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 HeritageSafeguarding 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.
Le Directeur général rend hommage à la diversité du patrimoine culturel immatériel de la Géorgie
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity comes into being in Istanbul
Intangible cultural heritage: Third session of Intergovernmental Committee
Director-General addresses the 2008 UNESCO/UNU International Conference on “Globalization and Languages – Building on our Rich Heritage”
Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage: Second Session of the General Assembly
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
Kenyan National Meeting on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Nairobi - Kenya
Third International Conference of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme
Canberra - Australia
Second Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Sofia - Bulgaria
First UNESCO/ILAM on-line workshop: Museums and Intangible Heritage
Havana - Cuba
Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Pacific
Nadi - Fiji
Traditional meeting between the three towns practising La Tumba Francesa
Santiago de Cuba - Cuba
Safeguarding Intangible Heritage and Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Opportunities and Challenges
Hue - Viet Nam
Revitalisation of Bark Cloth-making in Uganda Project
Kampala - Uganda
Europe's intangible heritage: Inventing an inventory
Paris - France
Workshop for the bearers of the cacao traditions in Cuba
Baracoa - Cuba
Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Latin America (CRESPIAL)
Quito - Ecuador
Living Heritage: Exploring the Intangible at UNESCO Headquarters
Paris - France
Tell me about Living Heritage