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Paper short abstract

This paper suggests that higher education institutions can support the development of cultural capability and enhance efforts to valorise ICH. However, communities, groups, and individuals who constantly recreate ICH should be at the centre of any strategies to support ICH safeguarding

Paper long abstract

In 2018, the University of Zambia (UNZA) introduced the Bachelor of Arts in Intangible Cultural Heritage (BA ICH), supported by UNESCO to strengthen the country’s capacity to manage ICH. In Zambia, as in many other African countries, ICH is prevalent in people's everyday lives through songs, naming traditions, the creative industries, food, dress, traditional craftsmanship, and knowledge systems, among other forms. It is central to identity, representation, and sustainable development. While ICH is a reservoir of meanings, values, and symbols of a given society, the BA ICH was ridiculed by many as a witchcraft programme. Using the concept of conversion factors from the Capability Approach, I argue that the negative perception of the BA ICH constrains cultural capability and agency for safeguarding ICH. The ridicule of the BA ICH may be a result of coloniality and epistemic injustice, which have fostered the sidelining of Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous forms of cultural expression. While the introduction of the BA ICH is a decolonial step in challenging a highly Eurocentric higher education system, the ridicule associated with the BA ICH suggests there is a need for more advocacy and awareness. I suggest that higher education institutions have the opportunity to support the development of cultural capability by offering training and technical support to communities and government institutions, thereby enhancing efforts to valorise ICH. Still, communities, groups, and individuals who constantly recreate ICH should be at the centre of any higher education strategies to support ICH safeguarding.