| Description |
Until the last moments of the drafting process of the Convention, the Intergovernmental Meeting of Experts was debating the issue of whether the Convention should employ a listing system or a registration system. The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was finally adopted in October 2003 using a listing system. Some of the experts who were not in favor of this system are still criticizing it today. Today, the Convention has 155 States Parties. There are 288 elements inscribed on the two lists and a selection of ten elements on the Registry of Best Practices. The inscription of elements of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) on the Lists has triggered unprecedented enthusiasm for the ICH among practitioner communities as well as the general public. The Chengdu International Conference held last June to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Convention discussed the listing system currently being used and identified points concerning, on the one hand, the procedure for inscription on the Lists and, on the other, the impact of public recognition on the inscribed elements and their practitioners. This paper offers some suggestions that might be taken to mitigate the problems raised, such that the Convention will not become the victim of its own success. |
