Paper short abstract:

On the case of one multi-national nomination („St. George´s Day“) I will problematize the „shared“ aspects of culture between different countries and question whether the act of nomination strengthens or threatens the assumed “unity” between these countries/communities.

Paper long abstract:

International cooperation in the field of cultural heritage safeguarding is extremely important component of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. One of the mechanisms in promoting such cooperation is multinational inscription, through which two or more States nominate their "common" element of intangible culture for inscription to one of the UNESCO's list. It seems that inscriptions of that kind are particularly suitable for the realization of intercultural dialogue and mutual respect, to which the implementation of the Convention especially aims. In this presentation, I will present the multinational nomination of the St. George´s Day. The focus will be on the "shared" aspects of the St. George´s Day celebrations between different countries and the question whether the act of nomination strengthens or threatens the assumed "unity" between these countries. This problem is especially evident in the context of some echoes of disclosure the nomination (in which, among others, jointly participate Croatia and Serbia), which have evoked different types of memories characterized by inter-ethnic intolerance. Furthermore, I will also refer to Croatian part of this nomination, focusing on the relationship between the choice of communities included and the feature/role of St. George "presence" in their (cultural/social) life, and on the role of (national) bureaucracy in omitting the most colorful feast of St. George - the one of the Roma community.