The 2003 Convention (for example, in article 1) strongly promotes international cooperation between its States Parties, in particular on the sub-regional and regional level and in particular for shared heritage. International cooperation, according to Article 19, includes the exchange of information and experience, joint initiatives such as multinational nominations and the establishment of a mechanism of assistance to States Parties. The idea behind the encouragement of international cooperation for shared heritage is (i) that safeguarding measures (including inventorying) for shared heritage are expected to be more effective when holistic approaches are applied and that (ii) the cooperation between both tradition bearers and authorities from the two or more States concerned will contribute to dialogue and understanding. 59 International cooperation concerning shared intangible heritage is not easy to achieve but all the more beneficial for communities and groups concerned when neighboring countries have different ways of identifying communities, regulating issues related to minorities and migration, or of identifying and inventorying ICH present on their territories. States Parties can announce their intention to nominate shared heritage by making use of a special mechanism. In order to encourage multinational nominations for such heritage, and to further international cooperation, the Committee established a webpage on which the States parties can present elements that they consider as being shared with other States and that they are – in principle – willing to nominate together with other concerned states for inscription on one of the Lists of the Convention. 60
How can creativity and innovation be encouraged, while the heritage is safeguarded?
The intention of the Intangible Heritage Convention is not to validate an external, expert-defined authentic or historically accurate way of enacting or transmitting ICH elements. Such actions may lead to the ‘freezing’ of ICH. The Convention acknowledges that ICH, or living heritage, is ‘constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history’ (Article 2.1). In the Ethical Principles for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage, principle 8 states that ‘The dynamic and living nature of intangible cultural heritage should be continuously respected. Authenticity and exclusivity should not constitute concerns and obstacles in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.’ Communities and groups themselves thus decide what aspects of their ICH should be transmitted from generation to generation unchanged, and what aspects can or should be altered to meet new needs, reflect innovation and respond to new circumstances. This is a complex discussion, especially in cases where the cultural heritage has been threatened or destroyed by external forces in the past and is now being revitalized or revived. Of course, not everyone in the community will necessarily take the same position. Different views can be accommodated in broader or narrower descriptions of the ICH, and explanations about debates regarding the desirability, or not, of innovations. Consultations about the meaning and value of ICH within the community, heritage skills repertoires, what aspects should be included in transmission efforts, areas of change and innovation, can thus be wide-ranging and inclusive, seeking out a range of views and debates that can be represented in descriptions of the element in inventories, for example.
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