International Cultural Heritage: The 2003 ICH in Context

Abstract

In this contribution, Monica Alcantar outlines the main features for assessing the Convention for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage two decades after its adoption. She provides a framework to critically approach the wide range of considerations over the text and its implementation. From the unprecedented positive impact that followed the expansion of the traditional conception of heritage to include anthropological and sociological perspectives, the 2003 Convention not only introduced but amplified the notion of culture under an evolving dimension, where the term “safeguarding” became the measure to ensure the viability of intangible cultural heritage while admitting its entropic nature.