UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy and Law

UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy and Law is founded with objective to advance international academic and research partnerships in the study field of the polices and law of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The UNESCO Chair aims at developing post-graduate courses and research projects that explors the implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in international cooperation, as well as the national level in various countries. UNESCO Chair focuses on the analysis of experiences, challenges, and solutions for connecting various fields of policy-making and legislation in relation to ICH.

The activities of UNESCO Chair bring together scholars and students from various countries and scholarly disciplines, like cultural studies (cultural anthropology, cultural sociology and cultural policy studies) and legal studies (international law, comparative law and legal history). The interdisciplinary approach contributes to studying cultural and historical aspects that shape contemporary national policies and legislation on ICH. The UNESCO Chair strongly relies on involvement of both experienced and young scholars and students, assuring their inter-generational exchange of ideas and contributing to a continuity of scholarly work.

The initiative to establish the UNESCO Chair was expressed by the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO and further developed by the Latvian Academy of Culture, on the basis of previous research carried out by the scholars of the Latvian Academy of Culture, and referring to their involvement in the work of Latvian delegation at the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2013-2016), .

UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy and Law was officially founded in February 2017, once the agreement between the UNESCO and the Latvian Academy of Culture was signed by the Director General of UNESCO Dr Irina Bokova and Rector of the Latvian Academy of Culture, professor Dr Rūta Muktupāvela. The activities of the UNESCO Chair are initially planned for a four-year period.

Chairholder

Dr. Anita Vaivade

Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator 

anita.vaivade@lka.edu.lv