Coventry University, UK: ICH safeguarding in the urban context

1. ICH SAFEGUARDING IN
THE URBAN CONTEXT
Harriet Deacon
Coventry University
UK

2. IN THIS
PRESENTATION
Conceptual
tools
Management
tools for ICH
Yamohoko float
procession

3. CONCEPTUAL TOOLS

4. WHAT IS INTANGIBLE
HERITAGE?
Not tangible / Not part of built environment
Memories
Written documents
Textures and colours
Spirit of place
Intangible values
Traditional knowledge
Cultural spaces
Practices and skills actively transmitted today

5. Article 2 – Definitions
For the purposes of this Convention,
1. The “intangible cultural heritage” means the
practices, representations, expressions,
knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments,
objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated
therewith – that communities, groups and, in
some cases, individuals recognize as part of
their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural
heritage, transmitted from generation to
generation, is constantly recreated by
communities and groups in response to their
environment, their interaction with nature and
their history, and provides them with a sense of
identity and continuity, thus promoting respect
for cultural diversity and human creativity. For
the purposes of this Convention, consideration
will be given solely to such intangible cultural
heritage as is compatible with existing
international human rights instruments, as well as
with the requirements of mutual respect among
communities, groups and individuals, and of
sustainable development.

6. 5 EXEMPLARY DOMAINS
1. oral expressions
2. performing arts
3. social practices
4. traditional
craftsmanship
5. knowledge about
nature and the
universe
2003 Convention, article 2.2

7. THE QUESTION OF CONTEXT
The Convention
instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated’
with ICH (Article 2.1)
forums and spaces intended for the performance or expression
of ICH (Article 13)
natural spaces and places of memory whose existence is necessary for
expressing the intangible cultural heritage’ (Article 14)
Operational Directives
OD 120: ‘presenting the elements in their context’
OD 102(a) and 171(c): do not ‘de-contextualize or denaturalize the intangible
cultural heritage’
Ethical principle 10: communities, groups and individuals concerned decide what
constitutes a threat to the viability of their ICH, e.g. decontextualization

8. © Ministry of Culture of Croatia, 2008
LACEMAKING IN CROATIA
2009, Representative List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
At least three distinct traditions of
Lacemaking in Croatia persist today,
centred on the towns of Pag on the
Adriatic, Lepoglava in northern Croatia
and Hvar on the Dalmatian island of the
same name.
OD 170: States Parties shall ‘acknowledge the dynamic
nature of intangible cultural heritage in both urban and
rural contexts’

9. Inscribed in 2009, Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
On the third of February, the official day of both Saint Blaise and the city of
Dubrovnik, parish banner bearers lead a procession attended by bishops,
ambassadors, civic leaders, visiting notables and the people of Dubrovnik.
© 2008 Ministry of Culture
FESTIVITY OF SAINT BLAISE, THE PATRON OF DUBROVNIK

10. ICH AND WORLD HERITAGE
© Huisinga Fotografie, 2016
Craft of the miller operating windmills
and watermills, ICH Representative List
2017
The craft of the miller operating
windmills and watermills involves the
knowledge and skills necessary to
operate a mill and maintain it in a good
state of repair.
The Mill Network at Kinderdijk-
Elshout, World Heritage List, 1997
‘The nineteen mills … are all still in
operating condition, since they function
as fall-back mills in case of failure of
the modern equipment. The authenticity
in workmanship and setting of the
structures and in the distinctive
character and integrity of the human-
made landscape is very high.’
© M & G Therin-Weise

11. SAFEGUARDING
TOOLS

12. SAFEGUARDING
• Safeguarding means ensuring the
viability of ICH (Article 2.3)
• Safeguarding measures are actions
taken to promote ICH in general or
to revitalize specific ICH elements
(examples in Article 2.3)
• Safeguarding measures address
threats and/or risks to the viability
of the ICH. See Articles 11(a) and
14(b); ODs 1, 2 and 7
Some rights reserved

13. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
o EP1: Communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals should
have the primary role in safeguarding their own intangible cultural
heritage.
o EP 6: Each community, group or individual should assess the value of its
own intangible cultural heritage and this intangible cultural heritage
should not be subject to external judgements of value or worth
o EP 8: The dynamic and living nature of intangible cultural
heritage should be continuously respected. …
o EP 10 Communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals should
play a significant role in determining what constitutes threats to their
intangible cultural heritage including the decontextualization,
commodification and misrepresentation of it and in deciding how to
prevent and mitigate such threats.

14. RESULTS MAP FOR THE CONVENTION
ITH/16/11.COM/14
Some rights reserved

15. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Operational Directives, Chapter 6: Sustainable social, environmental,
economic benefits to communities and groups concerned, including
o Social cohesion, peace, inclusivity
o Equitable economic benefits for communities without over-
commercialization
o Integration into development planning
o Better management of environmental resources

16. STEP BY STEP
Decide what the
problem is
What ICH?
Whose
ICH?
Why?
ICH
viability /
threats
1 2 3
Some rights reserved

17. STEP BY STEP
Plan how to address
the problem
objective(s)
and
expected
results
activities resources write the
plan
monitoring
and
evaluation
4 5 6 7 8
Some rights reserved

18. MANAGING SIGNIFICANCE OF ICH
Determine the significance of
the ICH element, as far as
possible
Identify what characteristics of the
ICH element support its significance
Identify threats and risks to maintaining
these characteristics, and to practice and
transmission of the element
Develop safeguarding
measures to address these
threats and risks
Communities, groups and
individuals determine what is
important to them
Communities, groups and individuals
implement the plan, assisted where
needed by others
Some rights reserved

19. YAMAHOKO FLOAT PROCESSION,
KYOTO GION FESTIVAL (JAPAN)
Nominated to the RL, inscribed in 2009

20. CITY DISTRICTS
ORGANIZE FLOATS

21. BUILDING THE FLOAT
Community members constructing a float
© Inoue Shigeya, 2007

22. PLANNING ROUTES
The float procession in the streets of Kyoto
© Inoue Shigeya, 2007

23. BRIGHT HANGINGS

24. CONCLUSION
Tangible and intangible heritage are closely related, and integrated
planning for their management can promote community involvement and
sustainable development in urban areas
BUT
What do we mean by (intangible) heritage? Why are we using the concept
and how does it help us?
How an integrated planning framework can support community control of
the safeguarding process – who implements?
 Communities concerned can say what they need to support their ICH practice
 This need not necessarily involve putting them through a full planning process
 Support communities concerned with management tools where needed to resolve
internal differences or external tensions

25. THANK YOU
harriet@conjunction.me.uk

26. EXTRA SLIDES

27. PRESERVATION AND FOSTERING OF
THE CULTURE, DIVERSITY AND
QUALITY OF REGIONAL
SPECIALTIES IN UPPER FRANCONIA
The association "Genussregion Oberfranken” (Region
of Delight Upper Franconia) and the Chamber of
Commerce of Upper Franconia have initiated the first
comprehensive documentation of food which is
produced according to traditional recipes, including
information about
• Regional raw materials,
• Related animal and plant species
• Relation to particular customs
• When and where they are produced and sold
• Where one can learn how to prepare them.
https://www.unesco.de/en/kultur/immaterielles-kulturerbe/german-inventory/best-practice-register/preservation-and-fostering-of-the-
culture-diversity-and-quality-of-regional-specialties-in-upper-franconia.html

28. PRESERVATION AND FOSTERING OF
THE CULTURE, DIVERSITY AND
QUALITY OF REGIONAL
SPECIALTIES IN UPPER FRANCONIA
The online inventory has become
an active network of different
people with knowledge relating to
traditional regional knowledge
about the diversity and quality of
regional specialties
It has raised awareness among the
population that Upper Franconia
represents a unique, high-quality
culinary region.
https://www.unesco.de/en/kultur/immaterielles-kulturerbe/german-inventory/best-practice-register/preservation-and-fostering-of-the-
culture-diversity-and-quality-of-regional-specialties-in-upper-franconia.html
https://www.unesco.de/en/kultur/immaterielles-kulturerbe/german-inventory/best-practice-register/preservation-and-fostering-of-the-
culture-diversity-and-quality-of-regional-specialties-in-upper-franconia.html

29. UPPER FRANCONIA:
GENUSSREGION OBERFRANKEN
Quality and certification
The regional quality label "Genussregion Oberfranken" can be used
by producers who are certified after an intensive quality inspection
and accepted as a member of the association Genussregion
Oberfranken.
The certification is carried out every three years. Certifications which
a food producer has already passed through are taken into account
when awarding the quality seal in order to keep the costs for the
plants as low as possible.
Google translate into English
http://www.genussregion.oberfranken.de/deutsch/verein_17.html

30. ICH INSCRIPTIONS ‘POTENTIALLY RELATED TO WORLD HERITAGE SITES’
https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists?multinational=3&related_to_whc=1&display1=inscriptionID#tabs

31. COMMON KEY IDEAS
o Integration of heritage management into general
policy planning for sustainable development
o Involve variety of stakeholders including all levels
of government, NGOs and communities in
planning, using intercultural dialogue and
mediation
o Integrated tangible and intangible heritage
management, linked to environmental
management: informed by documentation and
mapping, allow development and adaptation
o Retain sense of place, and the identity of
communities
New Urban Agenda
HUL Recommendation
ICH Convention texts

32. SOME DIFFERENCES
Protect the integrity of the urban
fabric, and authenticity of the
attributes of urban heritage
Heritage, social and
environmental impact assessments
should be used to support and
facilitate decision-making
processes
Communities concerned determine
significance and authenticity (but the
term is not used in the Convention)
External comparative evaluation not
widely used in determining
significance to communities
Communities decide what to do
about their ICH – others can help
where needed
ICH Convention textsNew Urban Agenda
HUL Recommendation

33. TANGIBLE HERITAGE
MANAGEMENT
1
• Managing fabric e.g. preventing
decay
2
• Managing significance defined by
experts e.g. aesthetic value
3
• Managing significance defined by
communities e.g. symbolic value
Some rights reserved

34. DIFFERENT KINDS OF SIGNIFICANCE IN
TANGIBLE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT
Fabric
• Evidential
value
• Aesthetic
value
Documents
• Historical
value
Community
• Communal
value
Outstanding universal value
for World Heritage properties
Some rights reserved

35. DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES
Tangible heritage
management
Community values taken into
account but might not determine
overall significance and
likelihood of conservation
Comparative evaluation often
used for determination of
scientific / historical significance
Authenticity determined by
specialist external evaluation in
some cases (e.g. examination of
archaeological evidence)
Intangible heritage
management
Communities of practice determine
significance – linked to willingness to
carry on the practice (viability)
ICH changes all the time –
community members might object to
some changes and not others.
‘What to keep’ determined by
communities of practice.
Some rights reserved

36. KATE CLARK 2014

37. WORLD HERITAGE IN THE
INTANGIBLE HERITAGE
CONVENTION
Article 3 – Relationship to other international instruments
Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as:
(a) altering the status or diminishing the level of protection under the
1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage of World Heritage properties with which an item of
the intangible cultural heritage is directly associated

38. INTANGIBLE HERITAGE IN THE WORLD
HERITAGE CONVENTION AND ITS TEXTS
Criterion V and VI
Cultural landscapes (from 1992)
Increasing attention to community values
World Heritage Operational Guidelines 82: … properties may be
understood to meet the conditions of authenticity if their [Outstanding
Universal Value is] truthfully and credibly expressed through a variety of
attributes including: … language and other forms of intangible heritage;
spirit and feeling; and other internal/external factors.
Teemaneng Declaration and ICH ISC in ICOMOS
New Urban Agenda 2016
HUL Recommendation 2011