Upon its Concluding Symposium, hosted in Brussels on 26 February 2020, the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Museums Project (IMP) presented the Declaration on the dynamic engagement between a multiplicity of actors from the field of museums and intangible cultural heritage.
Stating the achievements obtained by IMP in the period 2017-2020 – while also taking into consideration, among others, the standards and principles included in the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums – the Declaration expresses insights and hopes in relation to the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage of communities, groups and individuals, through and together with museums.
Acknowledging the vital interest for museums in contextualizing and bringing together all aspects and types of cultural heritage, the Declaration urges all policy levels to support actions that bring together museums and the communities, groups and individuals engaged in practices of intangible cultural heritage.
THE OUTCOMES OF IMP
Alongside the joint Declaration, a book and a toolbox were presented in Brussels:
- The IMP book was designed as an invitation to enrich heritage practices and provide support to everyone wishing to contribute to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, is one of the many outcomes of the project. The IMP Book is expected to serve as a companion to discover transformative heritage practices for the 21st century, seeking alternative ways towards a third space in the heritage sector. Executive summaries of the book are available in English, Dutch, Italian, German and French.
- The ICH and Museums toolkit provides museum professionals with inspirational and pragmatic methodological tools for engaging with safeguarding living heritage. Over the course of the project, in co-creation with the participants to its events, practical guidelines, recommendations and brainstorm exercises were developed as part of the toolkit.
INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE AND MUSEUMS PROJECT (IMP)
Over the past three years, IMP explored the interaction of museum work and intangible heritage practices in a comparative European context, with partner organizations from Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Italy and Switzerland. The Project included the International Council of Museums as a member of the Think Tank: ICOM actively participated in the international conferences, expert meetings and technical meetings for the implementation of the toolbox.
The Project also collaborated with ICH NGO Forum and NEMO – Network of European Museum Organisations. IMP was among others supported by the European Commission’s Creative Europe Programme, the Flemish Government, and the Swiss Federal Office of Culture. The project’s five previous meetings, before its recent Concluding Symposium, featured in depth theoretical contributions, workshops, artistic co-creations, numerous discussions and many inspirational testimonies from the fields of museums and intangible cultural heritage.