The Power of Intangible Cultural Heritage

According to Article 2 in the UNESCO 2003-Convention, Intangible Cultural Heritage practices are always connected to people, formally defined in the convention as communities, groups and individuals. I will therefore begin this essay introducing an example of the formative impact of ICH on the personal level.One week each year I leave civilization, go into the woods and transform myself to Robin Hood1). I teach children how to make their own fishing rod and we dig for earth worms. We spend the whole week outdoors, building our own camp, making bows and arrows, having shooting contest and catch fish. We are outlaws.After 10 years, in 2017 I wanted to dig deeper into the children’s experience from this course, and find out if the interaction with traditional crafts and nature has a transformative impact on the participants. The research was done in cooperation with Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences To address my question, I used three different approaches : A survey, my own auto ethnographical diary, and relevant theory from the field.The impact of crafts and nature is powerful, and transformative. In the questionnaire the parents was asked quite directly about this, and a clear majority of them confirmed that participation : ∙Provided an opportunity to get closer to nature.∙Helped my child learn how to interact with others in nature ∙Provided the opportunity to be able to create something real with their own hands ∙Provided a break from the virtual world of computers and social media ∙Inspired my child to get involved in similar activities in the future I was happy to see the course had inspired the children to continue the activities after they came home. Some had made a bow and arrow, some had been fishing and some had been sleeping outdoors.Compared to the listing of ICH, both on a national and an international level, I do believe that ICHs most powerful impact is on a personal level, as Intangible Cultural Heritage practices are always connected to individuals and communities; to people who are practicing woodcarving, traditional dances or female divers searching for shellfish on Jeju island.My examples demonstrate that between individuals, groups and communities, on a personal level, ICH can have a wonderful impact. It brings people and generations together, it helps solving conflicts and prevents deceases.ICH improves us as individuals and brings a quality into our lives. It bring s health and well-being, and it link us with nature. ICH helps us connect with the past and connect us to the real world. Through ICH we develop our capacities and we are given the possibility to share knowledge with, and participate in our communities. ICH teaches a new generation life skills in order to meet the challenges in their future.