ICT-Based Participatory Approaches for the Exploitation and Re-use of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Cultural heritage, in both its tangible and intangible form, is an important factor for social cohesion, tourism and economic development, and ICT technologies can help significantly to this end. The present paper aims at linking the fields of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and ICT technologies with an emphasis on participatory approaches, using the EU i-Treasures and Terpsichore projects as case studies. The two projects leverage modern ICT technologies to improve the analysis and presentation of ICH, raise public awareness, provide seamless and universal access to cultural resources, support new services for research and education and recommend new development strategies. After a brief review of the state of the art on participatory approaches from both the ICH and the ICT technologies field, the paper proposes a new set of interventions and approaches, based on the experience gained from the two projects, that aim towards innovative participatory applications for the exploitation and re-use of ICH. It is shown that the implementation of such interventions can have significant economic benefits for cultural organisations. It is also suggested that further research is required to enhance the links between the ICH and the ICT technologies field.