Intangible Heritage : UNESCO-CULTURE

CULTURE

Themes

Worldwide

Communities

Intangible Heritage

Sama Ceremony, Turkey © M. Taurus

Cultural heritage is not limited to material manifestations, such as monuments and objects that have been preserved over time. This notion also encompasses living expressions and the traditions that countless groups and communities worldwide have inherited from their ancestors and transmit to their descendants, in most cases orally.

Website of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Safeguarding Endangered Languages

Many years of research undertaken by UNESCO on the functions and values of cultural expressions and practices have opened the door to new approaches to the understanding, protection and respect of the cultural heritage of humanity. This living heritage, known as intangible, provides each bearer of such expressions a sense of identity and continuity, insofar as he or she takes ownership of them and constantly recreates them.

As a driving force of cultural diversity, living heritage is very fragile. In recent years, it has received international recognition and its safeguarding has become one of the priorities of international cooperation thanks to UNESCO's leading role in the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

07-10-2009

UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage Convention “fully operational”

05-10-2009

First inscriptions to the Representative List of the ICH and the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

01-10-2009

The Tango, Ainu dance of Japan and France’s Aubusson tapestry inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

08-09-2009

UNESCO’s intangible heritage committee meets in Abu Dhabi to inscribe the first elements on its Lists

13-08-2009

Director-General emphasises the role of young people’s involvement in safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage at festivals in Nara, Japan

29-05-2009

Le Directeur général rend hommage à la diversité du patrimoine culturel immatériel de la Géorgie

05-11-2008

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity comes into being in Istanbul

03-11-2008

Intangible cultural heritage: Third session of Intergovernmental Committee

04-09-2008

Director-General addresses the 2008 UNESCO/UNU International Conference on “Globalization and Languages – Building on our Rich Heritage”

18-06-2008

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage: Second Session of the General Assembly

10-06-2008

Second session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO Capacity-Building Workshop on the Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Pretoria - South Africa

27-03-2008 -
29-03-2008

Kenyan National Meeting on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Nairobi - Kenya

05-03-2008 -
06-03-2008

Third International Conference of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme

Canberra - Australia

19-02-2008 -
22-02-2008

Second Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Sofia - Bulgaria

18-02-2008 -
22-02-2008

First UNESCO/ILAM on-line workshop: Museums and Intangible Heritage

Havana - Cuba

07-01-2008 -
03-02-2008

Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Pacific

Nadi - Fiji

12-12-2007 -
14-12-2007

Traditional meeting between the three towns practising La Tumba Francesa

Santiago de Cuba - Cuba

11-12-2007 -
11-12-2007

Safeguarding Intangible Heritage and Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Opportunities and Challenges

Hue - Viet Nam

10-12-2007 -
13-12-2007

Revitalisation of Bark Cloth-making in Uganda Project

Kampala - Uganda

05-12-2007 -
05-12-2007

Europe's intangible heritage: Inventing an inventory

Paris - France

30-11-2007 -
30-11-2007

Workshop for the bearers of the cacao traditions in Cuba

Baracoa - Cuba

23-11-2007 -
25-11-2007

Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Latin America (CRESPIAL)

Quito - Ecuador

19-11-2007 -
20-11-2007

Living Heritage: Exploring the Intangible at UNESCO Headquarters