To mark the International ICH Day, the UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Comparative Law at the University of Rome UnitelmaSapienza is launching the first edition of “Living Heritage Across Borders: ICH in Italian Schools Abroad”, an educational initiative specifically addressed to Italian schools abroad.

The initiative aims to bring the principles and values of the 2003 UNESCO Convention into Italian schools abroad and to encourage students to discover, rediscover and critically reflect on Italian intangible cultural heritage as a living, dynamic and shared heritage across borders.

For many students attending Italian schools abroad, Italian culture is part of their family history, personal identity or everyday educational experience, even when they live far from Italy. Some may have Italian parents, grandparents or relatives who transmit memories, stories, practices, recipes, songs, celebrations or ways of speaking linked to Italy. For others, Italy may be encountered mainly through school, language, teachers, classmates or cultural references, without a direct family connection. In both cases, intangible cultural heritage can become a meaningful bridge: a way to reconnect with Italian traditions for those who have Italian roots, and a way to discover them for those who approach Italy from outside.

The initiative is based on the conviction that younger generations, especially those growing up in multilingual and multicultural contexts, should be actively involved in recognising, safeguarding and transmitting the knowledge, practices, expressions and traditions that communities identify as part of their cultural heritage. In this perspective, Italian intangible cultural heritage is not presented as something fixed, distant or confined within national borders, but as a living heritage that travels with people, is transmitted through families and communities, and can be rediscovered, reinterpreted and kept alive in different cultural contexts.

For this first edition, the UNESCO Chair has developed a dedicated educational toolkit for participating schools. This toolkit has been specifically conceived to help students reconnect with, rediscover and explore Italian intangible cultural heritage in an international context. It opens with an introductory section explaining what intangible cultural heritage is, what safeguarding means, and why it is important to integrate living heritage into formal education.

The toolkit then proposes three activities for each educational level: primary school, lower secondary school and upper secondary school. For each level, one activity is designed to help students reconnect with Italian living heritage and with the traditions, memories and practices that may be transmitted within families and communities; one activity introduces intercultural diversity and respect for the heritage of others; and one activity explores music not only as cultural content, but also as a tool for learning, participation and intercultural dialogue.

Pedgagogical materials

As an additional support for teachers, the UNESCO Chair has also translated into Italian the UNESCO toolkit “Teaching and Learning with Living Heritage”, available on the UNESCO website, with the patronage of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO. This translated resource will be shared with participating teachers, together with an explanatory video, to provide further methodological guidance and practical tools for implementing the classroom activities.

(1) Italian translation of the UNESCO toolkit “Teaching and Learning with Living Heritage”, with the patronage of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO.

(2) An educational toolkit made by the UNESCO Chair to facilitate classroom activities on intangible cultural heritage. The toolkit includes:

• an introductory explanation of what intangible cultural heritage is, what safeguarding means, and why living heritage should be integrated into formal education;
• a set of educational activities differentiated by school level: primary school, lower secondary school and upper secondary school;
• activity guidelines for teachers, including objectives, duration, materials, step-by-step instructions, expected results and pedagogical rationale;
• annexes and supporting materials to facilitate classroom implementation, including scripts, maps, visual materials, worksheets, guided questions and audiovisual resources;
• a PowerPoint presentation that can be used by teachers to explain ICH in class;
• audiovisual resources and selected links to videos, documentaries and musical examples related to intangible cultural heritage;
• an explanatory video presenting the toolkit and guiding teachers in its use;

Programme

There is no single fixed schedule for the event, as each teacher will be able to use the educational materials provided by the UNESCO Chair according to the specific needs of their classroom, school level and local context. This flexible structure is particularly important for Italian schools abroad, as it allows the discussion on living heritage to be adapted to the age of the students, the cultural environment of the host country, and the different relationships that students may have with Italian language, culture and traditions.

The initiative will take place in participating Italian schools abroad during the month of October. Before the event, teachers will receive the toolkit, supporting materials and an explanatory video. In September, three preparatory online meetings will be organised by the UNESCO Chair, one for primary schools, one for lower secondary schools and one for upper secondary schools, to guide teachers through the activities and respond to questions.

During the classroom implementation, teachers will introduce the concept of intangible cultural heritage and then conduct one or more of the proposed activities. The activities may include classroom discussion, storytelling, creative writing, role-play, simulations, movement-based exercises, guided listening to music from different cultural contexts, and reflection on safeguarding practices.