Heritage as a Bridge: Singapore’s Journey for UNESCO Inscription Bids and Regional Collaboration

The case delves into how the Singapore National Heritage Board (NHB) came to put up two elements – hawker culture and the kebaya – for inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity. The nomination process for hawker culture involved inputs from researchers and was driven by NHB, as well as another government agency and a merchant body. Through the process, the communal dining experience at hawker centres was highlighted as a defining hallmark of the element. As for the kebaya, the nomination process was a joint effort involving the governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Activities like documentation and research, as well as promotion and transmission, came to the fore when the respective governments compiled the joint nomination document. As a result of the joint exercise, it was found that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” when each country brought forth its respective expertise. Even as both nomination processes had culminated in a successful inscription of the nominated elements, the NHB leadership team pondered: What had been the main difficulties and benefits of collaborating with regional counterparts? And should it be more proactive in identifying more heritage elements for inscription?

This case is intended for use in multidisciplinary courses involving elements of heritage and tourism studies, international relations, and cultural geography. Students who have successfully examined the case should be able to analyse the possible consequences if the inscribed elements were to be commoditised; evaluate the correlation between a country’s soft power and its ability to secure ICH inscriptions; and investigate how inscribed ICH elements facilitate place-making for a country.

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