Dear Patrick and other colleagues,

...Let's not forget that the expression 'living heritage systems' could
encompass human communities as well, if we consider ecomuseums, open air
museums and the concepts of 'total museum' and 'total heritage' that have
been in use inside ICOM since the 80s.

I hope we have enough time and opportunity to discuss this issue before
final decisions are taken.

Tereza Scheiner
ICOFOM

------------------------------

At 09:30 PM 4/5/2000 +0100, you wrote:
>On Wed, 5 Apr 2000, Trevor Reynolds wrote:
>
>> While supporting the aims of the amendment, I find the wording ambiguous.
>> To me "living heritage systems" would imply zoos, acquaria and National
Parks
>> rather than intangible cultural heritage.  Inserting "cultural" between
>"living" and "heritage" would remove this possible miss-interpretation.
>>
>> Trevor Reynolds
>
>==================================
>
>Trevor:
>
>I agree with you.  Indeed, I would have preferred the generally recognised
>terminology of "intangible cultural heritage" myself.  However, the
>wording now proposed was, I understand, the result of much discussion in
>the Asia-Pacific region, where this has been a particularly live issue for
>some years.
>
>So far as zoos, natural parks etc. are concerned, these are in fact
>already included in the current ICOM definition, reproduced below.
>
>
>Patrick Boylan
>
>-----------------------------
>
>(STATUTES OF ICOM, ARTICLE 1):
>
>1. A museum is a non-profit making, permanent institution
>in the service of society and of its development, and open
>to the public which acquires, conserves, researches,
>communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study,
>education and enjoyment, material evidence of people and
>their environment.
>
>(a) The above definition of a museum shall be applied
>without any limitation arising from the nature of the
>governing body, the territorial character, the functional
>structure or the orientation of the collections of the
>institution concerned.
>
>(b) In addition to institutions designated as "museums"
>the following qualify as museums for the purposes of this
>definition:
>
>(i) natural, archaeological and ethnographic monuments and
>sites and historical monuments and sites of a museum
>nature that acquire, conserve and communicate material
>evidence of people and their environment;
>
>(ii) institutions holding collections of and displaying
>live specimens of plants and animals, such as botanical
>and zoological gardens, aquaria and vivaria;
>
>(iii) science centres and planetaria;
>
>(iv) conservation institutes and exhibition galleries
>permanently maintained by libraries and archive centres;
>
>(v) nature reserves;
>
>(vi) international or national or regional or local museum
>organizations, ministries or departments or public
>agencies responsible for museums as per the definition
>given under this article;
>
>(vii) non-profit institutions or organizations undertaking
>research, education, training, documentation and other
>activities relating to museums and museology;
>
>(viii) such other institutions as the Executive Council,
>after seeking the advice of the Advisory Committee,
>considers as having some or all of the characteristics of
>a museum, or as supporting museums and professional museum
>workers through museological research, education or training.
>
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Tereza M. Scheiner
President ICOFOM

Av. Ayrton Senna, 2150 sala 223 bloco C
22775-000 Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
tel: 55.21.325 32 08
fax: 55.21.325 66 35
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