Zprávy památkové péče 2022, 82(2):179-184 | DOI: 10.56112/zpp.2022.2.04

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage versus the World Heritage Convention

Dita Limová

Ministerstvo kultury ČR

The article deals with the comparison of two international legal instruments from the field of UNESCO's cultural agenda - the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It aims to introduce readers to the practices that contribute to the identification, protection, documentation, and presentation of two important segments of cultural heritage. It outlines the genesis of both legal instruments and introduces the reader to carefully formulated definitions and characteristics of immovable and intangible cultural heritage. It focuses on the differences in preservation methods between the two segments. It also introduces the reader to the key concepts of both conventions. It also describes the mechanisms created by each Convention to improve the visibility of the cultural heritage segment concerned - the prestigious cultural heritage lists - and discusses how they work. The contribution of the article is primarily an analysis of how the two legal instruments are similar, how they differ, where they complement each other, and how they contribute to a better understanding of the meaning of cultural heritage in today's world.

Keywords: UNESCO; world heritage; intangible cultural heritage; 1972 and 2003 Conventions; cultural heritage lists; conservation methods

Published: June 1, 2022  Show citation