Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development

This book provides a systemic understanding of how intangible cultural heritage (ICH) can promote sustainable development. It offers new insights on the identity-building potential of heritage practices as enabler of development and their capacity to generate social and economic profits as driver of development. Based on Pierre Bourdieus Theory of Practice, a model for the valorisation of ICH is presented, which may serve as a tool to stimulate the developmental potentials of heritage on a practical level. The functioning of the valorisation model is exemplified with a case study on a German choral tradition, which has not been officially nominated as ICH. Therewith, it is shown how the model can be applied to utilise the developmental potentials of ICH - as promoted in the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) even beyond UNESCOs scope. This book is of interest to cultural heritage scholars.