What is ICH?

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills that communities recognize as part of their cultural heritage. It is sometimes called living cultural heritage, is transmitted from generation to generation, and is constantly recreated by communities and groups, in response to their environment, their interaction with nature, and their history.

ICH is manifested in the following five domains:

  1.  Oral traditions and expressions, including language; 
  2. Performing arts; 
  3. Social practices, rituals and festive events; 
  4. Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and 
  5. Traditional craft. 
ICH includes the stories we tell, the family events we celebrate, our community gatherings, the languages we speak, the songs we sing, knowledge of our natural spaces, our healing traditions, the foods we eat, our holidays, beliefs and cultural practices.

 For the UNESCO definition of Intangible Culture Heritage see:
https://ich.unesco.org/