The complexity, diversity, and expressiveness of Brazilian society and culture, which has had a history of colonization and resistance to it, contribute to cultural dynamics that are fundamental for understanding the richness and the challenges of protecting and promoting culture and memory in Brazil. These include dialogue, mix, syncretism, conflict, and endurance.
As culture is considered to be one of the most important assets for addressing social inequality through innovation; it promotes sustainable development, and it can provide Brazil with the opportunity to contribute to the international community regarding heritage preservation.
IPHAN (Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artistico Nacional), a federal agency of the Government of Brazil, established in 1937, linked to the Ministry of Tourism, has responsibility for preserving and distributing Brazil's material and immaterial cultural heritage. Its function is to preserve the country's cultural heritage, promote its existence, and make it available to future generations. It seeks to preserve the country's cultural heritage.
The Programa Nacional de Patrimônio Immaterial annually makes a call for projects to encourage and support safeguarding initiatives and policies proposed by Brazilians to safeguard intangible cultural heritage. Participants in the projects must represent the local community or related groups, be inclusive and enhance the lives of the creators and bearers of such heritage, as well as respect individual and collective rights. Most projects involve mapping, inventories, and ethnographic research; creating information systems and databases; producing or preserving documentation and ethnographic archives; promoting and transmitting traditional knowledge to new generations; and strengthening the capacities of communities for research, safeguarding, and education.
Local government institutions or nonprofit private organizations can present projects, but the communities concerned must agree beforehand. Projects are evaluated by a committee of experts from the Intangible Heritage Department of IPHAN (National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute) in Brasilia. The projects selected receive an average of R$100,000 (US$50,000) and are often completed within one year.
Through this call for projects, community safeguarding processes and institutions will be strengthened, as will networks between different institutions and social actors. Consequently, the process offers a model for financing and supporting civil society initiatives for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
Former IPHAN superintendent, Salma Saddi, claims that the role of IPHAN is to preserve the city's historical heritage by guiding and monitoring material and immaterial cultural heritage. This includes the knowledge and practices of the population, landscapes, festivals, and folk dances. It is the responsibility of the State and society to preserve this heritage through partnerships.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/BSP/call-for-projects-of-the-national-programme-of-intangible-heritage-00504) (https://pt-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Instituto_do_Patrim%C3%B4nio_Hist%C3%B3rico_e_Art%C3%ADstico_Nacional?_x_tr_sl=pt&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=id&_x_tr_pto=sc#Pol%C3%AAmicas_e_%22destombamentos%22) (https://www.iccrom.org/cprofiles/doku.php?id=countries:bra)