{"id":2012,"date":"2025-10-02T20:13:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/?post_type=lesson&#038;p=2012"},"modified":"2025-10-02T20:13:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:13:28","slug":"lesson-4-eu-level-of-ich-protection","status":"publish","type":"lesson","link":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/lesson\/lesson-4-eu-level-of-ich-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson 4. EU Level of ICH Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The European Union (EU) is not a cultural organization like UNESCO, yet it plays an&nbsp;<strong>important role in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH)<\/strong>. While culture remains largely the responsibility of Member States, the EU provides&nbsp;<strong>legal frameworks, funding programs, and strategic initiatives<\/strong>&nbsp;that help communities and countries protect and promote their heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At EU level, safeguarding ICH is strongly linked to&nbsp;<strong>identity, cohesion, sustainable development, and cultural diversity<\/strong>. It is also a tool for fostering dialogue between European citizens and strengthening a shared sense of belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">EU instruments for safeguarding ICH<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Legal and political frameworks<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (Article 167)<\/strong>\u00a0highlights the importance of respecting and promoting cultural diversity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The EU supports the implementation of the\u00a0<strong>UNESCO 2003 Convention<\/strong>\u00a0through cooperation and policy alignment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Funding programs<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Creative Europe<\/strong>: supports cultural projects, festivals, networks, and cross-border cooperation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Horizon Europe<\/strong>: research projects on heritage, identity, and digital safeguarding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Interreg<\/strong>: cross-border and regional projects connecting communities around shared traditions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Erasmus+<\/strong>: education and training initiatives integrating ICH in formal and non-formal learning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>European Year of Cultural Heritage (2018)<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Promoted awareness of both tangible and intangible heritage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Encouraged citizens\u2019 participation in safeguarding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Networks and platforms<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The EU works closely with the\u00a0<strong>Council of Europe<\/strong>\u00a0(e.g., the Faro Convention on cultural heritage as a right).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Digital platforms such as\u00a0<strong>Europeana<\/strong>\u00a0collect and share cultural heritage content across Member States.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples of EU-level initiatives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Mediterranean Diet<\/strong>: supported not only by UNESCO inscription but also by EU research and funding programs promoting food heritage and sustainable agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>European Capitals of Culture<\/strong>: cities like Sibiu (2007) or Plovdiv (2019) used ICH to strengthen cultural tourism and local identity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cross-border festivals and projects<\/strong>\u00a0funded by Creative Europe (e.g., polyphonic singing, craft networks, storytelling initiatives).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These initiatives show how the EU uses ICH as a&nbsp;<strong>bridge between cultural policy, education, and sustainable development<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Application \u2013 Student activity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Task:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select one EU program (Creative Europe, Horizon Europe, Interreg, Erasmus+).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Research one project supported by that program related to ICH.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Present briefly:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Which tradition was supported?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How was the community involved?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What impact did the project have at local and European level?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reflection questions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why is the EU interested in safeguarding intangible heritage, even though culture is mainly a national competence?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you think EU funding helps communities safeguard traditions, or does it risk turning them into \u201cprojects for tourism\u201d?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can European cooperation balance\u00a0<strong>shared European identity<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<strong>local distinctiveness<\/strong>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which EU program would you use to support a tradition from your community, and why?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"sensei-block-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-sensei-lms-lesson-actions\"><div class=\"sensei-buttons-container\">\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_angie_page":false,"_initial_content":"","_new_post":false,"_quiz_has_questions":false,"_lesson_complexity":"easy","_lesson_length":10,"_lesson_course":1307,"_lesson_preview":""},"lesson-tag":[],"class_list":["post-2012","lesson","type-lesson","status-publish","hentry","module-legislation-and-regulations-at-local-national-and-eu-level","post"],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":2012},"is_coteacher":false,"pll_sync_post":{},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lessons\/2012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lessons"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/lesson"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2012"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lessons\/2012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2016,"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lessons\/2012\/revisions\/2016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"lesson-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inthrace.unitbv.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lesson-tag?post=2012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}