Living Heritage Goes to Italian Schools Abroad:
Traditions Across Borders
The initiative
To mark the International Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Comparative Law at UnitelmaSapienza University of Rome launches the first edition of “Living Heritage Goes to Italian Schools Abroad: Traditions Across Borders”, an educational initiative addressed to Italian schools abroad.
Building on the experience of Living Heritage Goes to School in Italy, this new edition adapts the project to the specific context of Italian educational institutions operating outside the national territory. Its aim is to bring the principles of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage into schools and to invite students to rediscover Italian intangible cultural heritage as a living, dynamic and shared resource across borders.
For students growing up in multilingual and multicultural environments, intangible cultural heritage can become a meaningful way to reconnect with Italian culture while also reflecting on cultural diversity, dialogue and the heritage of the communities in which they live.
Educational toolkit
For this first edition, the UNESCO Chair has developed a dedicated toolkit for participating schools. The toolkit introduces students and teachers to the meaning of intangible cultural heritage, the concept of safeguarding, and the importance of integrating living heritage into formal education.
It includes activities for three educational levels:
Primary school
Lower secondary school
Upper secondary school
For each level, the toolkit proposes three activities: one focused on reconnecting students with Italian living heritage, one dedicated to cultural diversity and respect for the heritage of others, and one exploring music as a tool for learning, participation and intercultural dialogue.