A. BACKGROUND
GUIDELINES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A "LIVING HUMAN TREASURES" SYSTEM
A. BACKGROUND
B. EXAMPLES
OF EXISTING SYSTEMS
C. DEFINITION
D. OBJECTIVE
OF THE SYSTEM
E. ELEMENTS
OF A LIVING HUMAN
TREASURES SYSTEM
i. Legal provisions
ii. Identification and designation
iii. Criteria of selection
iv. Number of nominees a year
v. Rewards granted to appointees
vi. Duties of appointees
vii. Cancellation of appointment
F. EVENTUAL UNESCO ASSISTANCE
i. Preparatory assistance
ii. Training 43-46
1. For many population groups, the intangible cultural heritage is the exxential source of an identity deeply rooted in the past. Unfortunately, however, a number of its manifestations, such as traditional and popular music, dance, festivals and know-how for craft production, oral traditions and local languages have already disappeared or are in danger of doing so. The main reason is that local intangible cultural heritage is rapidly being replaced by a standardized international culture, fostered not only by socio- economic "modernization" but also by the tremendous progress of information and transport techniques. The intangible nature of this heritage also makes it vulnerable. There is an urgent need to stop further losses. One of the most effective ways of safeguarding the intangible heritage is to conserve it by collecting, recording, and archiving. Even more effective would be to ensure that the bearers of the heritage continue to acquire further knowledge and skills and transmit them to the next generations. With that aim in mind, the holders of the heritage must be identified and given official recognition. This is why the establishment of a system of "Living Human Treasures" in each country is proposed here.
B. EXAMPLES OF EXISTING
SYSTEM
(detailed descriptions enclosed)
2. In 1950 the Government of Japan gave special recognition to bearers of the skills and techniques essential for the continuation of certain important intangible cultural properties. Individuals so recogized were designated as "Living National Treasures". But there could also be collective and group recognition where it was these that were important and not the individual as such. At 1 July 1994, seven categories of performing arts (36 specific skills) and nine in the applied arts (39 specific skills) had been selected as important intangible cultural properties. The skills were held by 52 individuals and 23 groups.
3. In 1964 the Government of the Republic of Korea introduced its own system to ensure the preservation and transmission to future generations of intangible cultural properties. At September 1995, this State had a total of 92 important intangible cultural properties; 167 individual holders and 50 holding organizations.
4. The Philippines specifically acknowledged a category of "National Artists" under a Presidential Decree of 1973 which granted them certain privileges and honours. Another programme creating Living National Treasures (Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan – GAMABA) was begun in 1988 with the object of preserving indigenous traditions and transmitting them to younger generations. Three persons from different indigenous cultural communities were given this title in 1994.
5. Thailand moved in a similar direction in 1985 when its National Artists Project was launched with the specific intention of paying tribute to highly gifted and dedicated Thai artists while, at the same time, preserving the arts involved. Eight artists – in the fields of poertry, design, music and theatre – were awarded the title in 1993.
6. More recently a regional scheme to create "living human treasures" has been established in Romania. Such "treasures" are regarded as those exceptional folk artists who preserve local traditions in their trade.
7. In France, in 1994, the Minister of Culture elevated some 20 persons to the rank of "Maitres d'art" (Master of Crafts). This is a new distinction intended for those artisans known to be outstanding for their skill and knowledge. They are required to pass that skill and knowledge on to future generations.
8. Although these States have all been working with a concept of "living human treasures", the idea itself falls within the scope of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Cultures and Folklore 1989 in which Member States are urged to preserve folklore in their respective countries. Folklore is seen as essential to the enrichment of the cultural heritage of humanity and the protection of cultural identities.
9. "Living human treasures" are persons who embody, who have in the very highest degree, the skills and techniques necessary for the production of selected aspects of the cultural life of a people and the continued existence of their material cultural heritage.
10. Performing arts such as music, dance, drama, plays, rites and martial arts do not physically exist. The score of a musical composition exists but not the music itself. The choreography of a ballet can be written down but that is not the ballet. A recording or film can show one production but not predict future ones nor capture the exact spirit of the live performance. Similarly, although the techniques for producing artifacts and even preparing food can be put in writing, the actual act of creation has no physical form. The performance and the act of creation are intangible; emboldied in the skills or techniques of those who do them. so too are the traditional intangible elements employed by those who protect and preserve the material cultural heritage: for example, the techniques for repairing trditional musical instruments, working stone for replacement on monuments, preparing wall coverings in traditional methods for historic rooms.
11. Consequently, the preservation of such intangible cultural properties implies the preservation and transmission of the skills and techniques necessary for their creation. This can only be done by giving special recognition to persons who have those skills and techniques in the very highest degree.
12. The primary purpose of establishing a system of "living human treasures" is to preserve the skills and techniques necessary for creation of the cultural manifestations that the State considers have a high historical or artistic value.
13. The system should also reward
those persons who embody these skills and techniques so that they
will be encouraged to:
•
continue with their own work
•
where desirable, develop and expand the frontiers of that work
•
at the same time, in all situations. train younger people to take
their place in due course.
14. The system should encourage younger people to devote their lives to learning these skills and techniques by holding out to them the possibility of fame, perhaps riches also, if they can achieve the necessary level of excellence.
E. ELEMENTS OF A LIVING
HUMAN TREASURES SYSTEM
i. Legal provisions
15. States that decide to introduce a system of living human treasures will have to establish a means of administering it appropriate to the circumstances. There is no one recommended method. For example, it is not absolutely necessary to create a system of "living human treasures" within a legal structure. It could be done administratively, operating within the general powers of a particular government department or through a non-governmental organization temporarily created with governmental financial assistance.
16. However, there are good reasons
for having legal provisions dealing with this subject:
a formal structure
can be created within which the system operates. In this way people
will know what the system means, how it functions and what can
be expected of it legal provisions can be used
as an educational tool in instructing the public about the intangible
cultural heritage and "living human treasures". The
mere fact that these exist in the law enables publicists to draw
on the system as a framework for their educational and publicity
efforts there will inevitably be jealousy and
dispute over the elevation of particular persons to the rank of
"living human treasures". The fact that the system exists
as legal structure should restrict critism to the actual choice
made and not the method by which it was reached. The law cannot
prevent a bad decision but it should ensure that all the correct
steps are taken so that the system itself cannot be faulted.
17. Most States already have in existence legal and administrative structures for the protection and preservation of the tangible cultural heritage – buildings, monuments and sites of historic, artistic and scientific importance. In considering a legal structure to do the same for the intangible cultural heritage, what already exists will influence these decisious. But this should not determine the matter. Certainly there are elements of overlap but the intangible cultural heritage has its own unique problems which need their own solutions.
18. The following paragraphs will
discuss in detail the elements of a legal structure for a "living
human treasures" system. It is enough here to indicate the
following as a check list of what should be considered.
•
identification of those aspects of the intangible cultural heritage
to be preserved
•
establishment of criteria for selection of nominees
•
maximum number of persons to be selected each year
•
nature of reward to be offered
•
duties of persons selected
•
cancellation of appointment
19. It must be realized that the following paragraphs are all subject to overriding aspects of the national legal system, such as constitutional and administrative provisions.
ii. Identification and designation
20. Once the decision is made to introduce a system of "living human treasures", it is necessary to establish which aspects of national life are to be preserved. As the examples at the beginning of these Guidelines illustrate, there will be probably be considerable differences here between States.
21. It is not necessary that the
system cover the entire State or the whole of national life. In
many cases this will be what happens – but it
is not essential:
the system could
be restricted to a particular region of the State for reasons
peculiar to that State. For example, it may appear that one province
is particularly rich in those aspects of the intangible cultural
heritage that it is wished to protect and preserve (Example of
Romania) the scheme may be so restricted on a trial
basis to test its operation
application of the
scheme may be confined to a certain portion of the population.
This could be particularly useful where there is an indigenous
people within the area of the State. What may be important aspects
of cultural life for them might be ignored by the rest of the
population of the State if the State desired, the scheme
could be adjusted to apply to different aspects of the relevant
cultures
In essence implementation
of the scheme depends on what the State concerned wants to achieve
and should not be overly influenced by what has been done elsewhere.
22. But whatever the objective, there needs to be an organization established to make the decisions. The nature of this body will obviously depend on what decisions the State has made concerning the issues discussed above. The following discussion deals with a national system covering all peoples within the territorial confines of the State. It could be adapted for other circumstances.
23. It is recommended that a Commission of Experts be established to make recommendations to the Minister of Government responsible for cultural matters. In most cases the Minister would have the final decision but this is a matter for the State concerned within its normal administrative operations. The Commission should be supported by a permanent secretariat.
24. The Commission's first task would be to investigate which aspects of the intangible cultural heritage the State should preserve as a priority and so recommend to the Minister. It must be made clear that failure to choose a particular aspect does not mean it is regarded as unimportant. Everything cannot be done at once, and the Commission will have to choose which aspects are very important and are likely to disappear if they are not encouraged.
25. Once the decision, on what is to be protected has been made, the Commission should have the task of nominating to the Minister a list of persons who embody the necessary skills and techniques. Although there will be individual nominations, in certain sectors of the intangible cultural heritage it will be necessary to nominate groups of persons as collectively embodying the relevant skills and techniques. Thus, there may be collective recognition when there is a group of two or more persons who collectively embody the artistry of a performing art or the special skills which two or more craftpersons share in common. There may also be group recognition where the members are primarily bearers of techniques and skills in the performing or applied arts where it is the contribution of the group that is important rather than the role of the individual or where many persons possess such techniques or skills.
26. In making nominations, members of the Commission could rely on their own knowledge but it would be preferable to institute a system whereby eligible persons could be brought to their attention by others employing the same skills and techniques, by members of the public etc. Such a process should be formalized, with the Commission calling for recommendation at a set time each year.
27. The Commission would also have the duty to recommend cancellation of a particular appointment as a "living human treasure" where, in certain cases, the required functions are not being performed.
28. The Commission should have the responsibility to record the techniques and skills employed by "living human treasures" using all available methods. While a recording does not have the same frlavour as actually seeing those techniques and skills in operation, it is an essential process for their study and later comparison with those used by other persons. Such records should be duplicated and made available to the public and researchers both national and foreign.
29. To reiterate, the following
approach to identification and designation is recommended:
a) dedice the scope
of the proposed scheme within the State i.e. whether it should
apply nationally or be restricted to a region or group of people
b) establish a Commission
of Experts to
•
recommend which areas of intangible cultural property should be
protected
•
nominate holders of skills and techniques within these areas for
appointment as "living human treasures"
•
cancel such appointments where necessary
•
record the skills and techniques used
iii. Criteria of
selection
a) The heritage
30. In chosing an aspect of the
intangible cultural heritage to receive protection by way of the
"living human treasures" system, States should have
regard to the following criteria:
•
its outstanding and exceptional human creative value
•
its unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
and history
•
its characteristics distinctive of a given region or school
•
the danger of its disappearing because of
- a serious decline
in the number of participationers and/or those succeeding them
- a significant
loss of historical authenticity
- an important loss
of cultural significance
- an important modification
in the juridical status of the intangible cultural property bringing
about a diminution of its protection
b) The "living human treasures"
31. In nominating a person or group
to the rank of "living human treasure", the Commission
should consider the following criteria:
•
the degree of skill possessed
•
the dedication of the person or group
•
the ability to advance the skill or technique
•
the ability to pass on the skill or technique to trainess
iv. Number of nominees a year
32. No attempt is made here to suggest a maximum number of nominees for each year. That depends on many factors individual to the particular State. For example, if "living human treasures" are going to be rewarded with money, that will influence how many can be nominated. Moreover, the more persons appointed to the rank, the less will be its recognition as a truly outstanding achievement. These are all factors which administrators, in setting up the system, must consider. However, it is recommended that the legislation state the maximum number of nominations that may be made by the Commission each year. The Commission should, of course, be entitled to nominate a smaller number if it so desires.
v. Rewards granted to appointees
33. The primary reward should be
extensive public recognition of a person's appointment to this
rank similar to what is done when someone receives a significant
public decoration
•
the award should be made at a formal ceremony where a distinctive
emblem could be handed to the people concerned by the highest
possible public official in the country
•
a programme of activities concentrating on elements of the intangible
cultural heritage should be held simultaneously to celebrate the
new appointments.
34. The Commission should engage in continuing publicity to keep all appointees before the public eye. Once the public recognizes the special position of a person who is a "living human treasure", it is highly probable that that person's services will be in great demand. In this way he/she will be able to continue using the skill or technique in question.
35. The possibility of financial rewards should be considered. These could take the form of a direct yearly grant free of taxation. It could also involve the provision of equipment and supplies free of tax such as value added tax. Also to be considered is an exemption from texation of the "living human treasure's" income earned from exercise of the skills and techniques so honoured.
36. Other rewards could also be considered depending onthe social structure of the State. For example, where there is no public health service, the grant of medical and hospitalization benefits would be a considerable prize. Similarly, a lifetime insurance policy may be granted with the State paying the premium.
vi. Duties of appointess
37. The duties of "living human
treasures" should be:
•
to improve their skills and techniques
•
to transmit those skills and techniques to trianiees -
the costs of this to be paid by the State
•
to permit the recording of them in tangible form (video, tape,
publication) without any question ot issue of copyright
•
to present the products of their skills and techniques on a regular
basis to the public
- the programme
to be organized by the State in co-operation with the living cultural
property
- the costs to be
paid from admission fess and other proceeds of the programme with
any shortfall to be made up by the State
vii. Cancellation of appointment
38. At some time a person appointed to the rank of "living human treasure" will become unable, through age or mental imfirmity, to perform the duties set oub above. It would be unfair, however, to then cancel the appointment. As part of the reward is the honour involved, it would be better to allow the person to keep the rank but remove some of the rewards; for example, any grant made on a yearly basis could be reduced.
39. On the other hand, if the person is fit and able to undertake the duties stipulated, but refuses to do so after having been warned, it is fit and proper that the award should be cancelled.
40. UNESCO assistance will either be financed by the participation programme or extrabudgetary funding. All requests should be submitted to Ms Noriko Aikawa, Chief of the intangible cultural heritage Section, Division of Arts and Cultural Life, UNESCO. 1 rue Miollis 75732 paris Cedex 15. Tel. (33 1) 45 68 45 19 Fax: (33 1) 42 73 04 01, Email: N.Aikawa@unesco.org
i. Preparatory assistance
41. Assistance will be given to
Member States willing to establish the above -mentioned system
for the purpose of:
•
preparing a tentative list of the intangible cultural heritage
to be protected and preserved by way of the "living human
treasures" system;
•
preparing recommendation on the above;
•
preparing nominations for the list of "living human treasures"
•
preparing requests for traditional co-operation, including requests
relating to the organization of training courses or seminars.
42. This type of assistance, known as "preparatory assistance" can taks the form of consultant services.
ii. Training
43. Member States may request support for the training of specialized staff at all levels for the formation of a national register of intangible cultural heritage which it is desired to protect and preserve as well as the list of "living hukan treasures".
44. Priority in training activities will be given to group training at the local or regional levels. The training of individual persons will be essentially limited to short term refresher programmes and exchanges of experience.
45. Requests for the training of
specialized staff at the national or regional level should contain
the following information:
•
details on the training courses concerned (courses offered, level
of instruction, teaching staff, number of students and country
of origin, date, place and duration, etc.) and, when applicable,
the functional responsibility of each participant with respect
to the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage programme;
•
type of assistance requested (financial contribution to costs
of training, provision of specialized teaching staff, provision
of equipment, books and educational materials for training courses);
•
approximate cost of support requested, including as appropriate
tuition fees, dailz subsistence allowance, allocations for purchase
of educational material, travel costs to and from training centres,
etc.
•
other contributions: national financing, received or anticipated
multilateral or bilateral contributions.
46. Requests for supoort for individual training courses should be submitted on the standard "Application for Fellowship" form used for all fellowships administrered by UNESCO which can be obtained from UNESCO National Commissions, UNESCO offices and the offices of the United Nations Development Programme in Member States, as well as from the Secretariat.