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01.08.2016 - UNESCO Venice Office

South-East Europe highlights priorities for cooperation on the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage

Spring procession of Ljelje/Kraljice (queens) from Gorjani – 2008 Ministry of Culture of Croatia

On 14-15 June 2016, representatives of South-East European Member States met on the island of Brac, Croatia, for the 10th annual meeting of the Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage in South East Europe. Participants shared knowledge, experiences and practices on intangible cultural heritage safeguarding, highlighting the region’s massive efforts in this field and discussing current challenges and priorities for regional cooperation.

The meeting was jointly organized by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy), the Ministry of Culture of Croatia and the Croatian Commission for UNESCO, with the support of the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO (Sofia, Bulgaria). Experts participated in representation of 16 State Parties to the UNESCO 2003 Convention on the Safeguarding for the Intangible Cultural Heritage, including from South-East Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and from neighbouring or observer countries (Austria, Hungary, Italy, United Arab Emirates).

During the first session, progresses and challenges were presented about the implementation of the 2003 Convention in the participating State Parties, with special focus on the period since the previous meeting of the network in 2015. Main issues included the need to further support the progressive shift from top-down (institutionally-driven) to bottom-up (community-based) policies and practices in regard to identifying, safeguarding and raising awareness about intangible cultural heritage. The importance of documentation and research was underlined, as well as the role of experts as mediators between institutional and community levels. The discussion also gave evidence of different approaches in different States Parties with regard to the identification and representation of communities, inventorying, listing, licensing and funding.

Participants debated in particular the commercialization of intangible cultural heritage objects and its double-edged consequences. While commercialization can play a key role in supporting the safeguarding of some categories - such as traditional arts and crafts, the potential risks of overexploitation should also be considered especially in relation to mass reproduction, degradation and appropriation of heritage values, transmission, etc. While a balanced approach to commercialization is crucial to enhance the value of intangible cultural heritage as a driver for sustainable development, potential negative impacts should be prevented based on research, awareness raising, community involvement and other specific safeguarding measures.

Multinational nominations to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage were indicated by many as precious opportunities to reinforce international and regional cooperation, and a concrete contribution to intercultural dialogue, including during the preparatory phase. The meeting confirmed that South-East Europe is a very fertile region in this sense, with several multinational elements already inscribed and others under preparation.

The second session focused on “Intangible Cultural Heritage and World Heritage: Synergies and Coordination between the UNESCO 2003 and 1972 Conventions”. Participants discussed the need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to heritage policy, combining tangible and intangible cultural heritage, with a view to fully tap heritage’s potential as a driver for sustainable local development. While some interesting experiences are emerging at local level, a coherent policy approach is still lacking or is underdeveloped. In this respect, participants emphasized the possible role of UNESCO as laboratory of ideas to develop specific policy guidelines, which would greatly help in achieving progress in this domain.




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