Design × ICH. Oral Traditions and Expressions

The Design x ICH series explores the contribution of design to the valorisation of Intangible Cultural Heritage across UNESCO’s five ICH domains, as digital technologies become increasingly involved in the safeguarding of living heritage practices.
The first volume focuses on Oral Traditions and Expressions, including language as a vehicle of intangible cultural heritage. Through seven case studies, examined using a shared analytical framework, it investigates how oral heritage is made digitally legible and accessible, and how these processes may, in turn, contribute to reshape its recognition. The analysis considers the technologies, stakeholders, skills, and forms of collaborations involved in different approaches to digital valorisation.
A complementary exploration of emerging trends in social media discourse examines developments in AI for endangered language revitalisation, digital oral storytelling, and Indigenous data sovereignty. Bringing these perspectives together, the volume reflects on the ambivalence of digital mediation and the conditions shaping community participation and authority, introducing the notion of community-based catalyst figures. It examines the roles design currently plays, or could assume, in shaping the artefacts, processes, and relationships through which oral heritage is interpreted and transmitted, and offers guiding questions for reflexive design practice in future valorisation initiatives.