Intangible Cultural Heritage as Co-Creation: Challenges, Pathways and Conditions

UNESCO recognises intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as a vital means of promoting cultural diversity and fostering human creativity. However, its implementation around the world continues to face significant challenges. To address these difficulties, we suggest that ICH can be both approached and understood as a form of co-creation. We propose an analytic framework with which to examine the possibilities and conditions of applying co-creation principles to ICH. This framework identifies four key factors essential to the co-creation process: collaborative local governance, relationship building among stakeholders, collective interpretation, and presentation and promotion. Additionally, we highlight four fundamental prerequisites for mitigating potential challenges and ensuring effective co-creation: consensus, compromise, communication and trust. Viewing ICH as co-creation offers a new conceptual lens that underscores cooperation and communication between various parties. While there is no universal formula for co-creation, we hope this framework serves as a foundation for future discussions, fostering deeper community engagement and more sustainable ICH practices. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Anna Edmundson and Maya Haviland; individual chapters, the contributors.