The Working Group on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), Climate Change, and the Environment of the ICH NGO Forum, that brings together 264 NGOs accredited by UNESCO under the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, invites researchers, practitioners, and community members to submit abstracts for articles to be included in a forthcoming book publication. This book will focus on the safeguarding of ICH in the face of climate change, highlighting diverse impacts and reactions from communities around the world.
Theme and objectives
The book aims to explore and document the various ways in which communities are affected by climate change and how they are responding to these challenges. Intangible cultural heritage can itself be directly threatened and therefore must be safeguarded, and it can also be leveraged and mobilized in an active manner to effectively help communities to prepare for, respond to and recover from climate change. We seek to map these diverse situations and develop indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of different strategies through the sharing of local experiences and initiatives. The primary objectives are to:
- Assess the current state of ICH among communities impacted by climate change ;
- Evaluate the efficiency of community-based strategies in mitigating the impacts of climate change on ICH ;
- Analyze the capacity of communities to adapt their ICH practices to the changing climate ;
- Document climate change mitigation of communities through their low carbon practices;
- Develop indicators for mapping and evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies;
- Foster the sharing of local experiences and initiatives to enhance collective knowledge and action;
- Envision policies and action plans to safeguard and / or use living heritage in climate action.
Focus Areas
We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following areas:
- New theoretical approaches to safeguard Intangible Cultural Heritage in the face of climate change;
- Innovative methodologies for mapping the state of ICH, adaptation strategies and efforts to use it in situations of crises;
- Cases studies of community-driven initiatives to safeguard ICH against climate change:
- Impact of climate change on the propagation of invasive pests, new diseases and the traditional medicine of communities ;
- Traditional ecological knowledge and its role in climate adaptation ;
- Development of indicators to assess the effectiveness of safeguarding measures ;
- Policy approaches for integrating ICH safeguarding in climate action plans, including human rights-based approaches.
- Guidelines for Abstract Submission
Length : 400 to 500 words
Language: English, French and Spanish
Format: Word document
Deadline : 24 February 2025 Response by the evaluation committee: 3 March 2025
Submission emails: Laurier.Turgeon@hst.ulaval.ca; Lubna Marium (kanchendzonga@gmail.com); Irina Ruiz (info@acampadoc.com)
Content: All abstracts should include a concise title of the proposed article, the full name of the author with affiliation and contact information (email and mailing address), the aims of the article, the methods used to gather data and assess impacts, a summary of the key findings, insights and/ or expected outcomes.
- Publication details and timeline
Selected articles will be published in a book that will serve as a resource for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working at the intersection of ICH and climate change. The book will also take into account the principles outlined in the recent Declaration on Safeguarding ICH and Climate Action. https://www.ichngoforum.org/news/declaration-for-safeguarding-of-ich-for-climate-change-the-approved-text/
- Length of article 15-20 pages (3000 to 5000 words)
Deadline for the first submission of the selected articles:
15 May 2025
15 May 2025
Evaluation and comments by the reviewers of the selected papers:
30 May 2025
30 May 2025
Deadline for the final submission of selected papers:
30 June 2025
Predicted publication date:
15 November 2025
Launch at 20COM (New Delhi, India):
8-13 December 2025
- Contact Information
Working Group on ICH, Climate Change, and the Environment: Laurier.Turgeon@hst.ulaval.ca; Lubna Marium (kanchendzonga@gmail.com); Irina Ruiz (info@acampadoc.com). We look forward to your contributions and to advancing the understanding and safeguarding of ICH in the context of climate change through this collaborative effort.
ICH NGO Forum Working Group on ICH, Climate Change, and the Environment.
