The Protection Ordinance on Intangible Cultural Heritage (draft) formulated by Guizhou provincial government authorities stipulates that foreign groups conducting investigation on ICH in the province should file applications to the provincial culture administration, stating clearly investigation-related details such as content, objects, time, place as well as personnel data of the group.
Foreign groups can only start doing the research once their applications are approved by local authorities.
As a multi-ethnic province, Guizhou is rich in intangible culture heritage resources. In recent years, some of non-governmental organizations, foreign groups and individuals come one after another, gathering here to appreciate those miracles of human civilization.
In a bid to effectively protect and rationally utilize ICH resources in local areas, the Ordinance suggest that foreign groups can not carry out any investigation activity without escort of domestic professional ICH agencies. Units and individuals doing ICH research and collecting materials should first obtain the interviewees' consent and accept the supervision of local government and cultural authorities.
In addition, ICH research groups and individuals should respect national customs, beliefs and practices, and insist on authenticity and integrity. No one is allowed to distort, abuse, illegally possess or damage any material or substance of ICH resources. Furthermore, the legitimate rights and interests of ICH owners should be well protected.
Currently, 73 programs and 125 sites in the province have been incorporated into the national ICH list; 440 programs belong to provincial ICH list; while 822 and 3,438 go to the lists at municipal and county levels respectively.
Guizhou have also identified 198 ICH successors, and 46 of them are recognized as the national ICH inheritors.
(Source:IPR in China )
