Brokers, Facilitators and Mediation

Brokers, Facilitators and Mediation. Critical Success (F)Actors for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

A new publication on cultural brokerage and safeguarding intangible heritage.

The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and the subsequent versions of the Operational Directives have significant effects on cultural heritage practices and policies in many nation-states and regions around the world. Which lessons can we draw from the implementation and evaluation of safeguarding plans and programmes for intangible cultural heritage? What works? What is missing? Can good practices from other heritage fields be inspiring? What can we learn from experiences in development aid, health care or other programmes, in which brokers and facilitators are active?

The central hypothesis which is explored is that the role of mediators, cultural brokers or facilitators is important for making safeguarding programmes and other participatory heritage processes work and succeed. Several words describe these roles and the skills required. The word “translators” refers to skills to find common ground between professional discourses, methods and terminology of “safeguarding”or “intangible cultural heritage” on the one hand and local practices and group processes on the other hand. Do keywords like “cultural brokerage” or “mediation” adequately describe these critical success (f) actors? Are these processes limited to the world of NGOs or do they also form a challenge for other organizations, institutions and networks?

Brokers, Facilitators and Mediation. Critical Success (F)Actors for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Editors Marc Jacobs, Jorijn Neyrinck and Albert van der Zeijden), peer reviewed special issue of Volkskunde. Tijdschrift over de cultuur van het dagelijks leven 115 (2014) nr. 3.

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–          Academia Press, P. Van Duyseplein 8, 9000 Gent, info@academiapress.be

–          Subscriptionsfor the Journal Volkskunde : info@academiapress.be

–    UNESCO Chair for Critical Heritage Studies andSafeguarding of Intangible Heritage, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Prof. dr. Marc Jacobs) – Pleinlaan 2 (5C439b), 1050 Brussel – www.vub.ac.be – tel: +32 (0)2 213 10 60 – fax: +32 (0)2 213 10 99 – e-mail: mmjacobs@vub.ac.be

The PDF of the publicationwillalsobe made available online from 2015 onwards.on the website of the UNESCO Chair, on http://www.faronet.be/en/news and on www.immaterieelerfgoed.be

 Contributions:

Articles:

– Marc Jacobs, Jorijn Neyrinck and Albert van der Zeijden, UNESCO, Brokers and Critical Success (F)Actors in Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

– Marc Jacobs, Cultural Brokerage, Addressing Boundaries and the New Paradigm of Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage. Folklore Studies, Transdisciplinary Perspectives and UNESCO

– David Lewis, Understanding the Role of Non-government Organizations. (NGOs) as Cultural Brokers: a Review of Approaches

– Marc Jacobs, Development Brokerage, Anthropology and Public Action. Local Empowerment, International Cooperation and Aid: Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Essays:

– Jorijn Neyrinck, Beyond the Conventional. How to Foster Co-production for Safeguarding ICH

– Ananya Bhattacharya, Integrating Culture in Planning and Action for Sustainable Development: the Role of ICH NGOs

– Albert van der Zeijden, Dealingwith Black Pete. Media, Mediators and the Dilemmas of Brokering Intangible Heritage

Tracks:

– Dale Jarvis, Reframing and Extending Tradition. Intangible Cultural Heritage and Public Folklore in Newfoundland and Labrador

– VeronikaFilkó, Using Networks in the Process of Developing the National Inventory of ICH in Hungary

– LotharCasteleyn, Ellen Janssens and Jorijn Neyrinck, Six Years of Experience in Intangible Heritage Mediation in Flanders (Belgium). From Cultural Heritage Cells and an ICH Network to www.immaterieelerfgoed.be

– Emily Drani, The Role of NGOs in Preserving and Promoting Intangible Cultural Heritage in Uganda. The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda

– Valentina LapiccirellaZingari, Projects of Heritage Communities as New Challenges for Anthropologists. Italian Perspectives on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage, Mediation and Cultural Brokerage

Review

Marilena Alivizatou, Intangible Heritage and the Museum. New Perspectives on Cultural Preservation (Ramon de la Combé)