Challenges of Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Elements Listed in the Urgent Safeguarding and Representative Lists of the 2003 ICH Convention

Abstract

Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage also known as ‘living heritage’ has been debate that has dominated the international community for a couple of decades prior to the adoption of an international legal instrument – the 2003 ICH Convention. The Convention widely known as the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into existence in 2003. The adoption of the convention became a milestone in the evolution of international policies for promoting cultural diversity, since for the first time the international community had recognized the need to support the kind of cultural manifestations and expressions that until then had not benefited from such a large legal and programmatic framework, UNESCO, (2010). Complementary to other international instruments dealing with cultural heritage, such as the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the main goal of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is to safeguard the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. Such heritage may be manifested in domains such as oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices about nature and universe, and traditional craftsmanship. This definition provided in Article 2 of the Convention also includes the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated with intangible cultural heritage, UNESCO, (2011).