Top of page
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
This post summarizes the second roundtable presentations of the distinguished panelists of the American Folklife Center's Community-driven Archives discussion event, which was held in September 2023 and is now available online.
Posted in: AFC Events, Archival Practice, Intangible Cultural Heritage
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
This post, which is the first in a two-part series, is co-authored with folklorist Robert Baron and provides a summary of the first roundtable of the American Folklife Center's Community-driven Archives online discussion event, held in September 2023 and now available online.
Posted in: AFC Events, Archival Practice, Intangible Cultural Heritage
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
This is an announcement for a Friday, September 8th online discussion event focused on community-based cultural documentation and archival efforts, hosted by the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
Posted in: AFC Events, Archival Practice, Fieldwork, Intangible Cultural Heritage
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
If this series is a mountain, I am pleased to say that we are now climbing up to its peak: an examination of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is through the 2003 Convention that the concept and category …
Posted in: Intangible Cultural Heritage, WIPO
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
The Folklife at the International Level series has set out on a winding road, tracing the concept of “intangible cultural heritage” (ICH) as developed through a series of international initiatives over the course of the late 20th century. As the signs posted throughout have indicated, this road leads to the global framework for ICH promotion and …
Posted in: Cultural Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, WIPO
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
In Part VII, we got a feel for the strong momentum that was building during the 1990s with respect to the more concerted efforts of UNESCO in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH) – and raising awareness of the need to – globally. In particular, we took a look at the Living Human Treasures model, long …
Posted in: Intangible Cultural Heritage, WIPO
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
Our journey in the Folklife at the International Level series last took us to long-established East Asian “Living Human Treasures” programs for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH). As discussed, during the 1990s, UNESCO recommended to Member States that they adopt similar systems of subsidizing (or, at the least, officially recognizing) people in their own territories …
Posted in: Bess Lomax Hawes, Cultural Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, WIPO
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
In Part VI, we examined UNESCO’s 1972 World Heritage Convention and some of its underlying notions and approaches that have influenced the development of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) framework of today. In particular, I singled out its use of listing – namely, the World Heritage List – as a mechanism for preservation by drawing …
Posted in: Intangible Cultural Heritage, Uncategorized, WIPO
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
In honor of World Intellectual Property Day, let’s get back into the realm of global cultural heritage, particularly with respect to the idea of heritage as property. In the last post, I unknotted the notion of death (via globalization and homogenization) from the tangle of concepts, values, and disciplinary legacies known as ‘intangible cultural heritage’ …
Posted in: Intangible Cultural Heritage, WIPO