Closed consultation

Consultation on the 2003 UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Published 23 December 2023

Introduction 

This consultation seeks feedback on some of the decisions regarding the first stage of implementing the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It is part of a wider consultation process taking place until the end of February to inform a policy paper which will outline the details of how the UK plans to implement the Convention. This survey is being run by the UK government but has been developed and agreed with the devolved administrations which have responsibility for their own heritage policy.

We explore the definition and criteria of intangible cultural heritage in sections below, but for background information and further detail, we recommend the UNESCO website for the Convention.

Glossary of terms

Item	The general term used to refer to a specific piece / element / practice of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Practice	The general term used to refer to an item of Intangible Cultural Heritage being carried out - the activity of, or participation in, that item of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Guiding principles

A key point of Intangible Cultural Heritage is that it is distinct from traditional fixed or material heritage.  Intangible Cultural Heritage is far broader, crosses different cultural sectors, has less criteria, and is owned by people themselves.

This requires a different approach to other forms of heritage.  We are therefore approaching the implementation of the Convention with some guiding principles taken from the UNESCO definition, which will inform the way we ratify and implement the Convention:

Community-based, bottom up

Intangible Cultural Heritage can only be heritage when it is recognised as such by the communities, groups or individuals who create, maintain and transmit it – without their recognition, nobody else can decide for them that a given expression or practice is their heritage.

Inclusive and respectful

We share the view that an understanding of the intangible cultural heritage of others helps with intercultural dialogue, encourages mutual respect for other ways of life, and helps people to feel part of one or different communities and to feel part of society at large.

We may share expressions of intangible cultural heritage that are similar to those practised by others. Whether they are from the neighbouring village, from a city on the opposite side of the world, or have been adapted by peoples who have migrated and settled in a different region, they all are intangible cultural heritage: they have been passed from one generation to another, have evolved in response to their environments and they contribute to giving us a sense of identity and continuity, providing a link from our past, through the present, and into our future. 

Open and engaged

One reason for ratifying the Convention is to start a conversation about Intangible Cultural Heritage to help identify, recognise, value and safeguard it.  

Because of the broad nature of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the broad spread of Intangible Cultural Heritage across all parts of the UK and our Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, implementing the Convention will require collaboration. There is no single government or organisation responsible for implementation across the UK, so open dialogue and discussion to ensure a diversity of voices and views will be fundamental.

Implementation outline 

In its broadest sense, ratifying and implementing the Convention is a commitment to the purposes of the Convention, which include safeguarding, ensuring respect, and raising awareness of the importance of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and providing for international co-operation and assistance. 

The Convention talks of ‘safeguarding’ Intangible Cultural Heritage. Unlike ‘preservation’ or ‘conservation’ for tangible heritage, which is usually concerned with making sure the item is not changed or damaged, ‘safeguarding’ is generally understood to include raising awareness, building participation, ensuring sustainability, and supporting the passing on of skills and knowledge.

The first stage of implementation will be to create an inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK.

As a key obligation of the Convention, an inventory is important for identifying and understanding Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK. As different parts of the UK has  distinctive traditions and cultural heritage – as well as common traditions and heritage which we all share – we propose that compatible inventories also be created for each of the four nations of the UK, as well as for participating Overseas Territories or Crown Dependencies.  These should draw on and complement existing inventories, such as the wiki-inventory maintained by Museums Galleries Scotland, and the Red List of Endangered Crafts compiled by Heritage Crafts, and ensure that each region is well represented.  Each inventory will then be collated into the national Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK.

The process for adding items to the Inventory will be to call for items to be submitted by communities, groups or individuals. We anticipate requiring information about the item, its location(s), categories, and practitioners. Then, subject to a light-touch approvals process, the new entries will be announced on a regular basis – probably quarterly.  We will look to engage and provide support for those who wish to submit items.

The second stage of implementation will be the ongoing safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK.  

As noted, ‘safeguarding’ is not simply preserving an item. There is a broad range of Intangible Cultural Heritage across the UK, and there is no single government or organisation responsible.  The question of what, where, and how ongoing safeguarding looks like does not, therefore, have a straightforward answer.

We propose to use a committee structure as an inclusive means of exploring, identifying, and considering what actions could be taken to increase and improve the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK.

As per our principles, the committee(s) will have strong community participation, and will be representative, respectful, and transparent. We will publish further information on the committee(s) as we move towards ratifying and implementing the Convention.

We should also note that ratifying the Convention does not signal a commitment for any immediate action from the UK government, the devolved administrations, local government or associated public bodies. In particular, ratifying does not automatically place any additional burden, duty, or obligation on any policy-maker or funder. Equally, we are starting with no assumptions as to what actions to increase and improve safeguarding should look like or focus on.

That does not, however, imply a lack of interest in safeguarding. The role of the safeguarding committee(s) will be to provide recommendations and guidance to policy-makers and funders in relation to safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK.

Lift not list – we will not list items at UNESCO.

Whilst UNESCO maintains a global list of Intangible Cultural Heritage – the ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ – similar to the World Heritage List, we will not focus on nominating items of Intangible Cultural Heritage from the UK to this list, at least for the first few years following ratification.  

Intangible Cultural Heritage is different to World Heritage, partly in that it is far broader and more extensive, but importantly in that it has no exceptional universal value and is not necessarily original or unique. Judging which elements are more valuable or important than others is neither desirable or beneficial, nor is there any commonly agreed way of doing so.

Furthermore, any small number of items selected to be considered for the UNESCO list would be inherently unrepresentative of the wider Intangible Cultural Heritage across the UK, and would put the focus on a few items, drawing awareness away from the many other unlisted items in the inventory.

We propose to focus on the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK, raising awareness of all the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK – that is, to lift all rather than list a few with UNESCO.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee also maintains a List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and a Register of Best Safeguarding Practices. These are smaller and have more specific criteria for inclusion, so we propose to consider engaging with these once the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK is up and running. 

How to respond

We are inviting engagement and views relating to the first stage of implementation (that is, to define and identify Intangible Cultural Heritage).

The consultation survey summarises the development of our thinking about what will happen when we ratify.  We are now seeking your views and input to progress this work.

Alternatively, you can respond using the below documents and email these to IntangibleCulturalHeritage@dcms.gov.uk

• English language survey
• Welsh language survey