Showing posts with label ICH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ICH. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Bauline Memory Mug Up

Bauline Memory Mug Up. 2018.
 On Sunday, October 21, 2018 Dale and I headed to Bauline to host a Memory Mug Up at their History and Heritage Fair. The event was organized by the town's heritage committee and including several themed displays, an ugly stick demonstration, photo identification, and the screening of several videos focused on the community and filmed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Model of the United Church in Bauline by Alton King.
30 residents came together to share stories and memories of growing up in the community. One of the first things we were told was the difference between under the hill and on top of the hill, and who was a gully rat. There were several stories about the dangerous fun people had as children including scaling cliffs, and sliding on dogsleds, canvas, and car bonnets. There were stories about a pair of mischievous boys who would often play tricks and were known for stuffing the chimney of the schoolhouse so they could have the day off school.

I also learned a new Newfoundland word when some of the women discussed keeping their quoit from year to year. I learned that a quoit is flat rock used for playing hopscotch. If you found a great rock you would keep it and use it for each game you played.

There were memories of jannying during the holidays, attending the watchnight service on New Year's Eve, and shooting off guns to ring in the New Year. Several people were able to sing the songs that local singer Edgar would sing to start and end the dance that followed the Orangemen's parade.

At the end of the day we were take to two of the local cemeteries including one where the stones are no longer visible above the ground. It was a great heritage event and we look forward to working with the heritage committee on some of their future heritage projects.

United Church Cemetery.

Did you grow up in Bauline? Do you have any memories to add? Let us know in the comments!

~Terra Barrett

Monday, September 11, 2017

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Chip Bags and Memories

Photos of the framed chip bags and tickets. 
Photo courtesy of Kelly Jones.

On our trip out to Grand Falls-Windsor for the Memory Mug Up event back in July we were told the story behind the framed chip bags that hang in the Classic Theatre on High Street. Listen to the clip below to hear Shawn Feener, the owner/operator of the Classic Theatre, explain the story behind the tickets and chip bags.

What was the first movie you saw in theatres?
Or where was your first date?


~Terra Barrett

Monday, July 17, 2017

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Grand Falls-Windsor Memory Mug Up

















As part of the Collective Memories project Dale and I headed out to Grand Falls-Windsor last week to help out with the town's first Memory Mug Up event. The mug up was held in the Classic Theatre on High Street and was part of the town's Salmon Festival activities. The event was organized by the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society and was a staged interview with six local community members.

Dale moderated the discussion which involved memories of horses and goats, tales of how to sneak in to the movie theatre with flattened nickels or fake tickets, stories of memorable local characters, the influence of strong woman, and memories about growing up in the community. The event was recorded and will be placed on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. Check out the video below for a taste of the event and stay tuned for more memories!



~Terra Barrett

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

A Life-Changing Experience: Memories of City of St. John’s Volunteers Booklet Launch

Lossie Trask, Linda Furey, Marie Ryall, Ruby Hann, Terra Barrett, Dale Jarvis, and Mayor Dennis O'Keefe at the booklet launch. 
On Tuesday the Heritage Foundation and the City of St. John’s Community Services Department launched the booklet A Life-Changing Experience: Memories of City of St. John’s Volunteers. The booklet launch took place in the Foran Green Room of City Hall at the Council Meeting. The five volunteers who were interviewed for the booklet came out and were treated to some snacks before being invited into the Council Meeting where the booklet and the women were recognized.

A Life-Changing Experience: Memories of City of St. John’s Volunteers is the first booklet in the Collective Memories Series produced by the Heritage Foundation. This booklet focuses on the experience of five City of St. John’s volunteers and their reflections and advice on volunteering in the community. The bulk of the work for this project was completed by Conservation Corps summer student Sarah Hannon who completed interviews, transcribed, and edited the booklet.

The volunteer booklet is part of the foundation’s Collective Memories Project. This project is an initiative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, with funding provided by the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development. The Collective Memories Project invites seniors to record their stories and memories for sharing.

If you want to learn more you can head to collections.mun.ca to hear the full interviews or you can check out PDF here!

~Terra Barrett

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Tuesday's Folklore Photos - Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference


Architecture or built heritage in Old Quebec.
Today’s Folklore Photos come from the International Conference on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Quebec City, QC. The conference was held at Laval University and brought together the Folklore Studies Association of Canada, the Canadian Network for Intangible Cultural Heritage, Canadian Society for Traditional Music, the Canada research Chair in Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Institute for Cultural Heritage of Laval University, and the Centre for Culture, Art and Society.

On Wednesday evening after a day of completing tape logs and metadata descriptions at the office I flew to Toronto and then on to Quebec City for the conference where a number of folklorists and heritage professionals were meeting and presenting papers on their work. Thursday was focused on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and there were presenters from across the country and beyond. There was a lot of discussion on UNESCO's 2003 Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention and what has happened in the ten years since the conference was ratified in 2006. Presenters from Belgium, Denmark and Norway described how their countries were working on ICH since ratifying the convention while presenters from Scotland, and Canada discussed their interest in ratifying the convention and moving forward with preserving ICH in their countries. Dale gave a presentation on the work of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office since 2008 and focused on the Grey Sock project as an example of the work from the Heritage Foundation which celebrates, records, disseminates, and promotes ICH or the living heritage of the province.
The Huron-Wendat Museum in Wendake, QC.  Participants were treated to a tour of the museum and a banquet meal on Friday evening.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there were presentations from folklorists, ethnomusicologists, anthologists, and many other heritage professionals. Some presentations focused on what their institutions were working on while others presented a paper or specific concept or concern in heritage. On Saturday morning I presented a paper I had written on the Mummers Festival. It was called “Shagging with the Tradition: The St. John’s Mummers Festival” and looked at how the Mummers Festival has used Intangible Cultural Heritage to create community and increase tourism. It also traced mummering as a cultural symbol for the province since the 1960s until today.
Presenting the paper Shagging with the Tradition: The St John's Mummers Festival.  Photo by Ryan Davis.
It was a beautiful weekend in Quebec City which finished with a declaration of interest in ICH in Canada and a wish for the country to ratify UNESCO’s convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage in order to preserve and promote the ICH of the country as a whole.
Laurier Turgeon and Dale Jarvis reading the declaration on ICH.
~Terra Barrett

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Culture mapping, memories, a new booklet, and more!

In the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador for April-June 2015: 
  • Folklorist Dale Jarvis is working with the Champney's West Heritage Group on a cultural mapping project; 
  • Terra Barrett writes about the soon-to-be-released oral history booklet from Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove; 
  • Heritage Foundation of NL invites you to listen to stories about heritage properties as part of The Memory Store, now on YouTube; and,
  • You are invited to a free "Saving our Stories" workshop in Port Union!

Monday, March 16, 2015

Reframing and Extending Tradition: Intangible Cultural Heritage and Public Folklore in Newfoundland and Labrador




Last year, I was asked to write an article on the role of brokers and mediators in enacting Newfoundland and Labrador's Intangible Cultural Heritage Strategy. That article was included in a special edition of the folklore journal Volkskunde, which has now been released online.

My article outlines three approaches where ICH safeguarding strategies in Newfoundland and Labrador utilize guided facilitation by professional folklorists: community-based training initiatives; safeguarding ICH within heritage districts; and, the development of public programs as part of folklife festivals.

You can download and view the article in pdf format here.

Or you can download the entire journal here.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Campfire Tales at Lobster Cove Head



Come share your ghost and fairy stories or just sit at the fire and be spooked! Hosted at the Lobster Head light house shed party, by folklorist Lisa Wilson on behalf of the Registered Heritage District of Woody Point and Gros Morne Park Artist in Residence Michael Young

Stories start at Lobster Cove Head Sunday, August 10th at 8PM

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Celebrating the 50th issue of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update newsletter


This month, we celebrate the 50th edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update newsletter. We look at back at where we've come from, provide an overview of the recent Baccalieu Trail Heritage Forum, remember the adventures of a wayward polar bear in Quidi Vidi, and explore how the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program is working to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in Newfoundland and Labrador.

View the newsletter in pdf and other formats

Contributors: Dale Jarvis, Sarah Ingram, Lisa Wilson

Friday, March 21, 2014

A Lovely Cookbook Treat

Yesterday we had a lovely little visit from Sue Crichton, who reached out to ICH office after seeing our posting for the Nan's Cookbook: Tea and Talk event that is happening today. She had a few old cookbooks that belonged to her mother and mother in law (and likely their mothers as well!) that she didn't want anymore, and so donated them to us so we could share them at the event! They are some great looking cookbooks, and date between the 1920s and 1940s.



Sue's mother in law was Emma Angel, whose mother was a sister of Captain Bob Bartlett's, the well known navigator and Arctic explorer.

Sue's grandmother, Bertha Dicks, was a daughter of the Dixon family, and met her husband, Thomas Foot, after moving to Grand Banks. Thomas was a merchant before the market crashed in 1929, and is a brother of the J.B. Foot and Sons Company merchants from Grand Banks.

This was Nicole's favorite snippet from one of the books: how to make the perfect pot of tea!


The Tea and Talk is this afternoon, Friday March 21st, from 3-5pm at the Cupids Legacy Centre - it's free, and open to everyone! We would love if you joined us for a hot beverage, some baked treats, and had a chat about old cookbooks and recipes!

Thanks again to Sue who was sweet enough to drop these off for us to share at the tea today - they are beautiful books, have some interesting recipes in them, and I'm sure will be a great conversation piece this afternoon! We really appreciate it :)

-Sarah

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Intangible Cultural Heritage Symposium in Alberta, Sept 2013



New Partnership with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO

The Alberta Museums Association (AMA) is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCU) to present the AMA’s 2013 Conference, which will explore the concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage defines five general topic areas of ICH:

(a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;
(b) performing arts;
(c) social practices, rituals and festive events;
(d) knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;
(e) traditional craftsmanship.[i]

Together, we aim to raise awareness about ICH and to provide the Alberta museum community with the opportunity to start thinking about what role they play to foster and preserve ICH. A coordinated partnership between the AMA and CCU will utilize the capacity of each organization to expand the audience and level of understanding for ICH and its role in creating a sense of cultural belonging.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Symposium
September 19, 2013

Presented by the AMA and CCU, the 2013 Pre-Conference Symposium will be dedicated to the exploration of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) from a theoretical perspective. The ICH Symposium will help to foster the discussion around the importance of culture in our society. The one-day event will feature presentations by recognized experts in the ICH field. This innovative and inspiring opportunity will positively impact the museum community by bringing together museums, academia and practitioners to examine issues around ICH; thereby contributing to the social, cultural, and educational fabric of our communities as well as increasing awareness of ICH practices.

[i] UNESCO, “General Provisions: Article 2.2 – Definitions,” Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Accessed 5 November 2012).

Contact:

Carrie Ann Lunde, BA, MA
Communications Lead
Alberta Museums Association

Suite 404, 10408.124 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5N 1R5
P: 780.424.2626 x. 244
F: 780.425.1679
E: clunde@museums.ab.ca
W: www.museums.ab.ca


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Ponies, Perogies, Skateboarding and more

ICH Update for January 2013

In this month's edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador: the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is conducting a needs assessment survey to measure the type and amount of ICH related training needed in the province; work continues on the Foundation's documentation of the Heart's Content Registered Heritage District; intern Joelle Carey starts work on a project identifying living Newfoundland Ponies; new ICH intern Christina Robarts works with Memorial University Department of Folklore professor Dr. Mariya Lesiv on "Newfiki" - celebration of eastern-European cultures in Newfoundland; the Rooms announces a scrapbooking workshop; and Nicole Penney presents on a collection of skateboard videos which will become part of the province's inventory of intangible cultural heritage.

Contributors: Nicole Penney, Lisa Wilson, Joelle Carey, and Christina Robarts
Download the PDF

ICH Conference in Flanders

Recently, ICH Development Officer Dale Jarvis was invited to take part in an ICH conference in Mechelen, Flanders. The topic was participative methods for inventorying or documenting elements of ICH, and the conference included presentations from Joanne Orr - Museums Galleries Scotland (Scotland), Paulo Ferreira da Costa - Institute for Museums and Conservation (Portugal), Hans van der Linden - Agency for Arts and Heritage Flanders (Belgium), Jorijn Neyrinck & Ellen Janssens - tapis plein – Center of Expertise for heritage participation and intangible cultural heritage (Belgium), Eva Van Hoye & Kim Van Belleghem - Heritage units Mechelen & TERF (Belgium), and Marc Jacobs - FARO. Flemish interface for cultural heritage; VUB - Free University Brussels – Heritage Studies and Ethnology (Belgium).

Download Dale's presentation on ICH inventory work in PDF

Monday, June 4, 2012

Paris Notes: ICH Researchers Forum and UNESCO General Assembly on ICH


I arrived in Paris yesterday, and since then have had a day and a half of interesting meetings and conversations already.

I got here in time Sunday to take in the second half of the Forum of ICH Researchers meeting at la Maison des Cultures du Monde. The first panel session was on community participation in the safeguarding of ICH under the Convention, chaired by Toshiyuki Kono. There were several different papers presented, but the two that interested me particularly were the papers given by Win van Zanten, an ethnomusicologist from the University of Leiden, and Marc Jacobs, the director of the Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage.

Van Zanten looked at some of the short films on the UNESCO website for Intangible Cultural Heritage (see some of them here). He argued that they were important because they increase the visibility of ICH, but thought that they could do more to document the tradition in relation to community, and that the larger social context could be better documented. He also raised the idea of showing the film back to community, filming their reaction, and include their comments.

Jacobs presented on heritage communities and safeguarding programs, and argued that the critical success factor to safeguarding programs is the presence of a cultural broker, someone who can walk the community through the processes involved in an ICH project. He argued that these mediators are crucial for building bridges, and providing followup that goes beyond pure documentation. It was music to my ears, and a validation of the work we are undertaking with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly the project-based training model we are working on, and which we will hopefully be doing more with later this year.

The second panel session was on identifying priority areas for research, facilitated by Harriet Deacon, Hon. Research Fellow at the University of Capetown. I've followed her excellent posts on Twitter @the_archive for a while now, so it was nice to meet her in person. Misako Ohnuki, Deputy Director of the International Research Centre for ICH in Asia and the Pacific Region, who I'd also only ever met online, was first up, talking about documentation as a tool for safeguarding the ICH of communities. Then Deacon and Chiaro Bortolotto talked about their impressive project to document and track current published research on ICH. It was noted that there are gaps in the research, with a large amount of grey literature that has not been documented, and a growing body of practical handbooks, guides and suchlike documents being produced by NGOs which are not part of the academic literature.

The meeting ended with a decision that the Forum should meet again, annually if possible. I'll keep you posted on developments.

This morning was the start of the fourth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO Headquarters. It was a fascinating day, with some very interesting comments made by a variety of state party representatives.

One of the topics up for debate was whether there should be a ceiling placed on the number of nominations the secretariat can examine each year for the Convention's Lists, which include the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The presentations were insightful and at times passionate. The general consensus was that a ceiling on the number of nominations is necessary because of the time and resources required to properly assess each nomination. But there was also a general sense that the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding not be limited, as it represents traditions under particular threat.

There is also a listing of programmes, projects and activities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage considered to best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention, a list which seems to be somewhat undersubscribed, and it was suggested that due to the small number of listings, a cap not be placed on that list either.

A need for best practices led to many state party representatives talking about the importance of safeguarding ICH, stating that the listing of traditions is less important within their jurisdictions than the active safeguarding of those traditions to ensure they continue at the community level. Many state parties returned to this theme over the course of the day: Austria noted the importance of UNESCO capacity-building initiatives in safeguarding ICH, Cuba talked about the need for ICH training at regional level; Jordan expressed the importance of community-level work in safeguarding ICH; and St Lucia stressed that listing is less important to some regions than the work inventorying and safeguarding. 

All in all, a fascinating day, and a remarkable first look, for me, at how the ICH General Assembly works.

The day ended with a rather remarkable presentation from Mongolia, mixing traditional ethnic costume, high fashion, traditional (and very modern) music, dance, throat singing, gymnastics, contortionism, and hand-balancing. All in a day's work, really.

Sleep, soon, perhaps, with another three days yet to come, and the ICH non-governmental organizations' meeting first thing tomorrow morning!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Call for Applications to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO's Youth Action Group


I've just returned from the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO in Ottawa. While there, I made a presentation to the Youth Action Group (YAG) on UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and on the work we are doing to safeguard ICH in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I was impressed with the passion and the impressive volunteer and work histories of the YAG members I met, and I'm certain that they have a great deal to contribute toward's UNESCO's goals of building a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO is currently looking for interested young Canadians, between the ages of 15 and 30 years old, to become new members of its Youth Advisory Group.  This year, in order to increase geographic representation of members throughout Canada, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO is specifically looking to recruit in Newfoundland and Labrador. As well, the YAG currently does not have any members interested in the theme of archives. Indeed, members interested in Information and Communication in general are fairly rare at the moment. 

The original deadline of May 15th has been extended to May 25th, so if you are interested, get your application in today.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland: the Way Forward


Yesterday, I recieved by post a copy of "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland: the Way Forward", a summary of a report prepared by Alison McCleary, Alistair McCleary, Linda Gunn and David Hill of Napier University, based on research commissioned by Museums Galleries Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council and the Scotland Committee of the UK National Commission for UNESCO.

The report identifies practical steps to be taken in order to safeguard and promote the richness and diversity of Scotland’s cultural practices and living traditions. It came at a perfect time, as HFNL is working on preparing a booklet entitled "What is Intangible Cultural Heritage?" - a first step in a similar direction.

Click here for the full report(439 KB pdf) or summary report (9,935 KB pdf).

The press release on the launch of the report can be found here.

The report summary, beautifully illustrated, gives an overview of Intangible Cultural Heritage in general, and how it relates to Scotland, as well as sections on collecting and managing ICH data, and safeguarding ICH. It recommends four next steps in conserving ICH in Scotland:

  • Creating a national inventory,
  • Collecting details of ICH practices,
  • Storing ICH data on a customized online wiki format, and
  • Using the national inventory as a tool for identifying what is under threat, and as a component of education and community development.


  • The summary also includes two small case studies, one on the "Up-Helly-Aa" festivals in Shetland (shown in the picture above), and one on collecting ICH on the island of Linsmore, on the west coast of Scotland.

    Interesting and exciting stuff, with some good recommendations!