Safeguarding & transmission of intangible cultural heritage

Europe’s rich cultural heritage and strong creative industries not only reflect our past but also shape our future. It is by building on this foundation and developing our strengths that we can face the great challenges of our time with confidence and shape a desirable common future. Europe's cultural heritage originates from the interaction between people and places through time and is constantly evolving^[1]. Every citizen has a right to engage with the cultural heritage of their choice, while respecting the rights and freedoms of others, as an aspect of the right to participate freely in cultural life^[2].

Europe’s diverse tangible and intangible cultural heritage and dynamic cultural and creative industries (CCIs) are strategic assets. They enrich our lives, foster social cohesion and societal resilience, and contribute to a sense of belonging. They underpin a growing economy that generates more employment than the automotive industry and a similar trade balance as food, drinks and tobacco combined. Many of Europe’s multinational companies build their international success on European heritage and creativity. At the same time, the sector is nurturing large numbers of dynamic small, medium (SMEs) and micro enterprises, creating employment not the least for young people, while deploying their creativity not only to generate income but also to contribute to social and cultural sustainability, wellbeing and to projecting European values at home and abroad. The cultural and creative industries are engines of innovation not only in themselves, but across the entire economy, thus contributing strongly to Europe’s overall competitiveness and future prosperity.

This destination adopts a people-centred perspective and places cultural heritage and the cultural and creative industries at the very heart of the European economy, its competitiveness and sustainability. R&I activities under this destination will be aligned with the main principles and objectives of the Culture Compass for Europe and support objectives such as circular and just fashion and textiles value-chains, social cohesion and resilience through arts, design and cultural practices and creative entrepreneurial ecosystems for regional development. R&I activities under this destination will support and strengthen European cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries essentially along the following lines:

Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness: To secure Europe’s future prosperity and competitiveness, it is necessary to unlock the innovative power of our cultural heritage and CCIs. The CCIs contribute strongly to drive innovation not only in themselves but also in other industries and economic sectors, shape new technologies and can contribute to user-driven innovation, open innovation and cross-sectoral innovation, in addition to their wider societal contributions such as to cultural wealth, social cohesion and resilience.

R&I actions under this area will focus on boosting the innovation-driving role of the CCIs, on creative startups, on the impact of artificial intelligence technologies on creativity and CCIs, while ensuring that new technologies are fairly deployed, along with the contributions of artistic intelligence and soft skills, boosting a circular economy and global partnerships in cultural policies and CCIs, among other things.

Supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model: Cultural heritage, the arts and the CCIs have a crucial role to play for resilient and socially sustainable societies, shaping and strengthening the values that hold us together and give meaning and a sense of belonging.

R&I actions under this area will focus on boosting the role of culture, the arts and creative industries in contributing to well-being, to the social economy and in general the societal impact of cultural heritage. R&I actions will explore and strengthen the role of culture, heritage and CCIs in shaping the technologies of the future and focus on safeguarding intangible heritage and linguistic diversity, on sustainable cultural tourism and on countering illicit trafficking of cultural goods, among others.

Some actions funded under this Destination will need access to and/or generate data. Where appropriate, actions should leverage the data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud or included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and the ESFRI roadmap, as well as data from relevant European Data Spaces. In particular, projects that produce data or digital tools of potential interest to cultural heritage institutions or researchers should, as appropriate, establish links to and/or consider integrating their results in the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH)^[3].Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of actions under this Destination is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

The innovation ecosystems created and nurtured by the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), in particular the KIC “EIT Culture and Creativity”, may contribute to actions under this destination, and may as appropriate be considered by applicants. Furthermore, applicants are invited to consult funding opportunities in other parts of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, including for instance the funding opportunities for companies, high potential start-ups, entrepreneurs and innovative researchers offered under the European Innovation Council.

R&I actions under this Destination will help ensure Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness, support people, strengthening our societies and our social model, contribute to protecting our democracy, upholding our values and boosting a global Europe, leveraging our power and partnerships. They will contribute to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to building a stronger, more participatory and crisis-resilient society and economy. They will support the realisation of the full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative industries as drivers of sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging.

To maximise the impacts of R&I under this Destination in line with EU priorities, international cooperation is encouraged whenever relevant in the proposed topics.

Expected impact:

Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:

• The full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative industries and sectors as drivers of both sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging is realised through a continuous engagement with society, citizens and economic sectors.

[1] Council conclusions of 21 May 2014 on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe (2014/C 183/08) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014XG0614(08)

[2] CETS 199 - Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (coe.int)

[3] See further for instance https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/social-sciences-and-humanities/cultural-heritage-and-cultural-and-creative-industries-ccis/cultural-heritage-cloud_en

Expected Outcome:

Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Enhanced understanding of the state of play of the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), in the Context set by the 2003 UNESCO Convention, and an overview of successful methods for documenting and ensuring the transmission of ICH, including digital, audio-visual, and advanced technologies.
• Recognition of the significance and value of ICH in different social, cultural and economic contexts, and with attention to biodiversity preservation and links between ICH and the natural environment.
• Empowered communities take ownership and responsibility for safeguarding their ICH, with a focus on how inter-generational transmission is ensured, and on youth involvement and informal education.
• Innovative policy solutions are available, for the safeguarding of ICH and for mobilising ICH as a resource for fostering social and economic innovation, biodiversity protection and restoration.

Scope:

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) refers to ‘the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills—as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces’ that are ‘transmitted from generation to generation’ and are ‘constantly recreated’ – as defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH Convention)^[1]. ICH is an essential part of a community's identity and is a vital component of its cultural and biological diversity.

The ICH Convention was adopted in 2003, by 148 countries and it recognizes the importance of ICH as a driving force for social cohesion, cultural diversity, and sustainable development.

However, the nature of ICH, as living heritage, to continually transform and evolve, makes it particularly challenging to keep alive. Therefore, safeguarding ICH encounters very different challenges than the built heritage sector. ICH is rooted in territories and communities and is essential for identity building and maintaining social cohesion and a harmonious relation to the natural environment. It is a source for creativity and innovation, and a critical factor for new competitive scenarios.

Transmission, education and intergenerational dialogue play a key role in this context, and there is an urgent need to research and foster participatory approaches, especially involving oral cultures and transmission. Different case-studies should explore various approaches to the safeguarding of ICH, considering the specific nature of competences, knowledge and cultural practices of creators and knowledge holders, with a focus on intergenerational transmission.

Proposals should contribute to defining the specificities of intangible cultural heritage. Additionally, they could examine and quantify the contribution of ICH to creativity, innovation, cultural and biological diversity, and economic benefits. Proposals should also contribute to the rethinking of cultural policies for the safeguarding of ICH including exploring links and correlations between cultural and biological diversity.

Proposed research projects could address in depth the following research questions:

1. What is the state of play of the safeguarding of ICH in Europe, following the UNESCO 2003 Convention?
2. What are the main threats and challenges to the erosion and loss of ICH in Europe?
3. What are the most effective strategies for securing ICH safeguarding initiatives?
4. How can advanced digital technologies be leveraged for the safeguarding & transmission of ICH?
5. How can ICH provide inspiration for innovative approaches to existing societal challenges (e.g. competitiveness, intergenerational dialogue democratic values, biodiversity protection and restoration ^[2])
6. What role can community-led initiatives play in safeguarding ICH, and how can communities be supported and empowered to safeguard it?

The role of advanced digital technologies to support ICH safeguarding and transmission should be considered, as appropriately.

The proposals should comprise transdisciplinary scientific collaborations involving, for instance and not exhaustive, heritage and museum studies, cultural anthropology, ethnology, media studies, theatre studies, literary studies, musicology etc. Available results of existing research on intangible cultural heritage should be taken into consideration, while identification of needs for further research in the field should be promoted.

Proposals should build on existing knowledge, activities, networks and platforms, notably the ones funded by the EU, for example paying attention to the future digital tools and platforms provided by the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH), and the Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage.

Furthermore, links should be established and complementarities sought with closely related actions, such as relevant R&I actions funded by Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020. In particular, proposals should establish links to, and where appropriate build on findings from, projects funded under the topics HORIZON-CL2-2025-HERITAGE-02: Innovative approaches to intangible cultural heritage for societal resilience.

[1] https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention

[2] As defined in the EU Nature Restoration Regulation https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/nature-restoration-regulation_en.