Towards safeguarding Creole intangible cultural heritage: the 2003 UNESCO convention

Alexis Weedon

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Abstract

In 2003, the UNESCO general conference voted in favour of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). The Convention highlights the fragility of indigenous living cultural traditions and argues that ICH is a repository of a community's creativity and a source of inspiration for new cultural expressions. Globalisation's ubiquitous and often commercialised branded identities squeeze out the rich diversity of indigenous heritage. So, safeguarding this cultural resource against the onslaught of globalisation is of vital importance. This chapter explores the intellectual work which the Convention brings to cultural historians, curators, and researchers. It highlights examples of digital classification, public participation, and creative re-presentation which document the ICH tradition and also seek to understand the factors that have sustained it and will influence its future as a living tradition. Finally, through a discussion of specific cases, it lays out the difficulties in attaining that UNESCO ICH inscription and the debates over its use and impact, and explores the implications for those wanting to safeguard their own intangible cultural heritage.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Host publication Subtitle

Safeguarding Creole Intangible Cultural Heritage

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 19-39 (21 pages)

Publication milestones

Published - 15/11/2023

Publication status

Published - 15/11/2023

Publisher

Springer, Japan, India, Australia, Germany, United States, United Arab Emirates, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, China, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Brazil, France, Singapore