When becoming a Party to the Convention, the State Party commits itself to take the necessary measures to ensure the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory. The first measure to be taken by the State Party is to identify and define the various elements of that heritage with the participation of communities, groups and non-governmental organizations. To ensure the identification of the intangible cultural heritage, States Parties are specifically asked to draw up one or more inventories of the intangible cultural heritage present in their territory. Within the framework of their safeguarding activities, States Parties shall endeavour to ensure the widest possible participation of those that create, maintain and transmit the heritage, and to involve them actively in its management.
Documentation is explicitly mentioned in the Convention as one of the measures to be used for realising the purposes of the Convention. Documentation will also be a necessary component in the proposals that will be made by States for the inscription of intangible cultural heritage elements on the Lists that are established by the Convention. It will also be essential to investigate the relation between inventory making and documentation, since all States Parties to the 2003 Convention will have to draft one or more inventories of the ICH present in their territory.
Other safeguarding measures are proposed in articles 13 and 14 of the Convention.