Intangible Heritage Collection Kit
The Intangible Heritage Collection Kit is a DGPC educational resource aimed at raising awareness among young people for the need to safeguard intangible cultural heritage (ICH).
This educational tool is intended to be applied at local level (village, parish, neighbourhood, etc.) and to encourage knowledge and enhancement of intangible heritage. This can be done through the interaction of young people with community elements that have a decisive importance in the transmission of this heritage.
The Kit is meant to be used preferably in the school context, in particular in the 2nd and 3rd cycles of Basic Education, as well as for educational and pedagogical activities promoted by other entities, such as Museums, through their Education Services.
The Edition
The Intangible Heritage Collection Kit has been available to the public online since 2011, in PDF format, for free download.
In addition to the intangible heritage recording matrix, the Kit also incorporates a tangible heritage recording matrix, with the aim of raising awareness among youngsters for the need for an integrated approach, as recommended by UNESCO and as underlined by national legislation in the area of the ICH.
This edition received the III Ibero-American Prize for Education and Museums (Category I, 3rd place, ex aequo) in 2013, out of a total of several dozen candidates.
The Database
Since November 2014, the Intangible Heritage Collection Kit has also been available for use by Portuguese Schools and Museums through a database developed by the Directorate-General for Education. This is the result of a partnership with the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, based on the above-mentioned online edition.
This database is accessible on the website of the Directorate-General for Education, free of charge, and is intended to be used either in school contexts, in particular in the 2nd and 3rd cycles of Basic Education, or in educational and pedagogical activities promoted by other entities, such as Museum Education Services. The results of their collections can be disclosed on the Facebook page of the “Intangible Heritage Collection Kit”, and on the DGPC website.
The “Intangible Heritage Collection Kit” database promotes an integrated approach to the cultural reality of local communities, through multiple matrixes for intangible heritage (‘Traditional Knowledge and Crafts’, ‘Festive Traditions’ and ‘Oral Traditions’), and tangible heritage (“Places”, “Buildings” and “Objects”). They are intended for joint use in the same educational project.
Like the publication of the DGPC which is at the origin of the Database ‘Intangible Heritage Collection Kit’, this educational resource was developed in view of the importance that the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO, 2003) gives to the implementation of ‘educational, awareness-raising and information programmes aimed at the general public, in particular young people’, for ensuring the enhancement of the intangible cultural heritage in society (Article 14).
In addition to the education communities across the country, this database can also be used by the Museums and Schools of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries), with a view to raising awareness among the younger generations of their countries of the importance of safeguarding their intangible heritage.