INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN TURKEY

Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Research and Training

CURRENT AND RECENT

EFFORTS TO

SAFEGUARD ICH IN TURKEY

Turkey became a State Party to the Convention

as the 45th country on 27 March 2006.

Law on Organization and Functions of Ministry

of Culture and Tourism (Law No: 4848),

Executive Body For The Implementation of The

Convention: General Directorate of Research

and Training under the authority of Ministry of

Culture and Tourism.

Awareness-

raising about

value of ICH

Implementing

specific

measures to

safeguard ICH

elements

Creating a

broad legal and

administrative

context

Inventorying,

identifying,

defining ICH

elements

Awareness-

raising about

value of ICH

Implementing

specific

measures to

safeguard ICH

elements

Creating a legal

broad and

administrative

context

Inventorying,

identifying,

defining ICH

elements

Enhancing existing

legislation, policies and

institutions

Creating consultative

bodies & cooperation

mechanisms involving

communities, NGOs,

other stakeholders

Establishment of ICH

Commission of

Experts

Establishment of

Local ICH Boards in

all administrative

units of Turkey

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE

CONTEXT

• Ratification of 2003 convention in 2006

• Integration of the Convention into Law on Organization and Functions of MoCT

• Draft Regulation for the national inventory and administrative system

Local ICH Boards

• In cooperation with provincial directorates

of MoCT in 81 cities and representatives

from related institutions (Public Education

Center, Municipality, NGOs, and

universities) and bearers of ICH have

formed Local ICH Boards.

• Prepare and update necessary forms the

inclusion of elements in ICH National

Inventory of Turkey or Living Human

Treasures National Inventory of Turkey.

• Consists of at least 7 members including

NGOs, academicians, local

administrators, bearers and practitioners

• Reports the ICH elements inscribed on

the provincial inventory to the ICH

Commission of Experts.

ICH Commission of Experts

• ICH Commission of Experts under the

auspices of MoCT withdraws the

designation or selection, and deletes

an element from the national

inventory

• Evaluates the reports of Local ICH

Boards

• Consists of 7 members including

academicians expertized in ICH,

administrative representatives of ICH

• Gathered two-times per year

Administrative Context Diagram

ICH Commission of Experts

General Directorate of Research and

Training

Permanent Representative of UNESCO- Paris

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Local

ICH Boards

Other Institutions and Organizations

Turkish National Commission for UNESCO.

Awareness-

raising about

value of ICH

Implementing

specific

measures to

safeguard ICH

elements

Creating a

broad legal and

administrative

context

Inventorying,

identifying,

defining ICH

elements

In line with Local ICH Boards, ICH

Commission of Experts decides on

the inscription of elements into

national inventories

Turkey has two types of national inventories concerning the safeguarding of ICH: ICH National Inventory of Turkey

Living Human Treasures National Inventory

of Turkey

INVENTORY

Turkish inventory system is based on;

Territorial principles, covering all

geographical parts of the country.

Bottom-up perspective with the

involvements of local communities,

local governments, universities and

NGOs.

ICH NATIONAL

INVENTORY OF TURKEY

1. Deeply rooted in the cultural tradition of Turkey

2. Transmitted from generation to generation through traditional ways

ICH CRITERIA OF TURKEY

FOR INVENTORYING

3. Play role in promoting

cultural identification,

strengthening social cohesion,

enhancing national solidarity

and social stability

4. Face threat of disappearance

due to social transformation or

a lack of safeguarding measures.

ICH CRITERIA OF TURKEY

FOR INVENTORYING

LIVING HUMAN TREASURES

NATIONAL INVENTORY

Last year; 9 individuals and a group of ICH practitioners were identified as the bearers of ICH and registered as Living Human Treasures.

Living Human Treasures are

persons who possess to a high

degree the knowledge and skills

required for performing or re-

creating specific elements of the

intangible cultural heritage.

LHT Award

A short

documentary film

on the lives and the

works of the new

living human

treasures has been

made.

Public recognition

of the living

human treasures

is ensured via the

public ceremony.

LIVING HUMAN TREASURES

NATIONAL INVENTORY

1. The excellence in the application of the knowledge and skills displayed

2. The dedication of the person or group to his/her/their specialized area

CRITERIA FOR LIVING

HUMAN TREASURE

3. The ability of the person or

group to further develop his

knowledge and skills

4. The ability of the person or

group to pass on the

knowledge and skills to

trainees.

CRITERIA FOR LIVING

HUMAN TREASURE

Awareness-

raising about

value of ICH

Implementing

specific

measures to

safeguard ICH

elements

Creating a

broad legal and

administrative

context

Inventorying,

identifying,

defining ICH

elements

Ministry of

Culture and Tourism

Local ICH

Boards in

each city of

Turkey

ICH

Commission

of Experts

Awareness-raising about

value of ICH

Regional Informative Meetings Kars /2009

Şanlıurfa /2010

Kayseri /2010

İzmir /2011

Trabzon /2012

Awareness-raising about

value of ICH

Awareness-

raising about

value of ICH

Implementing

specific

measures to

safeguard ICH

elements

Creating a

broad legal and

administrative

context

Inventorying,

identifying,

defining ICH

elements

• Boratav Folk Culture Research Library, situated in the MoCT, is a special library for folk culture researchers.

• More than 20,000 books, including periodicals.

• available to the public

• Folk Culture Documentation Center; ICH field researches, carried by folklore researchers of Directorate General

of Research and Training using preservation and archiving techniques, cover traditions, religious practices, music,

handicrafts, dress, traditional cuisine, folk dance, etc.

• successfully collected over 167.000 materials including ethnographic items, video-sound recordings, photographs,

microfilms, slides, written documents, documentaries, etc., testifying the rich ICH of Turkey.

• The outcome of research and studies is widely open to public and institutions concerned. Also some of the

ethnographic items are used for ICH exhibitions.

Implementing specific measures

to safeguard ICH elements

Folklore researchers have been carrying out field studies which are archived at the Information and Documentation Center of Folk Culture and adapts the results of them to the related publications. 46 publications (including books, CD-DVD, catalogues, brochures etc.) and 5 documentaries have been published in 2003-2015 period.

23

PUBLICATIONS

DOCUMENTARIES

24

Name of Documentary : Year of Production:

Traditional Craftsmanship of Çini-making 2014

Nevruz 2014

Hıdrellez 2014

Intangible Cultural Heritage in Turkey 2014

Art of Ebru 2015

25

Safeguarding

measures have been

evaluated by the

stakeholders, bearers

and NGO

representatives for

inscribed element of

Traditional Sohbet

Meetings in the

Workshop.

Afyonkarahisar- 15-17

April 2016

WORKSHOP/MEETING FOR INSCRIBED ELEMENTS

Regional Cooperation & Field Works

Sharing the Same Taste: Turkish and Macedonian Common Cuisine Culture (2009)

Musical Forms and Traditional Cultures of the Peoples Living in the Turkey-Bulgaria Border Communities (2009)

Sharing the Same Taste: Turkey and Romania Traditional Common Culinary Culture Project (2011)

Turkey-Kazakhstan Music Project (2012)

Women’s Role Turkish Azerbaijani Handicrafts Project (2013)

Turkey- Hungary Common Culinary Project (2016)

Sharing the Same Taste: Turkey and Romania Traditional Common Culinary Culture Project (2011)

Turkey-Kazakhstan Music Project (2012)

Women’s Role Turkish Azerbaijani Handicrafts Project (2013)

PUBLICATIONS of REGIONAL COOPERATIONS

Nominated elements on the

UNESCO Lists of ICH

Traditional Craftsmanship of Çini-

making (2016)

Flatbread making and sharing culture:

Lavash, Katyrma, Jupka, Yufka (2016)

[Multi-national Nomination]

Nevruz (2016) [Enlarging Multi-national Nomination]

NOMINATIONS FOR REPRESENTATIVE LIST OF

THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY

NOMINATIONS UNESCO LISTS FOR 2017

WHISTLED LANGUAGE (2017)

SPRING CELEBRATION:HIDRELLEZ (2017)

Macedonia &Turkey

[List of Intangible Cultural Heritage In Need of Urgent Safeguarding]

THANK YOU

Ministry of Culture and Tourism Directorate General of Research and Training

INFORMATION - CONTACT:

T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

Araştırma ve Eğitim Genel Müdürlüğü

İsmet İnönü Bulvarı No:32

Emek/Ankara/Türkiye

Tel: +90 312 212 83 00-2927

hasan.erkal@kulturturizm.gov.tr

http://aregem.kulturturizm.gov.tr