“Are we heritage? I didn t know!” Experiences while collecting intangible heritage practices in Belgian Limburg anno 2021-2024

The Limburgs Volkskundig Genootschap (LVG) is not as old-fashioned as its name might suggest. This association of heritage workers has been inventorying and studying folk culture in Belgian Limburg for more than thirty years. In 2021, LVG started a new challenge: visiting, collecting and portraying a hundred living customs and traditions in the province of Limburg on their website. The project was called “Beleving”. It was carried out with support from the Flemish government. The most important aspects of the project are systematically described, such as working with professional partners and volunteers, finding and selecting the various types of traditions across the province of Limburg. The project progress is also discussed: from the initial idea, through the design and preparation to the implementation and evaluation of the process and the results achieved. The partnership includes professional heritage organizations as well as others such as a training institution, a local television and a university college. The collaboration with such a diverse consortium offers numerous advantages and points of interest. The implementation involves a lot of volunteers and students. They were provided with specific training and individual guidance. Including 20\% of the heritage practices of the ethniccultural minorities present in Limburg was the greatest challenge, however. The project also provides a comparison with an analogous inventory that LVG carried out with a local newspaper in 2002-2004. This comparison shows connections and evolutions, but also the influence of the COVID-19-waves that crossed the project. The findings of the project are enhanced by the experiences of the heritage bearers interviewed and the volunteers who conducted the interviews. The conclusion is hopeful: heritage practices are alive and well among young, old and new residents in Limburg, in cities and villages. They are taking on new forms in today s rapidly changing world.