☰

Community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage, related to traditional income-generating activities in Old Tbilisi

The project ‘Community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage, related to traditional income-generating activities in Old Tbilisi’ was implemented by the Georgian Heritage Crafts Association as part of the overall project ‘Intangible cultural heritage and creativity for sustainable cities”, that was generously supported by Yong Xin Hua Yun Cultural Industry Investment Group Co.Ltd (Yong Xin Hua Yun).

Project activities were carried out from November 2020 to June 2021 and included meetings with local community members, capacity-building activities led by international facilitators, community-based inventorying exercises, which involved audio-visual and narrative documentation and production of 20 promotional videos, organization of public meetings to present the project results and raise awareness on the importance of ICH safeguarding and an on-line film festival.

The aims of the project:

Identify key issues related to ICH in urban contexts:
shed light on how the urban context is shaping local ICH and also on issues and potential ways forward for safeguarding ICH in other urban contexts.
Elaborate recommendations for practitioners and policymakers on safeguarding ICH related to income-generating activities (crafts, performing arts, festivals, and other traditional occupations in Old Tbilisi).
Raise awareness among the local community, decision-makers, and wider public on
the potential contribution ICH can make in urban contexts for ensuring more sustainable development.

Project Activities and Outcomes:

Following a series of online capacity-building workshops, a project team composed of 10 young local facilitators was formed and extensive fieldwork was carried out, including interviews with professional organizations and networks, community representatives of different ethnic Diasporas, as well as online questionnaires distributed through social media. As a result, more than 40 ICH elements were identified and a database for Tbilisi ICH bearers was created.