Recognizing Intangible Cultural Heritage

The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is an international treaty that has reached almost universal acceptance and has encouraged the development of global, regional, and national programs recognizing the importance of traditional music, artistry, and knowledge. The history of the Convention’s formulation implicates shifts in terminology, changes in disciplinary foci, debates about how best to ensure the vitality of grassroots traditions, and assessments of the relationships between cultural communities, scholars, and the state. This account of the Convention’s development comes from an anthropologist and cultural heritage practitioner who served as a Smithsonian Institution official, advisor to the US government, and participant in bringing the treaty to fruition.