Festive events on the Inventory for Intangible Cultural Heritage in Flanders: Reflections from the field

This article discusses the evolution of the procedure of inscription of elements on the Inventory for Intangible Cultural Heritage in Flanders (Flemish Inventory). In 2006, Belgium ratified UNESCO s Convention on Intangible Heritage. In 2008, the Flemish Inventory was launched. LECA used the time between the ratification and the launch of the inventory to empower the practitioners of public events, processions, carnivals, parades and the like. As a result, many of these groups were ready to inscribe their tradition on the Flemish Inventory in 2008, which explains the current dominance of festive events. In the years that followed, the procedure became more strict in an attempt to preserve the spirit of the 2003 UNESCO convention. However, not all communities benefit equally from the current policy. For some communities it is too high of a threshold to work over a year on a nomination. As a result, the Flemish Inventory consists of very traditional elements, that have been named as typically Flemish for decades. While the Flemish society is evolving into a super divers society, the Flemish Inventory reflects a false sense of uniformity and some would even argue nostalgia. Therefore, LECA proposes to simplify the nomination procedure for the Flemish Inventory and to introduce an additional List of Best Practices for those communities who want to play an exemplary role.