City Museums and Community Engagement: Exploring Their Role in Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

As part of the 18th Annual Meeting of the South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage, Round Table 2 centered on the vital role of museums in preserving intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

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As part of the 18th Annual Meeting of the South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage, Round Table 2 centered on the vital role of museums in preserving intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Moderated by Suzanne Ogge, this session featured speakers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, and Serbia. They shared how museums serve as bridges between tradition and modernity, fostering community engagement and facilitating the transmission of living heritage.


Bosnia and Herzegovina: Optimizing Museums’ Role in Supporting Living Heritage

Due to technical difficulties beginning of the recording is unavailable.

Speaker:

  • Božana Đuzelović, Senior Curator, Museum of Herzegovina in Trebinje

Božana Đuzelović opened the session by emphasizing that museums are not just repositories of history but living spaces for dialogue and cultural transmission. She presented a case study on how the Museum of Herzegovina in Trebinje has redefined its role to engage with living heritage practices, particularly those affected by urban migration.

Key Initiatives:
  1. Interactive Exhibits: The museum developed hands-on exhibits showcasing traditional crafts such as pottery and weaving.
  2. Collaboration with Local Artisans: Artisans are invited to conduct live demonstrations, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange between generations.
  3. Youth Programs: Outreach programs targeting schools encourage young people to learn about and participate in heritage practices.

Ms Đuzelović noted that, “a museum’s value lies in its ability to connect people with their roots, even in a rapidly modernizing world.”


Greece: Safeguarding the Art of Silversmithing in Ioannina

Speakers:

  • Helena Bazini, Social Anthropologist, Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage, Hellenic Ministry of Culture
  • Ioannis N. Drinis, Folklorist, Head of Intangible Culture and Intercultural Affairs Department, Hellenic Ministry of Culture
  • Minas Paschopoulos, Deputy Mayor of Culture, Cultural Institutions and Events, Municipality of Ioannina

The team from Greece presented Ioannina’s efforts to safeguard its centuries-old silversmithing tradition, which faces the challenges among others of a changing transmission process and the need for the small silversmith’s enterprises to evolve in the modern business environment.

Challenges Identified:
  • Aging master artisans and a lack of apprentices willing to take up the craft.
  • Not clear position of the art’s significance for the course of the city towards the future.
  • Lack of a contemporary educational and vocational training system. 
  • Insufficient institutional framework for the survival and development of the small silversmith’s enterprises.
Solutions and Strategies:
  1. Collaboration of all stakeholders involved: a yearly action plan developing within the context of “May: Month of Ioannina’s Silversmithing”
  2. Identifying and engaging all relevant public bodies to address the agreed issues by strengthening or diversifying where needed the public policies for the educational framework and the business environment.   
  3. Synergies and innovating approaches, like museum partnerships and tourism integration, were also discussed. 

Italy: Tocatì – A Festival Integrating Heritage into Verona’s Urban Life

Speakers:

  • Elena Sinibaldi, Country Focal Point for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Office for UNESCO
  • Marta Ugolini, City Councillor for Culture, Tourism and relations with UNESCO, City of Verona

The city of Verona’s Tocatì Festival stands as a prime example of how urban spaces can celebrate and sustain ICH. Ms Sinibaldi and Ms Ugolini shared insights into how the festival has become a platform for reviving traditional games, music, and dances in a cityscape dominated by modernization.

Highlights of the Festival:
  1. Traditional Games Revival: Ms Ugolini discussed the festival’s emphasis on reintroducing traditional Italian games such as bocce to urban audiences.
  2. Cross-Cultural Exchange: Tocatì has invited participants from other regions and countries, transforming Verona into a hub of cultural exchange during the festival.
  3. Sustainability Focus: Ms Sinibaldi highlighted the festival’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact while celebrating heritage, in ways such as using recycled materials for the event’s infrastructure.

“Tocatì is not just a festival; it’s a movement to bring heritage into the rhythm of everyday urban life,” Ms Ugolini explained.


Montenegro: Synergy of Museums and Engaged Communities

Speakers:

  • Maja Uskoković, Director of Maritime Museum of Montenegro, Kotor
  • Jelena Vidović, Independent Advisor, Administration for protection of cultural heritage in Kotor

The presentation focused on Montenegro’s approach to integrating museums with community-driven heritage initiatives. Ms Uskoković and Ms Vidović highlighted the National Museum’s innovative strategies for fostering active participation in ICH preservation.

Innovative Practices:

  1. Heritage Forums: Ms Vidović described monthly forums hosted by the Museum, whereby citizens can share their ideas for safeguarding local traditions.
  2. Mobile Museums: Ms Uskoković shared details of a traveling exhibit initiative that brings artifacts and live demonstrations of heritage practices to remote communities.
  3. Cultural Startups: The Museum collaborates with young entrepreneurs to create modern products inspired by traditional designs, such as textiles and jewelry.

“Our museums must step outside their walls and become active participants in the cultural lives of our communities,” Uskoković said.


Serbia: The role of museums and other cultural institutions in safeguarding of the ICH: City of Vranje – experiences and challenges

Speakers:

  • Danijela Filipović, Head of the Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage of Serbia at the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade
  • Tanja Ivanović, Counselor, City of Vranje Administration – Local Economic Development Office

Vranje, a city known for its vibrant folklore and music traditions, has faced challenges in safeguarding its ICH due to urbanization and shifting demographics. Ms Filipović and Ms Ivanović outlined the city’s multi-pronged approach to addressing these issues.

Key Efforts:
  1. Digital Heritage Archives: the new approach for presenting ICH through digitalisation, which the City of Vranje implemented in collaboration with cultural institutions.
  2. Collaborative Performances: Ms Ivanović described how the City of Vranje and cultural institutions organize events where local and national vocal soloists, folklore ensembles and orchestras perform together, fostering unity and cultural pride.
  3. Youth Engagement: Ms Filipović outlined efforts to integrate ICH education into school curricula and thus ensure continuity of related living heritage for future generations.

“Our music and stories are the heartbeat of Vranje, and they must continue to be heard,” Ms  Ivanović said.


Concluding Reflections

The presentations in Round Table 2 illustrated how museums are transforming their roles through the ICH safeguarding. By stepping beyond their traditional function as repositories, these institutions are engaging actively with communities to preserve and transmit living heritage. Common themes included:

  • The power of collaboration between museums, bearers, artisans, and the public.
  • The importance of adapting heritage practices to urban lifestyles.
  • The role of museums as facilitators of dialogue and innovation.

As the speakers collectively emphasized, museums are not passive custodians of culture but active agents of preservation and transformation, helping intangible heritage thrive in the modern world.


See also

Webinar on 25 February 2025: Heritage skills, transmission and policies

Second Conference of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies’ Central and Eastern Europe Chapter: CALL FOR PAPERS

Adapting Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urban Contexts: Lessons from South-East Europe

WIPO vs ICH?

National Museum Conference in Bodø, Northern Norway

Summary of the 18th Annual Meeting of the South-East European Network of Experts on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Warsaw

17th October: Webinar on AI and Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)!

18. doroczne spotkanie Sieci Ekspertów ds. Niematerialnego Dziedzictwa Kulturowego w Europie Południowej i Wschodniej już 10 października 2024!

Polish Armed Forces Engaged in Discussions on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Our Chair as Co-organizer of the Upcoming Conference “Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Military”