This paper is focused on the dynamics and politics of making heritage in Vietnam and the Asian context, emphasising that the UNESCO’s inscription goes beyond the objectives of the 2003 Convention, which is aimed safeguarding and promoting the awareness of ICH in general. At the national and local levels, the inscription meets very specific and practical purposes of the State Party and local community. | Making Heritage in Vietnamese and Asian Contexts: A Comparative Study Nguyen Thi Hien1 1 Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies. Email: hiennguyenb@ Received: 9 January 2017. Accepted: 10 March 2017. Abstract: The UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage entered into force in 2006 for thirty States that had ratified it on or before 20 January 2006. So far, 174 State Parties have approved or rectified the Convention. In 2005, Vietnam became the 22 nd country to ratify it. It is a globally emerging issue that intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is no longer involved solely by local communities. The inscription of heritage on the lists of the 2003 Convention was intended to safeguard ICH elements and their viability, and enhance the visibility of heritage at the local, national, and international levels. This paper is focused on the dynamics and politics of making heritage in Vietnam and the Asian context, emphasising that the UNESCO’s inscription goes beyond the objectives of the 2003 Convention, which is aimed safeguarding and promoting the awareness of ICH in general. At the national and local levels, the inscription meets very specific and practical purposes of the State Party and local community. Keywords: Heritage making, intangible cultural heritage, 2003 Convention, inscription, Vietnam, Asia. Subject classification: Cultural studies 1. Introduction In recent years, the field of intangible cultural heritage has received increasing attention of scholars from various disciplines. This was largely in response to the UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereafter ICH), that raised a lot of consequences and controversies. On the one hand, the Convention has contributed to enhancing the awareness of agencies, actors, governments, and organisations, . the outsiders to involve in the safeguarding of the heritage. On the other hand, it speeds up the formal .
