Webinar “Intangible cultural heritage: safeguarding living practices in the digital era”
In 2023, at the initiative of Poland and a broad interregional coalition composed of Bangladesh, Botswana, Morocco, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda, and Slovakia, the General Conference of UNESCO adopted by consensus a resolution establishing the International Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage (42 C/Resolution 34). This day is honored annually on October 17, in commemoration of the adoption of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
To mark this event, a 90-minute online seminar will be held on October 17, 2025. It is organized by the Polish National Commission for UNESCO, in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Poland to UNESCO. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from the UNESCO Secretariat, Sponsoring Countries, UNESCO Chairs and Networks, as well as experts directly involved in drafting the 2003 Convention.
The seminar will feature representatives from the UNESCO Secretariat, the countries that initiated the General Conference resolution on the establishment of IDICH, UNESCO Chairs and Networks, and renowned experts. Webinar will be held on-line. The event is open to all – no prior registration required.
Join the webinar
- Date: 17 October 2025
- Time: 2.00 – 3.30 pm (CET)
- Join via Microsoft Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3948582115595?p=VNVTRKgY6N2kf6aIRk
We look forward to your participation.
Background
In 2003, the adoption of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage marked a historic milestone in recognizing living heritage as a foundational source of cultural diversity, identity, and human creativity. Twenty years on, the Convention has become the global reference point for communities, governments, and cultural actors engaged in the practice, transmission and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, as well as in raising public awareness of its value.
The International Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage offers a moment for collective reflection on the role of ICH in a rapidly changing world. The challenges identified at the turn of the millennium have not disappeared. Rather, they have evolved in scope and complexity. In a context of rising geopolitical tensions, growing intolerance, accelerating technological change and an expanding digital revolution, the Convention remains central to international efforts to ensure the vitality of intangible cultural heritage worldwide - “considering the invaluable role of the intangible cultural heritage as a factor in bringing human beings closer together and ensuring exchange and understanding among them.”
Rationale
The rapid digital transformation of societies, accelerated by the growth of artificial intelligence, is profoundly reshaping the ways in which intangible cultural heritage is practiced, created, transmitted, experienced and documented. Digital tools provide opportunities for education, collaboration, and exchange across borders and beyond previous limitations, empowering communities to share their heritage more widely than ever before. At the same time, algorithms often privilege certain cultural expressions, potentially narrowing rather than enriching cultural diversity. As the digital sphere becomes an increasingly dominant arena of human interaction, effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage requires ensuring that technological innovation serves as a bridge for practices, expressions and dialogue, rather than a factor of fragmentation, division and loss.
Objectives
The International Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage offers an opportunity to reaffirm the value of intangible cultural heritage, present current research and engage diverse actors in reflection on its safeguarding amid contemporary transformations. The objectives of the Webinar include:
- Raising awareness – highlighting the importance of intangible cultural heritage and its role in fostering identity, creativity and social cohesion, especially with a view to digital transformation.
- Strengthening synergies and collaboration – promoting dialogue and partnerships among communities, policymakers, researchers and cultural actors at all levels – local, national, and international. Recognizing that effective safeguarding depends on a coordinated, multilevel ecosystem where each actor contributes to the vitality and continuity of the intangible cultural heritage.
- Inspiring discussion on governance and policy – examining how existing legal, institutional, and policy frameworks have evolved and function today, while exploring how they can adapt to embrace new opportunities and address emerging challenges arising from the growth of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and algorithm-driven platforms.
- Looking to the future – encouraging reflection on how intangible cultural heritage can continue to thrive and inspire, ensuring its relevance for the identity, creativity and resilience of current communities and generations to come.
Agenda
Opening & Moderation
Alicja Jagielska-Burduk, Secretary General, Polish National Commission for UNESCO
Welcome Addresses
Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Poland
Perspectives from Sponsoring Countries (3 min each)
- H.E. Mr Mariusz Lewicki, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to UNESCO
- H.E. Mr Samir Addahre, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom of Morocco to UNESCO
- H.E. Mr François Nkulikiyimfura, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France, Permanent Delegate of Rwanda to UNESCO
- H.E. Ms Ľubica Erdelská, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Slovak Republic to UNESCO
Perspectives from UNESCO’s Living Heritage Entity
Giovanni Scepi, Head of Unit, Secretariat of the 2003 Convention
Reflections on the 2003 Convention (15 min each)
- Janet Blake, Director, Persian Garden Institute for Living Heritage (NGO accredited to UNESCO) and Collaborator, UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage and International Law, University of Technology Sydney
- Toshiyuki Kono, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Highlights of ongoing projects, research and good practices from UNESCO Chairs, UNITWIN Networks and Experts on Living Heritage (7–10 min each)
- Līga Ābele, UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy and Law, The Latvian Academy of Culture, Riga, Latvia
- Cristina Amescua Chávez, UNESCO-UNITWIN Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Cultural Diversity, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
- Agnieszka Pawlowska-Mainville, UNESCO Chair on Living Heritage and Sustainable Livelihoods, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada
- Katarzyna Zalasińska, Head of Traditional Culture Department, and Agata Mucha, Traditional Crafts and Handicrafts Coordinator, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Poland
- Hanna Schreiber, UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Public and Global Governance, University of Warsaw, Poland; member, UNESCO Global Facilitators’ Network for the 2003 Convention; Intangible Cultural Heritage NGO Forum
- Ana F. Vrdoljak, UNESCO Chair in International Law and Cultural Heritage, University of Technology Sydney, Australia; co-coordinator, UNESCO-UNITWIN Network on Culture in Emergencies
Closing Remarks
Text as provided by the organiser(s).