INTERNATIONAL MEETING SEEKS TO DEFINE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE TO BE PROTECTED

Grinzane Cavour Castle, Piemonte (Italy), March 14 (No.2001-41) - A 4-day international roundtable entitled Intangible Cultural Heritage: Working Definitions opened today in the Castle of Grinzane Cavour near Turin with the aim of fine-tuning the terminology to be used in promoting the protection of intangible cultural heritage, possibly through the creation of an international standard-setting instrument which will be submitted for adoption to UNESCO’s Member States.

The roundtable, bringing together leading experts of different disciplines and regions, was opened by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, who announced that he will proclaim, on May 18, a first list of intangible cultural heritage drawn from submissions by nearly 40 countries.

The submissions were made at the invitation of UNESCO’s Programme for the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The proclamation will be based on the recommendations of an international jury that will meet from May 14 to 18. Submissions have revolved around religious events, cultural spaces, languages, social institutions and musical instruments, the Director-General said.

In his address, Mr Matsuura stressed that “intangible cultural heritage is gaining increasing recognition worldwide for the fundamental role it plays in our lives in the maintenance and enhancement of cultural identity and diversity.” He also highlighted the “ubiquitous nature” of such heritage and stressed that “many of its expressions such as language, traditional values and know-how are fundamental to cultural identity and ways of life.”

But, he cautioned: “Intangible heritage worldwide urgently requires increasing protection in order to ensure its continuity and development. This is largely due to the specific nature of that heritage, which covers the most fundamental yet vulnerable aspects of living culture and tradition, most often embodied in the spiritual life, knowledge, skills and processes of an individual or a community. […] The trends towards cultural homogenization which we witness in so many facets of life today can present a threat to the survival of many unique forms of cultural expression.”

The Director-General highlighted UNESCO’s role as the only organization within the United Nations to have a mandate in culture to promote a standard-setting instrument in this field and said that this would be “the most effective means of encouraging Member States to engage in urgent actions for the protection of intangible heritage, as witnessed by the example of the World Heritage Convention.”

Mr Matsuura further announced that he would submit a preliminary study on the advisability of developing an instrument for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage at the next session of UNESCO’s Executive Board (May-June 2001). “While it is up to Member States to decide whether to go on to adopt regulatory instruments at national level, we must provide a solid basis for their informed consideration of the issues involved,” he said.

UNESCO has been leading international efforts to gain recognition for the need to protect intangible heritage for some 20 years. In 1998 it launched its Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Programme to draw the attention of Member States to their intangible cultural heritage. Through this programme, UNESCO encourages Member States to compile inventories of their intangible cultural heritage and assists them in establishing safeguarding strategies.

The roundtable discussions will take place in four specialized sessions. They will notably focus on terminology, the preliminary study of the advisability of regulating the protection of traditional culture and folklore through an international standard-setting instrument, and the identification of values to be safeguarded through UNESCO. In the closing session, the President of the International Roundtable, Professor Francesco Francioni, Vice Rector of the University of Siena, who is a former Chairperson of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, will present the conclusions of the roundtable and an action plan for the development of a strategy and programme on intangible cultural heritage.

During the meeting, UNESCO and the Italian Grinzane Cavour Foundation which is hosting the roundtable will conclude an agreement regarding areas of common interest relating to intangible heritage in which the two wish to continue collaborating.

 

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