ICOMOS-UK meeting on the implementation of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

You are invited to join an ICOMOS-UK meeting to discuss the implementation of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) which the Government proposes to ratify shortly.

The event will focus on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s public consultation on the initial stages of implementation with a focus on defining and identifying intangible cultural heritage in the UK. Further information about DCMS’s consultation can be found here.

This is good news for the ICH practicing communities and civil society organisations who have campaigned for the ratification of the 2003 Convention for many years now. ICOMOS-UK has also been actively involved in calling for the recognition of these rich, diverse and dynamic forms of cultural traditions and customs for more than a decade. ICOMOS-UK is the only organisation that gives voice to all categories of ICH practiced by UK’s multi-cultural communities. Its catalyst role has contributed to the recognition of ICH in the arts and heritage sector resulting in its integration into practices, policies and funding opportunities since 2012.

Detailed Programme (9.30am-1.00pm):

9.30-9.50

Welcome

Government’s Implementation Proposals: Some key issues for the Safeguarding of UK’s intangible cultural heritage.

Clara Arokiasamy OBE, President ICOMOS-UK

9.50-10.20

Understanding the Government’s proposals- Key points for respondents to focus on

Phil Foxwood, DCMS, Lead on Intangible Cultural Heritage, Department for Culture, Media and Sport

10.20-10.50

‘Lift not List’ model of ratification and the management of ICH post ratification- some lessons from Sweden

Maria Nystrom, Senior Advisor, The Institute for Language and Folklore, Sweden

10.50-11.20

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Local Government Settings

Zerritha Brown, Head of Culture, London Borough of Camden

Jowdy Davey, Cornish Language Lead Cornwall Council and Trustee Lowender (advocacy and development organisation for Cornish Culture)

11.20-11.30 Break

11.30-12.15 Breakout Groups

12.15-12.55

Plenary and discussion

Chaired by Finbarr Whooley, Director of Content, Museum of London and Vice-chair of ICOMOS-UK ICH Committee

12.55-1.00

Concluding remarks – Clara Arokiasamy

About the ICOMOS-UK ICH Committee

The ICH Committee’s work to date includes two conferences, a roundtable on ICH and spearheading a national forum on ICH. The first seminal conference in 2014, aimed at raising awareness about ICH, brought together bearers, civil society organisations, and the public sector responsible for cultural services, which up until then were working in silos, to understand the definition of ICH and the extent of its reach within the UK. The second conference in 2018 focussed on the need for a framework for documenting UK’s ICH and included discussion of the benefits and challenges of ratification. ICOMOS-UK also implemented a successful pilot project “Exploring Intangible Cultural Heritage in Museum Contexts” jointly with Arts Council England in 2016/17.

The UK’s ICH is rich and varied and reflects its culturally diverse communities. It includes performing arts, social customs and practices, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, healing systems, traditional crafts knowledge and skills, culinary traditions, fishing and gathering practices and many more. ICH is a living and dynamic cultural process and is transmitted from one generation to the next. It evolves continuously or is recreated or sometimes revitalised in response to bearers’ personal and collective need and the environment in which the practicing individuals or communities live.

Consultation on UK ratification of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on ICH