With the aim of strengthening the incorporation of intangible cultural heritage into urban development processes, UNESCO implemented a workshop aimed at stakeholders from the urban development and cultural heritage areas of the San José Municipality and other local governments, as well as national-level governmental institutions. The activity also included the presence of community leaders linked to these areas, along with the participation of the Ministry of Culture and Youth and the San José Municipality.
The “Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urban Contexts” was held at the National Library of Costa Rica and is part of the project “Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening Capacities for Resilient Communities through Sustainable Tourism and Heritage Safeguarding,” implemented in 10 countries with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, within the framework of UNESCO’s program on Culture and Digital Technologies.
The first phase comprises in-person training sessions to strengthen capacities in safeguarding living heritage in 10 cities in Latin America, including San José, Costa Rica. The online UNESCO Training of Trainers on Living Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development was held in March and April, with the participation of the workshop facilitators: Josephine Dusapin, an architect specializing in urban development, and Celia Barrantes Jiménez, Facilitator of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and a professional with extensive experience in Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The training covered international cultural instruments, practical tools for addressing and managing the safeguarding of living heritage in urban contexts, and a review of the related national and local regulatory frameworks. During the workshop, elements that are part of San José’s living heritage and their relationship with urban life were also discussed. Among these, the dynamics present in the Borbón Market and the Central Market stood out; spaces that not only function as trade centers but also as scenarios for community gathering and the transmission of knowledge.
Within this framework, the working groups also reflected on various necessary safeguarding measures to protect and strengthen intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts. These include incorporating new urban components that help confront threats or enhance the benefits of an intangible cultural heritage element, as well as reinforcing and expanding the capacity of existing components that can still offer more in terms of safeguarding.
In this way, the reflection focused not only on recognizing the elements of living heritage but also on identifying concrete strategies to ensure their transmission to future generations and their integration into the urban development of San José.
During the second stage of the initiative, elements of living heritage linked to the urban environment will be identified through a community-based and participatory process. The results of the initiative will subsequently allow for the development of technical guidelines for integrating living heritage into urban plans, policies, and programs.
This project is unique in its scope, as it reinforces important synergies between the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), and will have positive repercussions for a wide range of stakeholders in the culture, urban planning, and tourism sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The actions are also linked to the sustainable tourism component of the regional project “Communities for Heritage,” which seeks to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of World Heritage destinations through sustainable tourism training programs and improved visitor management.