duduk, including local and international festivals,  flash mobs and other events. So, a flash mob launched in the French  city of Grenoble <Let's dance Kochari> this year is dedicated to the  duduk, and is aimed at identifying talented dudukists.