Adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on October 17, 2003, International Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” is about the “people, resilience and knowledge passed on from generation to generation” (UNESCO 2023).

“The purposes of this Convention are:
(a) to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage;
(b) to ensure respect for the intangible cultural heritage of the communities, groups and individuals concerned;
(c) to raise awareness at the local, national and international levels of the importance of the intangible cultural heritage, and of ensuring mutual appreciation thereof;
(d) to provide for international cooperation and assistance. (UNESCO 2003)”

For research references on the implementation of the Convention, click on link to the right ….

Citations:

UNESCO. 2023.  20th Anniversary 2003-2023.  Accessed July 25, 2025, https://ich.unesco.org/en/anniversary, archived https://perma.cc/T2RC-2K8H.

UNESCO. 2003. Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.  Accessed July 25, 2025, https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention, archived https://perma.cc/JP9K-RCBR.

Image by Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa) – Self made, usingFile:BlankMap-World6.svg by Canuckguy and othersFile:UNESCO World Heritage.svg by NNW, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34698990