{Upcoming} Scientific presentation "Cultural Heritage for the Future: The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage"

Dr Frank Proschan, Fulbright Teaching Scholar

• TOPIC: Cultural Heritage for the Future: UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage | Cultural Heritage for the Future: UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
• SPEAKER: Dr Frank Proschan, Fulbright Teaching Scholar, Department of Anthropology, VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities
• TIME: 16:00-19:00 Friday 15 November 2019
• LOCATION: University Hall, 8th floor Building E, 336 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi
• ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Frank Proschan is an anthropologist and folklorist who has worked for decades with colleagues in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia in collaborative research on languages, folklore, and ethnology, as well as conducting capacity building for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and for museum development. In 2006, he took up a position at UNESCO, assisting in the global implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage until his retirement in 2015. In 2019-20, Proschan is a Fulbright Scholar and visiting lecturer at the Department of Anthropology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Hanoi.

Frank Proschan is an anthropologist and folklorist. For decades he has worked and collaborated with colleagues in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia on issues of language, folklore and ethnography, and capacity building for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and museum development. In 2006, he joined UNESCO, supporting the global implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage until his retirement in 2015. In 2019-2020, he was a Fulbright Scholar teaching at the Faculty of Anthropology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

• LECTURE CONTENT

Intangible cultural heritage includes the practices, expressions, and skills that are valued by communities, groups, and individuals because they provide them with a sense of identity and continuity. UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, ratified by 178 countries, seeks to preserve that heritage. The 2003 Convention looks resolutely to the future and to the continued practice and transmission of intangible cultural heritage. This future orientation contrasts with the past orientation of the better-known World Heritage Convention that protects heritage sites and monuments. The radical import of the 2003 Convention often goes unrecognized, both by countries that have ratified it and by scholars who seek to study its implementation. At a time when the Convention is still relatively young and its fate not yet finally determined, we must ask how well the Convention is achieving its important mission to contribute to sustainable development worldwide.

Intangible cultural heritage comprises valued practices, expressions and skills that are valued by communities, groups and individuals because they provide them with a sense of identity and continuity. The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, ratified by 178 countries, seeks to safeguard that heritage. The 2003 Convention takes a resolutely forward-looking approach and continues the practice and transmission of intangible cultural heritage. This forward-looking orientation is distinct from the previous World Heritage Convention, which is better known for its aim of protecting sites and monuments. The core values ​​of the 2003 Convention are often not recognized by either the countries that have ratified it or by scholars who have sought to study its implementation. At a time when the Convention is still young and its ultimate fate is yet to be determined, we must ask how far the Convention is achieving its important mission in fulfilling its vital role in global sustainable development.