Immaterieel controversieel erfgoed. De spagaat in het UNESCO-dozijn ethische principes, het nut van een instrumentarium en meer “tenzij”

In the set of twelve ethical principles in the Basic Texts of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO), a split is identified between the relative autonomy of communities, groups & individuals and their living heritage on the one hand and global and other interventions to transform the world and address a wide range of issues on the other hand. This is analyzed by reshuffling the order of the ethical principles of safeguarding intangible heritage. The potential and necessity of developing an accompanying online platform and toolkit on the UNESCO.org website, as explicitly requested in 2015 by the Intergovernmental Commi!ee of the 2003 UNESCO Convention, are emphasized. These instruments are discussed in a broader exploration of challenges as expressed in the concept of intangible controversial heritage, in and beyond Flanders. The experience with the evolving strategies of GAIA, the animal welfare activist NGO, going for “no, unless” was quite instructive. Furthermore, the article starts with a comparison of the ethical challenges for museums as expressed in the heated debate about the ICOM museum definition in 2019-2022 with the (mixed reactions on the) sticky climate actions in art museums.