Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy Statement

Our Place in Time (OPiT) is Scotland’s strategy for the historic environment. It defines the historic environment as made up of both tangible things (such as buildings, monuments and landscapes) and intangible associations (for example, stories, traditions, rituals).

The historic environment is therefore about more than just physical things. It’s about those aspects of culture that have shaped our understanding of ourselves throughout our history: informing our perceptions of our place in the world, our relationships with each other, and the places in which we live. We call these aspects intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

This policy statement defines our understanding of, and role towards, ICH and how intangible culture influences the historic environment, and how we will work to safeguard and promote it over the life of the OPiT strategy.