The UNESCO "Convention for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage" (2003), states the intangible cultural resources as basic factor for local cultural identity and a guarantee of sustainable development, in the age of globalisation. The convention defines Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) "as practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills - as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith - that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage" (Article 2.1).
The 2003 UNESCO Convention aims to raise awareness at the local, national and international levels, of the importance of the intangible cultural heritage, and to ensure the safeguard of it. Safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage means: "measures aimed at ensuring the viability of the intangible cultural heritage, including the identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement, transmission through formal and non-formal education, as well as the revitalization of the various aspects of such heritage" (Article 2.3).