Image from the project titled "T-ICH4SD: transmedia intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development in Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador" © UNESCO

In April 2020, the Living Heritage Entity launched an online survey to grasp the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. The “Living Heritage in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic” report summarizes the results of the survey and the challenges and opportunities for living heritage during this crisis. Furthermore, three key recommendations provide essential insight about how to integrate living heritage into post-pandemic recovery plans. UNESCO Field Offices have launched eight pilot projects based on the above-mentioned recommendations.

As part of the pilot project Transmedia intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development, the UNESCO Cluster Office in Quito launched a platform featuring digital resources (videos, podcasts and high-quality photos) on living heritage elements in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Conceived as a tool for knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning on the contribution of intangible cultural heritage to sustainable development, the platform also focusses on the effects and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on living heritage. The audiovisual material is presented in connection with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their four pillars - Planet, People, Prosperity and Peace. It successfully highlights how living heritage can be a source of adaptation and resilience for bearers and their communities.

Among the documentation showcased on the platform, there are examples of elements of intangible cultural heritage based on worldviews and practices of care and sustainable management of natural resources. Examples of living heritage that strengthen social cohesion and constitute tools for resilience are also displayed. A special attention is paid to practices based on the Andean concept of “buen vivir” (“good living”) that show other ways of relating to each other, thereby contributing to community prosperity and social well-being.