Practice Notes & Guides

The Australia ICOMOS National Scientific Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage Working Group is developing resources to support practice in relation to intangible cultural heritage and place.

Practice Note

The Australia ICOMOS National Scientific Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage (NSC ICH) launched its Practice Note, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Place at our 2017 ‘Intangible & Invisible’ workshop in Canberra. The Practice Note was approved by the Australia ICOMOS Executive Committee at its 5 August 2017 meeting.

NSC-ICH and Australia ICOMOS members are encouraged to integrate the Practice Note into their heritage practice and to provide feedback over during 2019, through an online survey and small group discussions at our Lost or Found? Intangible cultural heritage workshop (November 2019) held in Canberra as part of the Heritage of the Air conference. Read a summary of the online survey responses and a report on the workshop.

Based on the feedback received, we will review the Practice Note and report back on any changes during 2020.

We will be looking for case studies and examples of what works and what doesn’t from your perspective to feature on our website. An outline of what we’d like to cover in each case study is described under ‘Good Practice Case Studies’ on this page.

Background Note

In developing the Practice Note: Intangible Cultural Heritage and Place, it was decided by the NSC’s Practice Note Working Group, consistent with best Burra Charter practice, to document and justify the NSCs process.  The record of this development is now available as a  Background Note: Intangible Cultural Heritage and Place.  For those interested in this ‘look behind the scenes’ it explains and supports decisions made about the Practice Note’s scope, the definition of ICH chosen, and the terminology used consistent with AICOMOS’s guiding documents.

Developing the Practice Note

Presentation to the Australia ICOMOS Executive Committee on our Practice Note, August 2017, seeking their approval to launch the Practice Note at our October Workshop.

ICH Working Group Report This report outlines the work undertaken by the Working Group in developing a Toolkit, Practice Note, Case Studies and Resources as at 17 February 2017.

Introducing the Burra Charter Practice Note – Intangible Cultural Heritage and Place. This paper was given by Meredith Walker, co-chair, Australia ICOMOS NSC ICH Practice Note Working Group at the “People’s Ground” conference, Melbourne, 4-8 October 2016.