Krolla, Eva (2025) The Safeguarding of Braille as Intangible Cultural Heritage: At Their Fingertips. STALS Research Paper, 4. pp. 1-27. ISSN 1974-5656
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Abstract
The adoption of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage (2003 Convention) contributed to the broadening of the concept of cultural heritage
beyond material and immovable manifestations. Following the recognition of Braille, a tactile
reading and writing system, as intangible cultural heritage (ICH) under the 2003 Convention
by Germany and France, this article discusses the boundaries of our current understanding of
ICH. In that connection it also reflects as to whether the 2003 Convention can proffer a degree
of legal protection for the cultural heritage and cultural identities of persons with disabilities
more generally. In doing so, it links the 2003 Convention to the implementation of the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and specifically to the realisation
of the right to participate in cultural life. The analysis suggests that the 2003 Convention can
indeed be viewed as one instrument through which States Parties can gradually realise the right
to participate in cultural life of persons with disabilities in line with their obligations under the
CRPD. Moreover, the recognition of Braille as ICH element under the 2003 Convention
contributes to deepening our understanding of cultural diversity and may be a pathway to
recognising new “other groups”, including persons with disabilities, as creators and bearers of
cultural heritage.
Item Type: | Article |
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Keywords: | Intangible Cultural Heritage; Braille; Right to Participate in Cultural Life; Disability; UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage; UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Law |
Item ID: | 20495 |
Depositing User: | IR Editor |
Date Deposited: | 21 Aug 2025 13:45 |
Journal or Publication Title: | STALS Research Paper |
Publisher: | Sant'Anna Legal Studies |
Refereed: | Yes |
Related URLs: | |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/20495 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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