intangible cultural heritage
class of UNESCO designated cultural heritage
AI overview
Intangible cultural heritage refers to UNESCO-designated traditions, practices, and knowledge passed down through communities—such as oral histories, traditional crafts, performing arts, and rituals—that exist without physical form. It matters because recognizing and protecting these living practices helps preserve the diverse ways different cultures express their identities and transmit values across generations.
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Intangible cultural heritage (ICH)—as opposed to a place's tangible cultural heritage, cultural properties such as historic sites, monuments, and artifacts—comprises manifestations of intellectual wealth such as customs, beliefs, traditions, folklore, language, and knowledge, as expressed in particular through craftsmanship and performance.
Responding to the perceived over-representation of Western Europe among World Heritage Sites, to help valorize cultural diversity, and following on from earlier related measures in Japan (1950) and in South Korea (1962), in 2001, UNESCO made a survey among states and NGOs to try to agree on a definition, and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was drafted in 2003 for its protection and promotion.