“LICENSE TO LISTEN”: THE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A SYSTEM OF PARTICIPATORY INVENTORY OF ICH WITH COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN PORTUGAL

Abstract

The international project Celebration of Coastal Culture was developed between 2007 and 2009, with the aim of contributing to the identification and the study of knowledge and experiences of the Portuguese fluvial-maritime communities. Focusing on the design of a participatory methodology, based on the principles of co-production and co-authorship of knowledge associated with these cultures, this method was structured starting from the construction of an inventory of "collective voices", in which the local population could define rhythms and paths able to enhance new meanings to the concepts of Culture and Cultural Heritage with their wisdom. This article presents the structure of the project and also the tools that led to the definition of an inventory system committed with the assessment of the water cultures. Everyday gestures, plural dialogues or intuitive knowledge emerged along the way, gradually shaping the lines of a glocal development. The balance is positive, but the process demands commitment, understanding, creativity and, above all, long-term planning.