1. Intangible Cultural Heritage Section
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Frank Proschan
Intangible Cultural Heritage Section
UNESCO
European Parliament – Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages 9 June 2011 – Strasbourg

2. 135 States have ratified the Convention to date
Broad international consensus
135 States have ratified the Convention to date

3. Universal will and common concern
The Convention:
‘consider[s] the importance of the intangible cultural heritage as a mainspring of cultural diversity and a guarantee of sustainable development…’ (Preamble)
‘being aware of the universal will and the common concern to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of humanity…’ (Preamble)

4. Communities, groups and individuals
The Convention:
‘recogniz[es] that communities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals, play an important role in the production, safeguarding, maintenance and recreation of the intangible cultural heritage, thus helping to enrich cultural diversity and human creativity…’ (Preamble)

5. Objectives and purposes of the Convention
Safeguard the intangible cultural heritage
Ensure respect for the ICH of communities
Raise awareness of its importance and ensure mutual appreciation
Provide for international cooperation and assistance

6. Defining intangible cultural heritage
Article 2.1:
The ‘intangible cultural heritage’ means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.

7. Defining intangible cultural heritage
Article 2.1, continued:
This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

8. Defining intangible cultural heritage
Article 2.1, continued:
For the purposes of this Convention, consideration will be given solely to such intangible cultural heritage as is compatible with existing international human rights instruments, as well as with the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups and individuals, and of sustainable development.

9. Safeguarding obligations at the national level
'Take the necessary measures…'
'Identify and define' (i.e., inventory)
Policy and institutional framework
Education, awareness-raising, capacity- building
Ensure the widest possible partici- pation of communities, groups and individuals and involve them actively in management of ICH

10. Two lists, a register and international assistance
List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Register of Best Practices (programmes, projects and activities best reflecting the principles of the Convention)
Financial assistance to support State safeguarding efforts

11. Reciprocal relations (and/or circular definitions)
Recognition & definition; creation, practice and transmission; ownership
Communities, groups, individuals concerned
Intangible cultural heritage
Sense of identity & continuity, enjoyment, self-respect; sustainability, livelihood, etc.

12. Whose heritage is it, anyway?
Convention never refers to ICH belonging to a country, nation or State – rather, it speaks of 'ICH present in its territory'…
…but it does speak of communities, groups and individuals recognizing their cultural heritage.

13. Communities: intentional ambiguity
No precise definition – experts have resisted temptation to seek exactitude
Not intended to imply any particular legal or political status, as may exist within one or another national context
States and the Committee have taken a flexible and not always perfectly consistent approach to identifying community

14. Free, prior and informed consent: a clear standard
Operational Directives require free, prior and informed consent for:
Nominations to the Urgent Safeguarding List or Representative List
Proposals of safeguarding projects to the Register of Best Practices
And encourage it for:
Awareness-raising activities

15. What place for endangered languages?
The art of compromise and the price of broad international consensus:
Art. 2.2: The ‘intangible cultural heritage’, as defined in paragraph 1 above, is manifested inter alia in the following domains: (a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage […]

16. What place for endangered languages?
That provision is generally understood to exclude languages as such from the scope of the Convention…
…but States are of course free to decide otherwise – and the Committee has not yet had to express its understanding.

17. Shared heritage and ICH across borders
Committee is preoccupied to encourage multi-national nominations, where same or similar ICH is practised in more than one State.
Priority given for examination
Mechanism to facilitate joint nominations
Enlargement of existing inscriptions
Cooperation and exchange of research and documentation

18. Shared heritage and ICH across borders
Will cooperation extend to disfavoured minorities and/or Stateless peoples?
Will Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey cooperate to safeguard Kurdish ICH, or to jointly nominate it to a list?
Which European countries will join forces to safeguard ICH of the Roma?

19. A Convention of and for the 21st century
Convention adopted in 2003
Entered into force in 2006
Operational Directives in 2008
Time will tell whether the Convention realizes the aspirations of its drafters, their universal will and their common concern.

20. Intangible Cultural Heritage 1, rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15
UNESCO
1, rue Miollis Paris Cedex 15
France
Frank Proschan