Session 2: Safeguarding Measures for ICH and Examples of Best Practices

Safeguarding ICH is to take deliberate actions to reinforce the viability of ICH elements, i.e., to ensure that they are continuously practised and transmitted as well as to maintain their values and functions for the communities concerned (UNESCO, 2016b). This session briefly introduces the safeguarding measures mentioned in the 2003 Convention and provides examples of how these measures are implemented.

 
Identification and Definition

Identifying and defining ICH elements are processes that lead to the creation of ICH inventories which provide a basis for the formulation of ICH safeguarding plans. Identification means naming the ICH element and briefly describing it, whereas definition gives a fuller description of the ICH element (UNESCO, 2016b).

Singapore’s ICH inventory (National Heritage Board, 2021) consists of about a hundred ICH elements, each named according to how it is called by the community concerned and categorised into its respective domain. An introduction is given for each ICH element, and the geographical location as well as the communities concerned are identified. The ICH element’s present status and its associated social and cultural practices are also mentioned. Practitioners, heritage experts and members of the public are engaged to keep the inventory regularly updated. Citizens are invited to identify additional elements to be included and submit their contributions via an online form on the inventory webpage and National Heritage Board will follow up.

 
Documentation

Documentation involves recording the current condition of ICH in tangible forms such as transcripts and audiovisual materials as well as collecting the relevant documents. Such records are often kept in libraries, archives or websites and made accessible to the public, but it should also be respected if accessibility is limited and regulated by customary practices (UNESCO, 2016b).

In Bangladesh, a community-led, digital and online ICH-pedia has been created by an NGO Shadhona with the support of young students and academics in documenting and inventorying ICH practices of Bangladesh (Consortium for ICH-Pedia Bangladesh, 2020). The Inventory is accessible online on Shadhona’s website.

 
Research

Research explores ICH elements’ functions, practice, transmission, features and history. It can be helpful for designing safeguarding and management plans (UNESCO, 2016b).

The International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI), which acts as a research hub for related institutions in the region, instigates and coordinates research into practices and methodologies of safeguarding ICH. Its research projects cover legal mechanisms related to ICH, ICH’s contribution to sustainable development, and the impact of natural disasters on ICH, etc. It has also established a research database for the region (IRCI, 2022).

 
Preservation and Protection

Preservation refers to the efforts of communities and culture bearers to maintain continuity of the practices of the ICH, whereas protection refers to authorities taking actions to defend ICH from threats (UNESCO, 2016b).

In Japan, an ancient 14-day prayer ritual practiced by Buddhist monks at Todaoji Temple was threated to come to a halt by the COVID pandemic, but the monks sought help from infectious disease specialists and continued this tradition during the pandemic (NHK World-Japan, 2021).

 

European countries have been active in developing legal and marketing measures to safeguard their food-related intangible cultural heritage. For example, “the Art of Neapolitan ‘pizzaiuolo’” was protected by inscription to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity alongside with Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) label under the European Commission’s quality scheme. The intellectual property rights protection enables concerned communities in asserting their rights as stewards of their heritage (EUR-Lex., 2011).

 
Promotion and Enhancement

Promotion increases the visibility of ICH to the public through the mass media and various activities such as performances. Enhancement focuses on the improvement and strengthening of the quality of ICH practices (UNESCO, 2016b).

The International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP) in South Korea promotes community participation and raises public awareness of ICH through publications, exhibitions and events, online knowledge sharing platforms, etc. ICHCAP also builds international networks among NGOs and higher education institutions for continuous enhancement of ICH safeguarding activities (ICHCAP, 2022).

 
Transmission

Transmission refers to practitioners and cultural bearers passing on ICH knowledge, skills, practices, and ideas. When traditional ways of transmission diminish, other means of transmission such as apprenticeship, professional training and experiential workshops could be taken to help sustain the vitality of ICH elements (UNESCO, 2016b).

The Thailand government encourages all public health facilities to integrate “Nuad Thai” (traditional Thai massage) into conventional medicine. Apart from traditional training and self-care practices, “Nuad Thai” is now taught in training centres with professional trainers offering Government Certified Thai Massage Professional and Teacher Training programmes, in non-formal education centres, and in skills development centres around the globe (UNESCO - Living Heritage Entity, n.d.a).

 

 

Revitalisation

Revitalisation of ICH is the restoration and strengthening of ICH practices that are vulnerable or threatened but still demonstrates some degree of vitality within the concerned communities (UNESCO, 2016b).

"Silbo Gomero", an ancient whistling language on the island of La Gomera in Spain, was developed by communities who lived on peaks and valleys to avoid walking miles to pass on messages. As mobile phone technologies and road constructions emerge, the community noticed the disappearance of the language as an endangerment of La Gomera’s cultural heritage and began the revival of this special language. This whistle language was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and has been taught in schools since 1999 (Plitt, 2013).

 

Continue to "Session 3: Ethical Principles for Safeguarding ICH"