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Teemaneng Declaration on the Intangible Heritage of Cultural Spaces

This document presents the current standards for ethical practice in the identification, conservation, management and celebration of intangible cultural heritage of cultural spaces. It was developed by the ICOMOS International Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICICH) from the Kimberley Declaration drafted at an international meeting held in South Africa in October 2003 for the 14th ICOMOS General Assembly at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

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Declaration of the Kimberley Workshop on the Intangible Heritage of Monuments Sites

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Conversations on Intangible Cultural Heritage

Do you work in cultural heritage? Are you passionate about cultural preservation? Are you working in the area of language, arts, or heritage? Do you work with communities or with governments? Please join us at the ‘Conversations on Intangible Cultural Heritage’ conference on May 17 and 24, on-line.

The aim of this is to draw on the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and to initiate a national dialogue about ICH. The dialogue will be set over a span of two days and will bring in practitioners, governments, community members, academics, students, and other stakeholders interested in heritage. By initiating conversations, the conference hopes to raise awareness and visibility about the importance of ICH, support knowledge-exchange and resource mobilization, promote initiatives and good practices, and contribute to the development and growth of the ICH network in Canada.

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Film screening: Something can only be danced!

A Poetic Documentary about Tibetan Ritual Mask Dance, Cham, by Aase-Hilde Brekke. 

Brekke will talk about how these particular dances are performed in honour of the Indian Guru and master Padmasambhava, who is also called The second Buddha. The dances shows both wrathful and peaceful dances, originally a copy of the celestial beings. The dances are believed to bring purifications and blessings for the surroundings, and train the dancers and the spectators to meet the different Bardo-stages in death.

The monastery Tashi Jong in Tibet, is well known for their elaborate dances, and they perform the dances four times a year. Due to the exile situation for the Tibetan refugees, they have lost a lot of costumes, masks and the religious texts as well.

As part of the programme, Brekke will also present ICOMOS’ work, and Eivind Falk will talk about ICOMOS’ and UNESCO’s work on Intangible Heritage.

Arranged by:  The research group Philosophy, Art and Culture, OsloMet, Oslo, Norway.

The Mask dance of the drums from Drametse was inscribed in 2008 (3.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2005) https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/mask-dance-of-the-drums-from-drametse-00161

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1 June 2022 Film screening: Something can only be danced!

A Poetic Documentary about Tibetan Ritual Mask Dance, Cham, by Aase-Hilde Brekke. 

1 June, 2022 15:00 – 17:00
Pilestredet, Oslo

Brekke will talk about how these particular dances are performed in honour of the Indian Guru and master Padmasambhava, also referred to as The second Buddha. The dances shows both wrathful and peaceful dances, originally a copy of the celestial beings. The dances are believed to bring purifications and blessings for the surroundings, and train the dancers and the spectators to meet the different Bardo-stages in death.

The monastery Tashi Jong in Tibet is well known for their elaborate dances, and they perform the dances four times a year. Due to the exile situation for the Tibetan refugees, they have lost a lot of costumes, masks and the religious texts as well.

As part of the programme, Brekke will also present ICOMOS’ work, and Eivind Falk will talk about ICOMOS’ and UNESCO’s work on Intangible Heritage.

Arranged by:  The research group Philosophy, Art and Culture, OsloMet, Oslo, Norway.

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The Mask dance of the drums from Drametse was inscribed in 2008 (3.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2005) 

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Call for Applications: Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

The programme offers small and large grants to document material knowledge systems that are under threat and in danger of disappearing. This includes knowledge systems associated with the making, use, repair and re-purposing of material objects, spaces, architecture, performances and environments. In order to qualify for these grants, these knowledge systems must still be actively pursued, or at least practiced within living memory of the knowledge holders. EMKP does not support work to revitalise a lost or forgotten tradition.

Small Grants can last up to one year with a maximum award of £15,000. Small Grants are intended for projects that are focused on a specific/individual material practice and which are limited in scope. They are also suitable for initial pilot work to establish the nature and extent of material knowledge systems where these might not be previously known, or for early career applicants who are building new projects.

Large Grants can last up to two years with a maximum award of £70,000. Large Grants are suitable for mature projects where intensive and more diverse documentation is proposed, a larger team is needed, multiple strands of work are happening simultaneously and/or more time is needed to complete the documentation (e.g. because of seasonal cycles of working)

Documentation methods can include, but are not limited to, film, audio recordings, photographs, written notes, maps, 3D images, and drawings. Successful applicants must agree to submit digital copies of these records to the British Museum’s EMKP digital repository, which is open access.

Applicants from across the world can apply for grants irrespective of nationality, although they must be affiliated to an institution that can provide independent oversight and reports to EMKP. There is no restriction on where the proposed work can be carried out; however, strong preference is given to projects in regions and countries where there is limited financial support available for research.

Learn how to apply on the programme’s website.

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Ethos through traditional construction processes: Historical development between community builder in the Minho Area of the North-western Iberian Peninsula and Pico Island in the Azores

This article analyses the developmental transitions in traditional construction processes in two very different but historically related contexts: the Island of Pico in the Azores and the Minho Area in the North-western Iberian Peninsula. The Pico Island, with a young geology, presents a serious limitation of available material resources, and resulting in a markedly individualistic approach to building. The Iberian Peninsula, on the other hand, with an abundance of material resources, presents a strongly collective approach to the organization of building works. This paper described the forms of organization necessary to achieve similar constructive systems, with the objective of making different material realities visible in the ethos of both. Activity-theoretical studies put an emphasis on the object enabling a longitudinal and rich analysis through time. A specific contribution in outlining the historical transformation of work of the community builder is made by using the life stories of two builders, one in Pico and another in the Minho Area, serving as the guiding thread. The paper shows that activity theory provides useful analytical tools for the enrichment of studies in constructive systems.

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