Exploring Intangible Heritage and its Governance in the Asia-Pacific Context

Within the context of globalisation, cultural diversity has come under threat as the concept of the ‘global village’ expands and global cities replicate each other. Yet, at the same time, cultural diversity has become fashionable to the extent that its safeguarding has become the goal of several international instruments. This can be explained as either a response to the threat of globalisation or as a feature of globalisation. This thesis is framed by these contradictions and by international policies developed in response to these contradictory events, in particular those developed by international bodies. For the last several decades, the preservation of cultural heritage, including intangible cultural heritage, has been a main concern for intergovernmental bodies such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and relevant international non-governmental organisations. This concern has become a high priority and is due to the process of rapid globalisation. This is due to the idea that the basic reason underlying the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage is closely linked to the socio-cultural identity of humanity. Intangible cultural heritage is considered the most important entity representing the entire complex of distinctive, spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterise a society or social group. In this context, UNESCO has taken a leading role in promoting intangible heritage governance at an international level through the dissemination of several international standards and by implementing international programmes for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. The aim of this thesis is to investigate developments in the governance of international cultural heritage under the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003 Convention, the Convention) and to critically examine the interface between international heritage governance and local protective systems. The main hypothesis of this thesis is: ‘International governance of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage through the 2003 Convention, which was adopted after many years of debate and formulation of the concept of intangible cultural heritage and which continues to develop through the workings of the 2003 Convention, and has significantly influenced governance of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage on a local level in the Asia-Pacific region, including safeguarding measures by national governments and increasing the involvement of stakeholder communities in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. There do exist, however, barriers and issues regarding the good governance of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage on both international and local levels, for which I would like to finally suggest some possible solutions.’ In order to help prove the aforementioned hypothesis, I have presented several supporting arguments, fact-findings and relevant suggestions throughout the thesis from Chapters 1–7. This thesis focuses on the development of definitions of cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage through the evolution of international legal standards in the heritage field; how existing international governance has impacted the ways in which national governments and local societies safeguard, maintain and promote their invaluable intangible cultural heritage; and explores current issues in relation to the governance of the intangible cultural heritage field. It also investigates the potential for future enhancement of intangible cultural heritage governance. In particular, I have studied illustrative examples on the development of protective and promotional environments for intangible cultural heritage in Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and Indonesia in the Asia-Pacific region. These provide good case studies of the close relationship between local intangible heritage development and UNESCO’s intangible heritage governance. These case studies elucidate specific impacts and issues associated with the interaction between, or adaptation of, international intangible heritage laws to local protection systems.