ICOMOS CHARTER ON INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE (SUMMERY)

 ICOMOS Charter on Intangible Cultural Heritage (Summary)

(Version 27 July 2023)

 

 

PREAMBLE

This document, called the Charter, discusses something important: traditions and places. It says that traditions and the places they happen in are connected, like two sides of a coin. You can only understand one with the other.

 

Here's the main idea:

 

• Traditions are stories, songs, dances, and crafts passed down through generations in a community.
• These traditions are often connected to specific places, like mountains, rivers, or buildings.

 

The Charter is like a guide for people who work on protecting historical sites and buildings. It reminds them to consider these traditions when protecting those places.

 

This is important because understanding both the traditions and the places helps us:

 

• Learn more about history
• Appreciate the places around us
• Feel connected to the communities who lived there

 

 DEFINITION OF CULTURAL SPACE

This section talks about special places called "cultural spaces." These can be big or small, natural or built by people, but they all have one thing in common: they're connected to the traditions of a community.

 

Imagine a beautiful forest where a certain tribe has lived for generations. Or it's a bustling city square where people gather for festivals. Even a single tree or a winding river can be a cultural space.

 

The important thing is that these places are linked to the traditions, stories, and ways of life of the people who have lived there for a long time. These traditions can be things like singing, dancing, storytelling, or crafts. They're like living things, changing a bit over time but still connected to that special place.

 

Here are some cool things about cultural spaces:

 

• They can be found in both rural areas (like the countryside) and urban areas (like cities).
• Sometimes different communities share the same cultural space, creating a mix of traditions.
• Even if a community moves, they might take their traditions and create a new cultural space elsewhere.

 

WHO THE CHARTER IS AIMED AT

This document, called the Charter, is like a guidebook for people involved in protecting cultural heritage. It's beneficial for members of ICOMOS, a group focused on historical sites and buildings.

 

But it's not just for them! Here's who can benefit from this Charter:

 

• People who work on preserving cultural heritage: This Charter gives them tips on considering traditions alongside historical places.
• The communities themselves: They can learn about their rights and how to protect their traditions.
• Experts who study cultures: This Charter helps them understand how traditions and places are connected.

 Anyone interested in protecting traditions and historical sites can learn something from this Charter.

 

 

 OBJECTIVE OF THE CHARTER

This part of the Charter explains what it's trying to achieve. Here's the key idea: traditions and the places they're practised in are like two sides of the same coin. You can't really understand one without the other.

 

So, this Charter sets out some guidelines for people who work on preserving historical sites and buildings. These guidelines help them understand how to protect the traditions connected to those places in a respectful way.

 

Here are some important things the Charter wants to make sure happen:

 

• Communities get to decide what traditions are important to them.
• People who work on preserving historical sites work with the communities to protect traditions.
• When fixing up historical buildings or sites, they don't accidentally hurt the traditions practiced there.

 

Overall, this Charter is like a set of rules to make sure traditions and places are protected together.

 

 PRINCIPLES

This section of the Charter talks about some important rules to follow. These rules are all about making sure the people who live in a place get to decide what traditions are important to them.

 

Here are some key things these rules cover:

 

• Letting communities take charge of their own traditions.
• People who work on preserving historical sites working together with the communities.
• Using the right tools and knowledge to protect traditions.

 

 

 

By following these rules, the Charter aims to make sure traditions and places are protected together.

 

Principle	Description
Community Custodianship	This principle ensures that communities have a central role in decisions about their heritage.
Heritage Professional Role and Partnerships	This principle states that heritage professionals should work in collaboration with communities to protect traditions.
Applicable Heritage Standards and Resources	This principle emphasizes the importance of using appropriate tools and knowledge to safeguard traditions.

 

 

 

Community Custodianship

This section talks about who gets to say what traditions are important in a certain place. Here's the key idea: the people who live there, or have lived there for a long time, are the ones who know best!

 

Principle 1a:       Recognize communities as custodians of their intangible cultural heritage and its use and knowledge.

 

The Charter says these communities are like the caretakers of their traditions. This includes:

 

• Indigenous people who have lived in a place for generations.
• Groups who arrived later but made the traditions their own.
• Even people who work or have a special connection to a place, even if they don't live there full-time.

 

Here's another important point: sometimes there might be specific people within a community who are especially responsible for certain traditions.

 

Principle 1b:      Recognize that in some communities, key groups or individuals are identified as the particular custodian or custodians of a place, object or practice.

 

The most important thing is that these communities get to decide what happens to their traditions. This includes:

 

• Who gets to learn about them?
• Who gets to share them with others?
• How they can change over time.

 

This way, traditions are protected in a respectful way that makes sense to the people who practice them.

 

Principle 1c:       Allow custodian communities, key groups or individuals to be in control of access to, sharing of and use of their intangible cultural heritage, and note the rights of particular groups or individuals, and their free, prior and informed community consent regarding such decisions.

 

This part gets a bit more detailed, but it's still about who gets to decide what traditions matter in a certain place. Here are some additional points:

 

• There might be more than one group with traditions connected to the same place. Everyone's traditions deserve respect!
• Traditions can change over time, and that's okay. The people who practice them are the ones who decide how they evolve.
• When it comes to protecting historical sites, the traditions connected to them are just as important as the buildings themselves.

 

Here's what this means for people who work on preserving cultural heritage:

 

• They need to listen to the communities and respect their decisions about their traditions.
• They should find ways to protect traditions alongside historical buildings and sites.
• New knowledge from the communities should be used to improve how these places are cared for.

 

 

Heritage Professional Role

 

Principle 2a:       Adopt a role that acknowledges that heritage professionals are not the primary experts on intangible cultural heritage and that their role involves partnering with the relevant community in a facilitation and assistance capacity marked by respect and a rights-based approach.

 

This part talks about how people who work on preserving historical sites (heritage professionals) should work with communities. Here are the key points:

 

• The communities themselves are the real experts on their traditions.
• Heritage professionals should listen to the communities and respect their traditions.
• They should work together with the communities to find ways to protect both the historical places and the traditions connected to them.
• This includes helping communities protect their rights to practice their traditions and access the places they need.

By working together, communities and heritage professionals can do a better job of protecting our shared history and traditions.

 

Principle 2b:      Develop partnerships between government, heritage organisations, heritage professionals and the communities concerned that benefit those communities and sustain the viability of their intangible cultural heritage.

 

This section talks about how everyone can work together to protect traditions. Here's the key idea: teamwork makes the dream work!

• The Charter says the government, organizations that protect heritage sites (heritage organizations), heritage professionals, and the communities themselves should all work together.
• By working together, they can find ways to support the traditions practiced by communities.
• This includes making sure these traditions are considered important when protecting historical places.

 

Imagine it like a team effort: everyone has a role to play in keeping traditions alive!

 

Heritage Standards and Resources

Principle 3:         Follow the prescribed heritage standards and seek appropriate expert assistance where necessary.

 

This part talks about some of the rules (standards) people should follow when working to protect traditions. Here are the key points:

 

• These rules are meant to protect the rights of the communities involved, just like the rights outlined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• If a community needs help protecting their traditions, they can get advice from experts like anthropologists or historians.
• This team of experts can also include people who work on preserving historical sites (like archaeologists and architects) if that's relevant to the traditions.

 

Following these rules helps make sure everyone works together in a respectful way to protect traditions.

 

 

PRACTICE

This last part of the Charter talks about how the ideas mentioned before can be put into action. Here's the key idea:

 

• When people work on protecting historical places, they should also consider the traditions connected to those places.

 

This means:

• Identifying the traditions practiced at a certain place.
• Figuring out how to protect those traditions.
• Making plans for how to manage those traditions so they can continue to be practiced.
• Finding ways to share these traditions with others in a respectful way.
• Celebrating the importance of these traditions for the community.

 

By following these steps, we can make sure that both historical places and the traditions connected to them are protected for future generations.

 

Identification

This section talks about the first step in protecting traditions connected to historical places: figuring out what those traditions are. Here's what this means in simple terms:

 

• We need to find out which communities are connected to a place, even if they don't live there anymore.
• We need to understand what makes this place special to these communities. This could be stories, songs, dances, or ways of life.
• The communities themselves are the ones who know best about their traditions. We should listen to them and respect their knowledge.
• It's important to protect the rights of the communities involved, including their ownership of their traditions.
• People who work on preserving historical sites and experts who study cultures can work together with the communities to learn more about these traditions.
• We should document these traditions in a way that respects the community and keeps their information safe.

 

By following these steps, we can build a strong foundation for protecting traditions alongside historical places.

 

Protection and Management

This section talks about how to protect the traditions connected to historical places after we've identified them. Here are the key ideas:

 

• The communities themselves should be in charge of protecting their traditions.
• The government and other organizations can help support these traditions, but they shouldn't take over.
• When protecting historical places, we need to consider both the buildings or sites themselves and the traditions practiced there. They're connected!
• It's important to make sure traditions can continue to be passed down to future generations.
• People who work on preserving historical sites should keep an eye on the traditions connected to those places and report any problems.
• If a tradition is in danger of being forgotten, there might be ways to help it survive.
• We shouldn't use historical places in ways that could harm the traditions practiced there.

 

By following these steps, we can make sure both historical places and the traditions connected to them are protected for the future.

 

 

      Sharing

 

This section talks about how to share the traditions connected to historical places with others. Here are the key ideas:

 

• We need to be careful not to share information about traditions in a way that disrespects the community or reveals things they want to keep private.
• When explaining the importance of a historical place, we should focus on the positive aspects of the traditions practiced there.
• It's important to remember that there can be different stories and traditions connected to the same place. We should respect all of them.
• We should find ways to teach younger generations about the traditions practiced in their communities. This can be done at home and at school.

 

By sharing traditions in a respectful way, we can help people appreciate the history and culture of different communities.

 

 

CHANGE

This section talks about how traditions can change over time. Here are the key ideas:

 

• It's normal for traditions to evolve a bit as new generations come along. The community itself gets to decide how much things change.
• Sometimes outside forces like tourism or climate change can threaten traditions. This Charter says we can help communities protect their traditions from these threats.
• We can also help communities find ways to keep their traditions relevant in the modern world, so they continue to be important for their culture and way of life.
• It's important to document how traditions change over time, so we can understand why they're changing and how to support them.
• If a disaster damages a place or its traditions, this Charter says we can help communities rebuild and recover.

 

By following these steps, we can make sure traditions can adapt and survive in a changing world.

 

 

ANTECEDENTS

The Charter builds on the draft ICICH Teemaneng Declaration, which was first outlined in Kimberley, South Africa, in 2007, and developed further, by members and other stakeholders until 2011. The Teemaneng Declaration itself was based on the earlier Kimberley Declaration, which was drafted at an international meeting held in South Africa in October 2003 and accepted in that month by the 14^th ICOMOS General Assembly at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The final draft was developed during a workshop held in AlUla, Saudi Arabia in ????? 2023.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This draft charter was developed by the ICOMOS International Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICICH) in 2019 by a team of members from Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Mauritius, Mexico and South Africa.

 

The specific support of the following organisations over the period 2003–2023 is gratefully acknowledged: The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), The National Heritage Council of South Africa (NHC), the University of Birmingham and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). 

 

The specific contributions of the ICOMOS national committees in Canada, Norway, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe in organising and hosting gatherings that were fundamental to the shaping of this Charter are also acknowledged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Understanding Places and Traditions: A Look at the ICOMOS Charter on Intangible Cultural Heritage

 

This document summarizes the core principles of the ICOMOS Charter on Intangible Cultural Heritage, using clear and concise language for everyone to understand, especially high school students and laypeople. Authored by ICICH Expert Member Dilip Changkakoty, the Charter emphasizes the importance of traditions and the places they are practiced in. Here are the key takeaways:

 

• Traditions and Places Are Connected: Just like two sides of a coin, traditions and the places they happen in are inseparable. Understanding one helps us appreciate the other.
• Communities are the Experts: The people who live in a place or have lived there for a long time are the true keepers of its traditions.
• Respecting Traditions: When protecting historical sites and buildings, we must consider the traditions practised there. This includes who gets to decide how these traditions are shared and evolve.
• Working Together: Everyone involved, from heritage professionals to communities themselves, should work together to protect both historical places and the traditions connected to them.
• Adapting to Change: Traditions can change over time, and that's okay. The Charter encourages finding ways to support traditions so they remain relevant for future generations.

 

By following these principles, the ICOMOS Charter aim to ensure that traditions and historical places are protected together, fostering a deeper appreciation for our shared cultural heritage.