From October 9th to 11th, 2024, the 18th Annual Meeting of the South-East European Network of Experts on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) took place in Warsaw, Poland. Hosted by and facilitated by our UNESCO Chair, in close collaboration with the City of Warsaw’s Culture Department and UNESCO (Venice Office and Living Heritage Entity), and with the support of the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-East Europe based in Sofia as well as Museum of Warsaw, this gathering brought together ICH experts, cultural professionals, and city representatives from across South-East Europe.
This year’s theme, Living Heritage in Urban Contexts, offered a timely exploration of the role of intangible cultural heritage in the rapidly urbanizing world. With urban populations expected to comprise 68% of the global population by 2050, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage within these dynamic environments is crucial for both: the city’s genius loci preservation and sustainable urban development.
Key Discussions and Insights
The meeting was structured to delve deeply into the intersection of urban development and the safeguarding of living heritage. Warsaw, with its rich and at the same time tragic history and ongoing urban evolution, served as an exemplary case study. Participants engaged in hands-on workshops, site visits, and interactive sessions, which underscored the challenges and opportunities that urban environments present for safeguarding ICH.
Day 1 began with guided tours of the iconic Warsaw Rising Museum and the Warsaw Historic City Centre (Old Town), illustrating how tangible loss and massive destruction, post-war reconstruction and contemporary intangible heritage coexist and enrich the city’s identity. The visit set the stage for the more in-depth panels and roundtables that followed over the next two days.
Day 2 featured the opening ceremony and opening presentations, focusing on UNESCO’s efforts and recent projects aimed at safeguarding living heritage in urban contexts. These sessions addressed various aspects of urban ICH management, from community-based inventorying to how different global cities are navigating their challenges and mitigating them through living heritage. Helena Drobna, Suzanne Ogge and Hanna Schreiber shared insights into the recent experiences from the UNESCO thematic initiative dedicated to ICH in urban contexts, six pilot projects in six cities from almost every region of the world, as well as a detailed summary of experiences of the Warsaw Intangible Cultural Heritage Team, providing a wealth of knowledge on challenges related to integrating ICH into urban policies and programmes.
Further this day participants delved into vibrant discussions on adapting ICH in evolving urban environments. The first roundtable, Intangible Cultural Heritage in the City: Adapting in Evolving Contexts, brought examples from Albania, Austria, Malta, Slovenia, Türkiye and cities like Tirana, Vienna, Ljubljana, and Kayseri, highlighting innovative approaches to safeguarding in response to urban growth, migration, and sustainability challenges. Following this, the second roundtable, City Museums, Community Engagement and Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding: Outreach and Opportunities, focused on the role of museums and cultural institutions in community engagement and safeguarding. It explored how these institutions can act as critical nodes for the transmission and celebration of living heritage within cities. Examples discussed were brought by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, and Serbia.
The final roundtable of the day, Municipal Policies and Intangible Cultural Heritage: Strengthening Sustainable Cooperation, addressed the subject with examples from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Moldova, North Macedonia, and Romania. The session called on strengthening cooperation between local governments, communities, and cultural policymakers, ensuring that living heritage plays a central role in sustainable urban development.
This day ended with the dancing theatre presentation by “Warszawianka” (https://www.facebook.com/WarszawiankaUW/?locale=pl_PL), a dancing and singing ensemble based at the University of Warsaw, and a workshop around the traditional dance polonaise, the most recent inscription from Poland on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023 (https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/polonaise-traditional-polish-dance-01982).
Day 3 of the 18th Annual Meeting took place at the Museum of Warsaw Praga, offering participants a hands-on exploration of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH) within an urban environment. The day began with an interactive session, using the “metaplan” approach in two separate groups facilitated by Suzanne Ogge and Hanna Schreiber to discuss and map out ways to safeguard ICH in urban contexts relevant to 16 participating countries. This was followed by a plenary session allowing deeper reflections on shared challenges, best practices and exchange of recommendations worked out by both groups.
Participants then had the opportunity to experience Warsaw’s culinary heritage with a traditional lunch, showcasing the city’s living heritage through its flavours and food traditions. In the afternoon, they engaged directly with living heritage bearers, presenting old and new ways of engaging with urban craftsmanship through carpentry, braiding, leathermaking and fashion design.
The day concluded with a visit to the museum’s exhibition, which provided a deeper understanding of Warsaw’s dynamic relationship with both tangible and intangible heritage. The discussions throughout the day highlighted the important role that institutions like the Praga Museum of Warsaw play in safeguarding and promoting urban ICH through community engagement and public programs.
Outcomes and Reflections
The Warsaw meeting concluded with a shared understanding of the importance of embedding safeguarding practices into the fabric of urban planning and city management. Several key outcomes emerged:
1. Strengthened Regional Cooperation: Participants recognized the importance of collaboration among South-East European cities and shared practical strategies for safeguarding ICH in their respective urban environments.
2. Innovative Approaches: The meeting inspired new ways of thinking about how living heritage can adapt to urban growth without losing its essence, drawing on examples of successful integration in public spaces, parks, and cultural institutions.
3. Future Action: The event laid the groundwork for future initiatives, encouraging cities to develop policies that integrate living heritage into urban sustainability agendas. It is important that the participants of this meeting remain in touch, sharing their initiatives and experiences from supporting awareness-raising and
The Warsaw gathering proved the value of continued dialogue, knowledge sharing, and regional cooperation by broadening the group of participants. By bringing together experts and city officials, it ensured that the safeguarding of living heritage remains a priority as cities continue to grow and evolve. As we move forward, we must carry the lessons from this meeting into the future, ensuring that our living heritage thrives in the urban contexts of tomorrow.
Acknowledgements
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the participants spanning 16 countries, whose valuable contributions enriched the lively discussions and knowledge exchange.
We also wish to express our deepest appreciation to co-facilitator Suzanne Ogge, co-organizers and partners from UNESCO (Magdalena Landry, Matteo Rosati, Helena Drobná, Juliana Forero, Costanza Fidelbo, Laura de Stefani, Sinisa Sesum), the City of Warsaw (Aldona Machnowska-Góra, Artur Jóźwik, Jarosław Kutera, Monika Czerska), University of Warsaw (Zygmunt Lalak, Daniel Przastek), Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw (Jakub Nowotarski, Paweł Mrowiński, Wiktor Jasionowski, Ryszard Bogudzki, Leszek Szczepaniak), Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe (Nadejda Ilieva, Mirena Staneva), and the Museum of Warsaw (Katarzyna Kuzko-Zwierz, Katarzyna Chudyńska-Szuchnik, Karolina Ziębińska). The collaborative, supportive, and amicable atmosphere fostered by all involved was pivotal in ensuring the productivity and relevance of this event.
We also wish to convey our warmest thanks to the dedicated group of students – volunteers, coordinated by the International Cooperation Committee of the Students’ Union of the University of Warsaw, for their invaluable support with registration and linguistic support during workshops with ICH bearers in the Praga Museum of Warsaw.
We will be gradually posting recordings and summaries from our meetings, allowing for further reflection and engagement in these discussions.
For a more detailed recap, see also https://www.ichgovernance.com/living-heritage-in-urban-contexts/.
