Summary Report on the Regional Seminars

Anthony Seeger
Smithsonian Institution

Prior to the Global Conference in Washington D.C., UNESCO convened eight regional seminars to discuss the 1989 Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore. They met over a period of four years: in June 1995 in Strážnice (Czech Republic) for Central and Eastern European countries; in September 1997 in Mexico City (Mexico) for Latin America and the Caribbean; in February/March 1998 in Tokyo (Japan) for Asian countries; in September 1998 in Joensuu (Finland) for Western European countries; in October 1998 in Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan) for Central Asia and the Caucasus; in January 1999 in Accra (Ghana) for the African region; in February 1999 in Noumea (New Caledonia) for the Pacific countries; and in May 1999 in Beirut (Lebanon) for the Arab states. Delegates to the Regional Seminars were selected by the National Commission for UNESCO of each Member State.

A local official opened each Regional Seminar. Then a UNESCO representative introduced the history of the 1989 Recommendation and outlined the issues to be addressed. A summary of the synoptic reports on the application of the Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore in the region (the questionnaires filled out by a person appointed by each country’s UNESCO National Commission) was presented to begin the discussions. Each country delegate then presented a short report on his or her own country. The specific agenda of issues to be discussed in the plenary meeting varied to some extent in accordance with the region and the interests of the countries in it. In each Regional Seminar, three Working Groups were formed to address three issues, which remained constant for most seminars: (1) national policy in the field of intangible heritage, (2) legal protection, and (3) documentation and dissemination. Rapporteurs prepared summaries of the discussions and recommendations of each of the working groups. At the end of each Seminar, the reports and recommendations of each Working Group were discussed in plenary. A final report and recommendations addressed to governments of Member States and to UNESCO were presented, discussed, amended, and approved by the plenary.

This Summary Report has been prepared from the Final Reports of the eight Regional Seminars. Their reports revealed that each region has a somewhat different perspective on the issues raised in the Recommendation, deriving in part from the history and particularities of the region, the background and interests of the participants, and the dynamics of the seminars themselves. There were clearly some common areas of concern, some regional differences in emphasis, and some common recommendations.

Common Areas of Concern

1. All of the seminars welcomed UNESCO's initiative in holding seminars on the application of the 1989 Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore in different regions of the world. They called upon UNESCO National Commissions to increase the dissemination and application of the Recommendation in their respective countries.
2. All the Final Reports stressed the importance of traditional culture and folklore and expressed the participants' concern about the marginalization of traditional culture and folklore in their countries – using expressions like “fragile,” “disappearing,” and “neglected” to characterize the state of affairs. Several regions also specifically singled out local languages as being seriously threatened (Africa, Latin America).
3. Implicitly or explicitly, members of every seminar expressed their concern that the younger generation was not being exposed to traditional culture in a way that would enable them to secure its transmission and make use of it in creative ways.
4. Virtually all the Regional Seminars recognized the evolving nature of traditional culture and folklore and urged that nations also give attention to new and creative use of traditions.
5. Every seminar recommended calling the attention of national cultural policy makers to the importance of traditional culture and folklore for the entire nation, as the basis of cultural identity, a factor for the consolidation of cultural pluralism and sustainable human development, and a source of contemporary creativity.
6. Every seminar, except those in Europe, expressed concern about the lack of training of those working in the areas of traditional culture and folklore and at the lack of opportunities for people working in those fields to obtain adequate training.
7. Every seminar expressed concern at the lack of adequate legal protection for the producers of traditional culture and folklore and for the products of their knowledge, and recommended the development of legal instruments and other means to protect them.
8. Several seminars considered it necessary to control the excessive commercialization of traditional culture and folklore prevalent in some countries (Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Arab states).
9. Many seminars expressed concern about tourism, which, most felt, brought both advantages and disadvantages to carriers of traditional culture and folklore and to the intangible heritage as a whole.
10. Several seminars expressed concern over the lack of regional collaboration and the insufficient standardization of databases and training in their regions (Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus).
11. Several seminars endorsed the programs “Living Human Treasures” (Asia/Pacific, Latin America) and "The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" (Western Europe), both of which are actively promoted by UNESCO.

Some Regional Variations

Some Regional Seminars had distinctive perspectives on the issues of traditional culture and folklore that appeared repeatedly in their recommendations. While these may reflect some regional differences, these regional perspectives can add considerably to the understanding of traditional culture and folklore.

1. Members of the Latin America Regional Seminar recognized the importance of multiculturalism and stressed the significance of hybrid culture – cultures that combined aspects of two or more contributing cultures – a recognition of the effect of their own historical experience on traditional culture and folklore. They also underlined the essential role that folklore creators, actors, bearers, and transmitters play as agents of democratic development and integration.
2. Members of the Pacific States Regional Seminar stressed that intangible, tangible, and natural heritage cannot easily be distinguished by Pacific peoples –because natural and cultural, tangible and intangible are inextricably bound together in their cultures. They underlined the considerable significance of customary law, traditional knowledge as well as its confidentiality, and participation of the people of the community concerned in any action regarding the heritage. They also recommended that the bearers of traditional culture and folklore should be part of discussions and policy-making on the subject.
3. The members of the Asia Regional Seminar stressed the importance of considering traditional “high” (or court) culture in addition to traditional culture and folklore, partly because court cultures are found with a greater frequency in this region than in most others. They deplored the lack of policy documents and appropriate guidelines for documentation as well as for tourism development. They also regretted the lack of trained personnel in general. They expressed their concern over the problem of distortion when traditional cultural expressions are presented at "Folklore Festivals" as attractions.
4. The Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Seminar analyzed extensively the significance of traditional culture and folklore for national identity—reflecting their own recent history. They found traditional culture and folklore to be an extremely important facet of the formation of national identities of newly independent States. They also discussed the necessity to pay attention to the identities of minority ethnic groups often displaced for political reasons. They strongly deplored the weakened infrastructure of research institutions and archives which, under the Soviet regime, were financed by the states.
5. The African region recognized that the concept of identity has evolved extensively over the last decade. During the period of nation-building, a national cultural identity based on traditional cultural values was stressed, but today multiple identities – family, clan, ethnic, national, and regional – are emphasized. The value and role of the mother tongue and traditional cultural knowledge were also strongly highlighted. The seminar expressed widespread concern about the misuse of traditional culture and folklore by commercial entities, and stressed the need for surveying and cataloguing all forms of expression in order to protect them.
6. As was the case for Central Asian countries, Central and Eastern Europe expressed concern about the poor financial situation of the existing state-owned structure for the preservation of traditional culture and folklore following the introduction of a liberal capitalist economy. They also underlined the need to establish a close link between theoretical and practical activities.
7. The seminar for Western European countries emphasized the necessity to preserve cultural diversity endangered by the concentration of material and intellectual resources at the global level. In light of this concern, special effort needs to be made to promote the protection of traditional culture and folklore of minority groups, whose cultures are vulnerable but intrinsically invaluable to humanity.
8. The Arab states stressed the challenges presented by globalization and the transformations of their own societies to the maintenance of traditional culture and folklore and distinctive identity.

Traditional Culture and Contemporary Issues

The opinion was expressed in several seminar reports that traditional knowledge and expression can aid nations and their populations in dealing with the serious challenges confronting all nations today: sustained human development, peaceful coexistence, globalization, and the alienation and education of youth.

1. Several regions stressed the importance of traditional culture and folklore--and other accumulated knowledge and practice developed locally over long periods of time--for sustained social and economic development.
2. Globalization was recognized as a powerful influence in all regions, one that has both positive and negative potential. Some new technologies can be harnessed for better preservation and protection of some forms of traditional culture and folklore; other technologies further marginalize them and their creators.
3. Peaceful coexistence may be encouraged by the understanding of shared culture and the appreciation of differences, and by using traditional means of dispute settlement.
4. Several regions stressed that one of the problems faced by youth today is that they do not understand or appreciate the significance of their own culture, which should therefore be included to a greater degree in educational curricula.

Comments on the Recommendation Itself

All of the Regional Seminar Final Reports mentioned the importance of the 1989 Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore as a reference document. Many of them complimented UNESCO on having prepared it and expressed the hope that Member States would do more to disseminate it and to implement its provisions.

Some of the seminars observed that the term “folklore” has a pejorative connotation in their region and recommended that it be replaced by other words (Africa, Pacific, Latin America). In some places the term “traditional and popular culture” was substituted (Africa), while in others “traditional and popular culture (folklore),” was proposed. Some terminological change was recommended in any event.

Several of the seminars recommended that the 1989 Recommendation be modified or a new instrument be developed that would include specific additional features. Others indicated that changes were probably desirable without explicitly naming them. The changes that were specifically recommended included:

• The inclusion of a code of ethics (Central Asia, Asia, Central Europe, Arab states) that would declare principles of respect for traditional culture and folklore of all nations and ethnic groups and protect the knowledge bearer, the collector, and the form itself
• The creation of an international legal framework to improve the protection of traditional culture and folklore (Final Reports often recommended that UNESCO and WIPO develop this together)
• The practice of including customary owners of traditional cultural knowledge as principal participants in and beneficiaries of the process of documenting and disseminating their knowledge (Latin America, Pacific)
• The recognition of the collaborative role of non-governmental organizations and institutions of various kinds that can be of assistance in the preservation of traditional culture and folklore (Latin America)
• The widening of the scope of the Recommendation to include the evolving nature of traditional culture and folklore (Latin America)

Final Reports of the Regional Seminars contained recurring recommendations to the Governments of Member States and to UNESCO. These recommendations provide valuable indicators for future directions and are outlined as follows.

• Incorporate programs relating to traditional culture and folklore in educational curricula at all levels and include traditional culture and folklore within the framework of national educational policies.
• Develop legislative protection for traditional culture and folklore. In countries where such protections already exist, further assess and improve the effective application of this legislation.
• Develop copyright laws and other legal tools protecting individual and collective creators, practitioners, and collectors of traditional culture and folklore.
• Support the development and coordination of regional organizations working in cultural fields. For example, support the establishment of information systems linking institutions, inter-organizational exchanges, improved archival structures, and greater access to cultural resources.
• Actively disseminate and implement the 1989 Recommendation, and integrate the safeguarding and revitalization of traditional culture and folklore in national cultural policies with regard to the 1989 Recommendation.
• Develop practices to assure that traditional communities benefit from commercial uses of their folklore when they agree to its use.
• Include members of traditional communities in decision-making bodies that consider issues affecting them.
• Include innovations, hybrid forms, and new ideas when defining traditional culture and folklore.
• Work with local communities to devise means of avoiding the destructive aspects of excessive commercialism and tourism.

Recommendations to UNESCO

• Initiate and coordinate regional meetings relating to traditional culture and folklore that encourage cooperation between experts, researchers, and practitioners in areas relating to traditional culture and folklore.
• Designate and support Regional Intangible Cultural Heritage Centers with networks that coordinate the activities of different cultural institutions in Member States and foster expertise and technology in relevant fields.
• Formulate standard policies and procedures for traditional culture and folklore management through the proposed regional Centers, which would, for example, develop systematized approaches to the collection, documentation, conservation, and dissemination of traditional culture and folklore.
• Provide training in the use of new technologies for documentation, preservation, and diffusion.
• Encourage governments to develop national legislation protecting traditional culture and folklore. In countries where such legislation exists, encourage reassessment of the legislation and its adaptation to current concerns and future objectives relating to the protection of traditional culture and folklore.
• Organize regional meetings of experts in legal aspects of traditional culture and folklore to examine various possibilities of legislative protections and their applications to ensure they reflect the needs of respective countries.
• Develop a code of ethics that declares principles of respect for traditional culture and its practitioners.
• Avoid using the word “folklore” because of its pejorative connotations.
• Develop working partnerships with institutions of civil society—including grass-roots organizations, non-governmental organizations and private funding agencies.
• Revise the 1989 Recommendation on the Safeguarding Traditional Culture and Folklore or create a new international instrument.

Conclusion

The Global Conference, to be held in Washington D.C. in June 1999, will build upon the years of work and preparation that have gone into the regional seminars. We have an opportunity to turn the recommendations of these eight regions into a final set of recommendations to propose to UNESCO and its Member States. A great deal of work has already been done, and we must be grateful to all those who participated in the regional seminars and worked so hard to produce the final reports and recommendations that we can work from. We can take inspiration from what they have already accomplished.