UNESCO Intangible Heritage Research Articles

Holiday as an element of the intangible cultural heritage

The purpose of the article is to analyze the main parameters according to which the holiday is classified as an intangible cultural heritage. Research methodology. General scientific and special methods of research analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison are used. The use of scientific approaches integrated with culturology, history, and ethnography testifies to the interdisciplinarity of the research. The scientific novelty is to determine the main characteristics of the holidays as intangible cultural heritage and analyze the experience of their inclusion in the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List. Conclusions. Intangible cultural heritage is an intangible element of culture, mostly traditional, all that can be considered the spiritual and intellectual achievements of the people. Intangible cultural heritage includes holidays embodied in relevant cultural practices, which may have the most stable and unconditional parameters, enshrined in the minds of people as carriers of historical experience, ethnocultural identity, and various socio-cultural practices that allow distinguishing cultures from each other. The main significance of the holidays, which are already included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, is the preservation of traditions, communication, uniting communities around common rituals and values, passing on the relevant experience to the next generation. Key words: holiday, intangible cultural heritage, Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, communicativeness, traditions.

Food incursions into global heritage: Peruvian cuisine's slippery road to UNESCO

This article provides critical engagement with cultural heritage-making processes conducted by stakeholders and interest groups within the UNESCO's intangible heritage paradigm. By tracking the road of Peru's cuisine to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (the ICH List) and focusing on the turning points during food's shift from culinary to heritage status, the aim is to shed light on the political and economic forces that shape the meanings of food heritage. This article draws on recent research conducted at the intersection of globalisation with cultural and food politics in Peru. The empirical evidence, collected between 2011 and 2014 from individuals directly implicated in Peru's food heritage-making, allows for a discussion of how, despite a discursive emphasis on cultural continuity and intercultural dialogue, food incursions into the UNESCO intangible cultural paradigm operate more as an elite-driven competitive global concept than as a tool for cultural safeguarding and inclusive development. To do so, a description of the backgrounds that led to the rise of food heritage awareness in Peru and an account of the evolution of the candidature of Peruvian cuisine to the UNESCO's ICH List are provided.

The Unesco Intangible Heritage as Input for the Development of Rural Areas: A Theoretical Model for the Valorization of the Mediterranean Diet

The study aims to identify guidelines for defining a model of cultural planning, oriented to the development of the city of Reggio Calabria as a metropolitan centre. It will focus specifically on the rural areas, to provide an integrated plan for the advancement of cultural identity. This study develops a theoretical operating model for the valorization of the Mediterranean diet. The methodology consists of a preliminary fact-finding investigation. The second step involves the selection of municipalities able to apply best practices in the area in order to promote the Mediterranean Diet.