Shanghai Charter

Museums, Intangible Heritage and Globalisation

We, the coalition of participants, at the 7th Asia Pacific Regional Assembly
of the International Council of Museums convened between 20-24 October 2002
in Shanghai, affirming the significance of creativity, adaptability and the
distinctiveness of peoples, places and communities as the framework in which
the voices, values, traditions, languages, oral history, folk life and so on
are recognised and promoted in all museological and heritage practices,
recommend that museums as facilitators of constructive partnerships in the
safeguarding of this heritage of humanity:

*       Affirm the rich cultural diversity of the Asia Pacific, including
the concerns of race, ethnicity, colour, gender, age, class, faith,
language, sexual orientation and regional identities
*       Establish interdisciplinary and cross sectorial approaches that
bring together movable and immovable, tangible and intangible, natural and
cultural heritage
*       Address the challenges and threats posed by globalisation and
develop approaches to maximise on the opportunities provided by cultural,
technological and economic globalisation
*       Develop documentation tools and standards in establishing holistic
museum and heritage practices
*       Initiate pilot projects that demonstrate methodologies for making
inventories of intangible heritage resources through community participation
*       Ensure efforts towards the conservation, presentation and
interpretation of intangible heritage in an authentic manner that is
consistent with the local character
*       Develop public programs and visitor management strategies that
comply with the laws, conventions and regulations dealing with the
conservation of heritage resources of significance, and respect for the
rules and protocols of the community groups as custodians of intangible
heritage
*       Encourage cross cultural understanding and meaningful exchanges for
the promotion of peace and harmonious societies
*       Make use of all media formats such as print, audio visuals, film and
video, digital and telecommunication technologies
*       Assess and address training needs and capacity building for
integration of tangible and intangible heritage management
*       Offer inclusive interpretation in appropriate languages where
possible employing local custodians of intangible heritage resources
*       Promote the active participation of public and private sectors to
maximise the use of local expertise, resources and opportunities and
diversify the resource base for the effective safeguarding of all heritage
resources
*       Establish criteria and methodologies for the integration of tangible
and intangible heritage in museums and other heritage institutions
*       Support UNESCO's efforts for the safeguarding and promotion of
intangible heritage through its various programs and stress the importance
of the inputs of professional bodies in the preparation of an international
convention for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.


Professor Zhang Wenbin
President
ICOM China

Dr. Jacques Perot
President
ICOM

Professor Amareswar Galla
President
ICOM Asia Pacific


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

Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the
archives at:  http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html