Glance at Work. Educational Perspectives (A) by Vanna Boffo

Author:Vanna Boffo [Boffo, Vanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Vocational, Education, Psychology, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Education & Training, Labour & Industrial Relations, Health & Well Being, Politics, Nonfiction
ISBN: 9788866551881
Google: mhXFZWqpCTMC
Publisher: Firenze University Press
Published: 2013-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

4. From recognition to safeguarding intangible know-how

In international strategic documents the need for recognition and the full enhancement of cultural products as the heritage of local communities has been upheld for several years, considering the enhancement of culture in its various expressions an inescapable element for a local, endogenous, fair and sustainable human development. A reference can surely be the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention, but they are principles which have recently been expressed and stated anew: in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2 November 2001, in the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of 25 October 2005166, in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 12 September 2007, and above all in the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, approved in Paris on 17 October 2003.

The latter convention explains the inseparable bond between the tangible and intangible dimension of the cultural heritage. Article 2 of the document gives a definition of the intangible:

The “intangible cultural heritage” means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. For the purposes of this Convention, consideration will be given solely to such intangible cultural heritage as is compatible with existing international human rights instruments, as well as with the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups and individuals, and of sustainable development.

It is a very wide-ranging definition that recognises the value of all intangible know-how as a cultural product that needs to be safeguarded. From the very first articles, the convention introduces the educational issue and the local territorial component to the extent that it calls upon communities and groups that over time have produced, transmitted and preserved the heritage which characterises their living environment. Article 1, which sets out the declaration’s general purposes, asserts the safeguarding principle, which is nevertheless integrated with community awareness and joint responsibility building.

While without doubt we can totally agree with all of these principles, nevertheless the problem remains of being able to implement and sustain them. The problem is to convert them into acts that can guarantee the recognition and enhancement of local cultures and traditional know-how, to really produce tangible and intangible wealth, and strengthen cultural creation processes in respect of traditions, guaranteeing continuity and innovation.

In light of the considerations expressed in the previous paragraphs and starting from the consideration that the tangible and intangible dimensions of a produced good cannot be separated, or the good itself will not be attributed value, I shall pose some questions to which pedagogical reflection must help to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.