Fudan University launches UNESCO living heritage program
A UNESCO Chair program for living heritage and community development kicked off at Fudan University, Shanghai, on Sunday.
Living heritage refers to the traditions, performing arts, social practices, knowledge and skills that have been passed from one generation to the next, and are still existing these days, such as intangible cultural heritage. It is the dynamic side of cultural heritage.
The concept was raised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the 1990s.
A UNESCO Chair program for "Living Heritage and Community Development" launched at Fudan University, Shanghai, on Sunday.
Fudan and UNESCO officially signed an agreement to launch the program in January.
More than 20 universities, cultural institutions and foundations from 10 countries, including China, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and South Africa, have engaged in the project.
Scholars and researchers will focus on the protection and inheritance of living heritage and sustainable community development in underdeveloped regions of China and the world. They will work in fields such as scientific research, social practices, student training and cultural exchanges.
It aims to promote international understanding and cooperation on living heritage protection.
Launched in 1992, the UNESCO Chairs Program is set to promote international inter-university cooperation and networking to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work.
Over 850 institutions in 120 countries and regions have taken part in it.
This is Fudan's first UNESCO Chair program.
Jin Li, president of Fudan, said that the program will concentrate on how different countries and regions, especially underdeveloped regions, can better understand, protect, showcase and utilize heritage resources. And it is a better opportunity to enhance cultural confidence, boost social development and make contributions to China's strategies on rural revitalization and UNESCO's sustainable development goals, he added.
"This year celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage," said Tim Curtis, chief of the Intangible Heritage Section & Secretary of the 2003 Convention, UNESCO.
He said it is particular timely to talk about how living heritage can contribute to the development needs of communities, how community members can engage in and be empowered by safeguarding the living heritage.
Fudan students and scholars study cultural heritage in a desert in western China.
Importance of human activities, world changes, localizing development and cultural development in protecting living heritage were highlighted by scholars and experts during Sunday's launch ceremony.
Song Xinchao, former deputy director-general of China's National Cultural Heritage Administration, highlighted the importance of fully understanding the challenges brought by world changes to cultural heritage.
"It is also necessary to recognize the positive role that cultural heritage plays in promoting changes," Song said.
"Culture is the accelerator to build a community of shared future for mankind," said Dong Wei, UNESCO chairholder on cultural resource management, during his speech.
He said that in the future, protection of cultural heritage needs to integrate heritage resources from past, present and future.
"The protection of living heritage is sophisticated, and solving the contradiction between heritage protection and human social development is a major issue," Du Xiaofan, director of Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Fudan University, said.
"The establishment of the UNESCO Chair program offers an important platform for domestic and foreign experts and scholars, government officials, practitioners and community members opportunities on exchanges, cooperation and learning in the field of cultural heritage."
Led by Du, student teams in Fudan have been engaged in the cultural heritage research since 2015.
They have done research on over 800 urban and rural settlements, cultural landscapes, and cultural routes in various provinces and cities across the country, and established 13 expert workstations and internship bases nationwide.
The cultural heritage research team interact with local students.
