UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Name	UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Established	2003
Type	Cultural heritage register
Location	Paris, Organization headquarters

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage is a global programme administered by an international organization based in Paris that aims to recognize and support living traditions, performing arts, rituals, and craftsmanship transmitted within communities. The programme operates alongside other heritage mechanisms such as the World Heritage Convention and engages with states, non-governmental organizations, and research institutions to identify and protect practices facing threats from modernization, conflict, and climate change.

Overview and Purpose

The initiative was adopted after deliberations by member states at meetings of delegates linked to the United Nations and emerged from negotiations involving diplomats from France, China, and Mali that built on earlier instruments like the Hague Convention and conventions overseen by bodies such as the International Labour Organization and the Council of Europe. Its stated purpose aligns with aims promoted by agencies including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund when cultural sustainability intersects with development projects in regions such as the Sahel, the Balkans, and the Pacific Islands. Key stakeholders include ministries of culture from countries like Japan, India, Senegal, and Mexico, research centers at universities such as Sorbonne, Harvard, and Kyoto University, and NGOs like ICOMOS, ICOM, and the International Council on Archives.

Criteria and Nomination Process

Inscription requires states parties to submit nominations prepared by cultural authorities such as national commissions for UNESCO, ministries led by ministers from cabinets in capitals like Tokyo, New Delhi, Brasília, and Pretoria, often with input from institutions like the British Museum, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution. Evaluation is carried out by expert bodies composed of scholars from institutions such as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Leiden University, and the University of Cape Town, and by committees that include representatives from countries like China, Kenya, France, and Canada. Criteria involve demonstrating links to communities such as those in Oaxaca, Kyoto, Timbuktu, and Varanasi, proving transmission among practitioners like masons in Florence, weavers in Oaxaca, drummers in Dakar, and storytellers in Baghdad, and outlining safeguarding plans coordinated with entities like UNICEF, WHO, and FAO.

Lists and Representative Elements

The programme maintains inventories similar to registers administered by entities such as the League of Nations (historical), the European Union cultural listings, and national registries managed by parliaments in Canberra, Bogotá, and Ottawa. Representative elements include practices from many places: Japanese Gagaku court music, Korean Pansori, Chinese Kunqu opera, Indian Yoga, Mexican Day of the Dead, Brazilian Capoeira, Spanish Flamenco, Turkish Mevlevi Sema Ceremony, French Gastronomy, and Moroccan Gnawa music, and craft traditions from places like Murano glassmakers and Navajo weavers. Elements span regions represented by capitals such as Rome, Beijing, New Delhi, Cairo, and Seoul, and involve communities including the Sami in Scandinavia, Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Basque in Bilbao, and Inuit in Nunavut.

Safeguarding Measures and International Cooperation

Safeguarding measures draw on models used by organizations like the International Organization for Migration, the World Meteorological Organization, and regional bodies such as ASEAN, the African Union, and the Organization of American States. Practical measures involve training programs at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dance, partnerships with museums like the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and capacity-building supported by foundations like the Ford Foundation and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Cooperation includes bilateral agreements between states such as Japan and the Republic of Korea, multilateral projects funded by the European Commission and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, and emergency safeguarding when heritage is threatened in contexts linked to conflicts like in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Palestine.

Controversies and Criticisms

Critiques echo debates seen in disputes over listings by institutions such as the World Heritage Committee and have involved controversies between states like China and Taiwan, India and Pakistan, and Armenia and Azerbaijan over claims tied to heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, Kashmir, and Jerusalem. Scholars from universities including Oxford, Columbia, and the University of Tokyo have questioned issues of authenticity raised in cases involving UNESCO-linked listings, while human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized processes that marginalize minority communities like Rohingya, Uighur, and Kurds. Other criticisms involve commercialization similar to tensions around places like Machu Picchu and Venice, legal questions debated in courts in Strasbourg and The Hague, and allegations of politicization paralleling disputes in the United Nations General Assembly.

Impact and Case Studies

Empirical studies conducted by centers at Stanford, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Cape Town show varying impacts: increased tourism in sites related to the Wayang puppet theatre, economic benefits for artisans of the Maracas tradition in Trinidad and Tobago, and revitalization of musical forms such as Fado in Portugal. Case studies include community-driven revitalization of Hula in Hawaiʻi supported by the Bishop Museum, transmission programs for Kabuki in Tokyo schools, and resilience projects for manuscript traditions in Timbuktu involving the Ahmed Baba Institute and international partners including the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Policy analyses from the United Nations Development Programme and the International Centre for Cultural Policy demonstrate outcomes in cultural diplomacy involving states such as Italy, Peru, Senegal, and Iran.

Category:Cultural heritage lists