The first call for submissions to the UK’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) inventory is now live! 

Communities across the UK are invited to submit their traditions and heritage practices to the new Living Heritage Inventory. This includes folklore, crafts, performance, customs, and other intangible cultural heritage passed down through generations, from highland games to wassailing, bell-ringing to pancake day.

The inventory, organised across seven categories including performing arts, social practices, crafts, sports, and culinary traditions, will provide a snapshot of the UK’s rich and diverse living heritage. The submission period is open for four months, until 27 March, with workshops, events, and guidance available from designated Community Support Hubs.

Get Involved

The UK Government Department for Culture, Media & Sport has appointed TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) as one of the UK’s official Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Community Support Hubs.

As a Hub, TRACS will support communities, tradition bearers and cultural practitioners across Scotland through the process of contributing to the national Living Heritage Inventory, by offering support via workshops, “office hours,” and practitioner roundtables covering traditional music, dance, storytelling, crafts, indigenous languages and customs.

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What is Intangible Cultural Heritage, you ask?

Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! We’ve put together a clear and comprehensive guide to all things ICH in Scotland.

Discover what “Living Heritage” really means, from local customs and traditional crafts to languages, celebrations, and community knowledge passed down through generations.

You might be surprised to find that your own everyday traditions are part of Scotland’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.

Dive into the guide and start exploring your own connections to Scotland’s living heritage!

A Wee Guide

Every year the ICH Scotland Partnership hosts an annual conference to talk all things Living Heritage! 

On 14 November 2025, artists, community tradition-bearers, heritage professionals and policymakers gathered, both in Perth and online, for the third annual Intangible Cultural Heritage Scotland Conference. Organised by the TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) alongside national heritage partners, the event spotlighted the impending launch of Scotland’s national Inventory of Living Heritage.

The conference featured performances, talks, community-led case studies and ended with a ceilidh, bringing to life the traditions that the initiative seeks to safeguard. The energy and engagement shown by delegates highlight a growing movement to record, celebrate and sustain Scotland’s rich heritage for future generations.

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You’ve moved beyond the ICH basics and now you’re looking for the most in-depth picture of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland to date?

TRACS, in collaboration with Museums Galleries Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, and Creative Scotland, commissioned a landmark report exploring where Scotland currently stands in relation to Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

The report was researched, compiled, and written by Steve Byrne, then Local Voices CIC, now CEO of TRACS. It offers a comprehensive overview of the ICH landscape, its key organisations and challenges, and puts forward a series of thoughtful recommendations for how we can better record, support, and preserve Scotland’s living heritage.

Read the Report

Are you a practitioner, fellow organisation, or simply interested in ICH? Please get in touch by emailing: intangibleculturalheritage@tracscotland.org