International Best Practice

At The ARCH, grassroots organisations come together, connecting with museums, universities, and global experts to draw upon a wealth of international best practices in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Founded by key partners including Heritage Crafts (UK), Workshop Intangible Heritage (Belgium), Heritage NL (Canada), and 1720 (Germany), our network has grown to encompass over 40 countries worldwide. We develop tools to take local action, with the aim of securing the legacy of locally rooted traditional crafts for the future.

Our Global Partnerships and Standards

We collaborate with international organizations and experts to adopt and adapt frameworks that assess the vitality and threats to traditional crafts. This includes emphasizing community participation and education in our initiatives.

Key Elements of International Best Practice

Unified Methodologies: Inspired by worldwide research, we develop standardized tools for evaluating craft vitality, incorporating data on risks, economic factors, and cultural significance.
The Heritage Atlas is a prime example currently under development: a unified methodology created by specialists to collect and evaluate global data on the vitality and threats to traditional crafts. It establishes a robust framework for assessing risks and preservation options, paving the way for targeted support through funding, digital archiving in a global database, and networks for knowledge exchange and economic strengthening. Testing and refinement of the framework begin in 2026 in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, through workshops in five planning regions involving craftsmen and communities (with an initial focus on traditions like glassmaking to gather data on risks), before fine-tuning for broader cross-cultural application.
Youth Engagement Models: Learning from global youth programs, we empower young people to become stewards of cultural diversity, fostering connections that bridge past and present. This encompasses the Young Living Craft Activists (YLCA), our youth-led initiative where participants from diverse backgrounds share stories and collaborate on projects.