It took couple of extra decades to include intangible heritage as part of the cultural heritage. The intangible cultural heritage is defined by UNESCO (2003a as “the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated there with – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage”. Tango from Argentina, acupuncture from China, the Mediterranean diet, and flamenco are some examples to give (DeSouceya, Elliottb, & Schmutz, in press).
Tangible cultural heritage has the advantage over its intangible counterpart, such that with proper care (even in a neglected state) it remains authentic over centuries. On the other hand, survival of intangible cultural heritage is always threatened because a great deal of it is passed on only orally through generations (Sekler, 2001 as cited in Ekwelem, Okafor & Ukwoma, 2011).
Additional to the tangible and intangible heritage, today we are also speaking about digital heritage. UNESCO (2003b), recognizes that “resources of information and creative expression are increasingly produced, distributed, accessed and maintained in digital form, creating a new legacy – the digital heritage”. The digital heritage consists of not only born-digital resources but also converted into digital form from existing analogue resources on various formats such as texts, audio, still and moving images, graphics, software and web pages. “Many of these resources have lasting value and significance, and therefore constitute a heritage that should be protected and preserved for current and future generations” (UNESCO, 2003b).
Video 2: Intangible Heritage