National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Set up at the Austrian Commission for UNESCO in 1 January 2006, the National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage is financed from funds by the
Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture, the
Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and the
Federal Ministry of Health Family and Youth.
Activities by the National Agency derive from three key areas:
- It acts as an interface for national and international cooperation and coordination, supporting in particular the Austrian ratification process;
- it serves as a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and for networking cultural policy, science, business and everyday culture;
- it raises public awareness for its concerns and carries out public relations activities.
At present, the focus of its work is concentrated on “knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe”, one of the five domains identified by the
Convention in connection with our Intangible Cultural Heritage. Through its choice, the National Agency concentrates not just on the established “folk culture” (regional songs, music, dancing and narrative arts, etc.), but also on local experience gathered over generations. In a time of climate change and globalisation, such in-depth activities can generate an impetus for the role of the individual in a global process.
