Drawing-up a nation-wide inventory of intangible heritage in Portugal

The Institute for Museums and Conservation is the body of the Ministry of Culture which is responsible for promoting the study, documentation, recording and safeguarding of Portuguese intangible heritage by developing standards, guidelines and information systems for inventorying and providing public access to IH. The drawing up of the National Inventory of Intangible Heritage is a task to which the Institute of Museums and Conservation is presently committed according to both its mission statement and to the legal framework soon to be implemented under Portuguese Heritage Law. The text discusses the main legislative, institutional and scientific issues that must be taken into consideration in order to implement this inventory and that must be considered as opportunities and/or strengths in the implementation of the National Inventory of IH and, simultaneously, as key factors for the success of the Portuguese administration’s strategy for the safeguarding of IH.