Unlike its more tangible sister, the concept of intangible heritage is a relatively new one to the Maltese Islands. Indeed, considering that some of our megalithic temples and the city of Valletta have been recognised as World Heritage Sites since 1980, our intangible heritage section has a little bit of catching up to do. However, thanks to the director of culture at the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government, Mario Azzopardi, all this is set to change.

The Unesco Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was established in 2003. 175 countries have ratified the convention so far and, in fact, Malta ratified it in 2017. “Of course, when it comes to these things, it’s not just about ratifying conventions but rather about implementing them. Everyone knows about tangible culture and in fact, Malta is hoping to add the Ċitadella and Mdina to the recognised World Heritage Site list, says Mr Azzopardi.

However, there has been a clear move towards the intangible and in a recent OECD survey it was shown that tourists who visit a place for its intangible culture have a 22 per cent higher stay time and spend 35 per cent more than those who don’t. “Of course, this is just one facet of the intangible culture coin. Our main motivation behind working so hard on this is the fact that we are spurred by the great desire to capture the essence of our identity and save that which makes us Maltese.”

It’s wonderful to always be reminded of how rich our culture is

So what would classify as intangible culture? The Unesco Convention proposes five broad domains in which intangible cultural heritage is manifested: oral traditions and expressions (including language), the performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe and traditional craftsmanship.

“We want Maltese traditions and customs to not only last but to be both protected as well as recognised for their uniqueness. It is our job to safeguard what we have before it disappears and pass it down from one generation to the next. We have already let a lot of traditional crafts die out so it really is time for us to take action before we lose even more.”

As one can imagine, Mr Azzopardi’s task is far from an easy one and part of the project is getting people themselves to participate: “There are two levels of things which need to be done. For starters, Unesco requires that inventories be made by their respective communities and not their governments. This is why we have asked and continue to ask people to come forward with their ideas about what they feel makes them Maltese.

“People have already come forward with suggestions such as: the Maltese ftira, għana, Maltese lace-making and gold embroidery. Next year we would like to present at least two proposals and we are working very closely with two consultants to make sure that they are accepted.

“We are meeting people, adding their ideas to our database and asking them to fill in the application form which they can find on www.ich.org. We stress that the application form is not something which should be found intimidating and in fact, we ask anyone who has trouble finding things online to approach us and talk to us.

“Every year, we want to be able to present a new piece of intangible culture but the process to get things recognised is a slow one. Once we feel that item has promise to be recognised as part of intangible culture, a documentary is made and shown at a public meeting and feedback is given by the public. The entire intangible culture project is based around the local community because at the end of the day this is a matter of national identity.”

Passionate as ever about the project, Mr Azzopardi is excited about what the future holds: “We are at a very particular point in history where we really need to be careful and preserve things. We not only need to be proactive about passing things from one generation to the next, but we also need encouragement for things to continue to be done. People are slowly but surely coming forward but we have to keep up the momentum.

“We are continuously being fascinated by all the amazing things which are being brought forward: particular games which are still being played in Gozo, old tools, foods – the sky truly is the limit. It’s wonderful to always be reminded of how rich our culture is.”

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