PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES TO LIVING HERITAGE: NGO PERSPECTIVES
ICH NGO Forum Annual Symposium 2024
PRACTICAL INFO
Date: Sunday, 1 December, 2024, 09:30 – 17:30 (GMT-3) local time in Paraguay
Location: Online via Zoom & live event at the UNESCO 19.COM Venue – Conmebol Convention Center – Hotel Bourbon – Room Copa America.
Zoom Link: Zoom link to be announced
Kindly register at your earliest convenience via https://forms.gle/vFW5LPimMWXGCAk18
There is no registration fee. Participants provide for their travel costs, accommodation and subsistence.
Contact: symposiumichngoforum@gmail.com
SYMPOSIUM DETAILS
The 2024 Symposium of the ICH NGO Forum—on the occasion of the 19.COM meeting of the UNESCO 2003 Convention in Paraguay—will focus on community-based and participatory approaches to safeguarding living heritage.
The involvement of communities, groups and individuals in safeguarding actions is widely regarded as one of the innovations of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage compared to previous UNESCO heritage conventions. Recent international fora, such as the 2022 Mondiacult Declaration on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development and the International Law Association’s 2022 Report on Participation in Global Heritage Governance, have further underlined the need for inclusive policies regarding the participation of local communities and non-governmental groups in heritage governance.
A variety of methods have been developed by NGOs to engage communities. Yet, these haven’t been systematically researched or presented.
This one-day hybrid symposium, co-organised with the Working Group Research as part of a new thematic area on participatory approaches to living heritage, will provide a space for sharing experiences on the participation of heritage communities, non-governmental groups and individuals in decisions and actions for safeguarding intangible heritage.
Immediately following these sessions, a panel on the Overall Results Framework (ORF) will present a Handbook and an Information Note on the ORF in relation to NGO involvement (currently under preparation) on NGO involvement in the realisation of the ORF and into periodic reporting in the countries.
PROGRAMME
09:30 9:30 – 10:00 – Introductory talks
Executive Board, Living Heritage Entity and Working Group Research representatives
10:00 – 11:30 – SESSION 1. PARTICIPATION ON THE GROUND: IMPACTFUL CASE-STUDIES
The first session will present case studies of participatory work on the ground. Speakers will be invited to present how the context of their field sites has shaped their understanding of communities and the methodology used. The aim is to reflect on the positive outcomes, insights and challenges they encountered.
Moderation by WG Research member Martín Andrade-Perez
| TIME | SPEAKERS | TITLE | PARTICIPATION |
| 10:00 – 10:15 | Ms Luz Guttiérez-García (Embodying Reconciliation/ Colombia) | Cultural Journey for Peace: Exchanging Bodily and Cultural Heritage in Colombia, India, and Japan | In person/ online |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Prof Alejandra Diaz (Crear en Libertad/ Paraguay) | Danzas y espiritualidad de los pueblos indígenas del Paraguay | In person |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Ms Gloria Bejarano – Castro (Casa Taller/ Panama) | Playing in Your Own Language | In person |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Dr Saymon Zakaria (Vabnagar Foundation/ Bangladesh) | Revival of Ancient Bengali Buddhist Mystic Songs of Charyapada: A Collaborative, Community-Based Approach to Safeguarding Living Heritage | In person |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Mr Oleksandr Butsenko, Mrs Valentyna Demian (Democracy through Culture/ Ukraine) | Participatory approaches to safeguarding living heritage in Ukraine | In person/ online |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | Ms Nadia Rdeini
(Lighthouse Peace Initiative/ USA/ Lebanon) |
Engaging Communities in Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage through Participatory Arts and Education Programs | online |
11:30 – 12:00 – Coffee Break
12:00 – 13:00 – SESSION 2. POLICY INTO PRACTICE: NGO APPROACHES
The second session will examine the role of NGOs in developing and implementing participatory approaches, considering practical issues of translating international policy into practice, but also the moral and ethical implications of their work.
Moderation by WG Research member Jorijn Neyrinck
| TIME | SPEAKERS | TITLE | PARTICIPATION |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | Ms Ananya Bhattacharya (Contact Base/ India) | Heritage safeguarding and governance practices of indigenous communities of Nagaland | In person |
| 12:15 – 12:30 | Ms Jorijn Neyrinck (Workshop Intangible Heritage/ Belgium) | HOW TO? Developing participatory methodologies for safeguarding living heritage | In person |
| 12:30 – 12:45 | Dr Rachel Gefferie
Mr Darrel Geldorp (NAKS/ Suriname) |
Safeguarding the ‘setdansi’, a traditional dance of Surinamese-Creole | In person |
| 12:45 – 13:00 | Mr Ian Thomas (British Council/ UK) | Globally Connected: Locally Routed approach to Living Heritage | Online |
13:00 – 14:30 – Lunch
14:30 – 16:00 – SESSION 3. PANEL DISCUSSION: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN PARTICIPATORY WORK
Panelists will give a brief outline of their work, share 3-5 good practice recommendations, and reflect on the challenges they have encountered. The panel discussion will be open to questions from the audience.
Moderation by – WG Research member Carley Williams and Jorijn Neyrinck
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16:30 – 17:30 – PANEL SESSION on NGOs and the Overall Results Framework
Organized by the ICH NGO Forum Working Group Overall Results Frameworl, and the Working Group Policy and Legal Development
Hanna Schreiber, Janet Blake, Anaya Bhattacharya, Jorijn Neyrinck
| PANELISTS | THEME | PARTICIPATION |
| Ms Sarah Green (Art for Refugees/ USA) | Historical Memory and its role in Punta Canoa, Colombia | In person |
| Dr Valentina Zingari (AEJEST/ Italy) | The Tocatì methodology for inventorying Traditional games as ICH elements | In person/ online |
| Ms Charlotte Courtois (Konstelacio/ France) | Promoting the active transmission of cultural diversity and culinary traditions – Operation Ursino | In person |
| Ms Sona Tomaç (Traditional Arts Association/ Turkey) | Hands of Heritage: Community-Driven Safeguarding and Transmitting of Handicrafts in Türkiye | In person |
| Prof Susana Sardo (Int Council Traditional Music & Dance/ Slovenia) | Shared Research Practices as a Self-Empowerment Process for Heritage Communities. The case of Kola San Jon and Women Multipart Singing in Portugal | In person/ online |
| Dr Urtansav Norov (Foundation for Natural and Cultural Heritage/ Mongolia) | Preserving Tradition: Grassroots Transmission of Airag Making in Mongolia | In person |
| Mr Davy Nzembialéla (ADACO/ Gabon) | La transmission et l’éducation des populations locales du Gabon | In person/ online |
| Dr Konstantín Kontoyiannis (Conseil Int Danse/ international) | Inventaire des danses sacrées de l’humanité | online |
| Dr Hazar Souissi (univ. Carthage/ Tunisia) | Ensemble pour le Patrimoine : Quelques Expériences Inclusives dans la Valorisation du Patrimoine Immatériel en Tunisie | online |
| Dr Eva Kuminkovà (Ethnological Society/ Czech Republic) | Keepers of Tradition: Community Safeguarding of Dance in a Museum? | In person |
| Ms Giulia Avanza (Fond. Santagata/ Italy) | Co-Designing Heritage Safeguarding: A Case Study of Italy’s Musical Art of the Hunting Horn Players | online |
16:00 – 16:30 – Coffee Break
16:30 – 17:30 – OVERALL RESULTS FRAMEWORK
