‘Living heritage’ is the dynamic side of Cultural Heritage: heritage which is continuously transformed, interpreted, shaped and transmitted from generation to generation. It also represents the participatory, co-creative dimension of Cultural Heritage, and is characterised by its transient, non-stationary, and hard-to-grasp qualities.
This concept is often assimilated to that of ‘intangible heritage’ or ‘living culture’, referring to cultural practices, representations, knowledge, and skills transmitted intergenerationally inside a cultural system. Though these terms are often used interchangeably, ‘living heritage’ is used to convey and stress the role of living generations in engaging with, defining, interpreting, changing, and co-creating the heritage transmitted from past generations.