*2.3. Heritage Expert Informal Online Survey*

Additionally, an informal online survey was sent to representatives of institutions working in the field of culture and heritage, academics and organisations' employees. They were encouraged to fill in the online questionnaire. A total of 10 experts in the field of heritage conservation in local governments for 10 European member states responded to the survey. The online survey was based on 8 open questions, asking for opinions on the conceptualisation of cultural heritage, value and impact of heritage, classification of cultural heritage in Europe and the recommendations to integrate culture in sustainable development.

## **3. Positioning Culture within Sustainable Development**

### *3.1. Classifying Cultural Heritage*

International standards of classification and heritage documentation are created by international organisations such as UNESCO and the Council of Europe. International heritage charters, conventions and recommendations have encouraged the development of inventories and current databases of heritage. This includes the Athens Charter, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the UNESCO recommendation concerning the protection, at national level, of the cultural and natural heritage, the ICOMOS (1996) principles for the recording of monuments, groups of buildings and sites, the UNESCO (2001) convention on the protection of underwater cultural heritage, the UNESCO (2003) convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage, the ICOMOS (2008, 2011) charter on cultural routes and the Valletta principles for the safeguarding and management of historic cities, towns and urban areas. The identification of cultural heritage to be protected and inventoried is further recognised in European regional heritage norms, such as the Council of Europe's (1985, 1992) Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe, known as the Granada Convention, and the European convention on the protection of the archaeological heritage. Aligned with the international policy landscape is the current social, economic and political crises, particularly prevalent in the Arab region. The prominent attacks on cultural heritage have stirred the urgent need to study and explore imminent risks to cultural heritage. A comparison of the international and European ratification status of different EU countries is illustrated in Figure 2. This context emphasises the need for the development of accurate databases in protecting heritage from threats to the urban fabric and spaces of heritage value and interest through the documentation of the state of conservation and the condition of the urban fabric. As a result, UNESCO has continued to place increasing scrutiny on the immaterial and material representations of heritage. This eventually led to a formal acknowledgment of the deeply rooted interdependence between the intangible and the tangible heritage through the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage [16]. The Convention emphasises the crucial role of intangible cultural heritage as a mainspring of cultural diversity and a guarantee of sustainable development. Traditional knowledge and social practices and processes contribute to addressing fundamental needs and social issues leading to the achievement of inclusive social development [17,18]. In particular, among other measures of safeguarding in the Convention, it is recommended that the role of state parties is to identify and define the various elements of the intangible and draw up, in a manner geared to its own situation, one or more inventories of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory (articles 11 and 12) [16].


**Figure 2.** Comparison of international and European ratification status.

The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict classifies cultural property according to the identification of three typological categories: (1) movable or immovable property of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people; (2) buildings that contain cultural objects, such as museums, libraries and archives; and (3) historical centres containing monuments [19]. UNESCO broadens this classification of cultural heritage through the World Heritage Convention. The World Convention reconciles previous definitions of cultural heritage and presents immoveable cultural heritage within three categories: (1) monuments, (2) groups of buildings and (3) sites as illustrated in Figure 3 below. Intangible heritage is conceptualised into five categories focused on traditional social practices and processes, craftsmanship, rituals and arts. The protection of moveable cultural heritage is foregrounded through key legislation such as the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property and at a later point, the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural objects.

**Figure 3.** UNESCO cultural heritage classification.
