Abstract:

In recent times in most EU countries educational policies encourage schools to sustain and promote awareness of local cultures and patrimonies; thus spreading knowledge about local traditions is becoming a target also for educators, who look for suitable tools and methods, as well as appropriate sources of information.

This paper aims at providing examples of how innovative ICT- based tools can contribute to the diffusion and the transmission of rare know how behind those cultural expressions that are defined by UNESCO as ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage), namely; “the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage”.
In the beginning the paper briefly presents the concept of ICH, underlines its value within local communities, and discusses the importance of using innovative methods and tools (including those ICT- based) for spreading knowledge and sustaining teaching and learning processes in these contexts.

Subsequently, it takes as example and refers to Cantu a Tenore, a typical singing expression from Sardinia - Italy which is listed in the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.
The Cantu a Tenore is a cultural practice that is not yet well known outside Sardinia and so far its transmission has been mainly based on practicing together with peers, looking at and listening to master singers. By referring to the platform developed in the framework of the i-Treasures project (an Integrated Project co-financed under the 7th Framework Programme), this paper gives an example of how net –technologies can support the diffusion of information and the passing down of skills, techniques and modas underpinning the Cantu a Tenore.
Besides the huge amount of (historical, geographical, technical, etc.) information and data that can be made accessible on the web about this ICH, the paper concentrates on the potential of the web 2.0 tools (mainly social networks) to spread the rare know how behind Cantu a Tenore beyond the local communities, to reach learners, general public and researchers in similar or even distant fields.
In the end, drawing on interviews conducted with some expert performers, final considerations are proposed on how the new possibilities offered by technology are presently exploited and perceived by the “living human treasures” themselves, namely by those humans who are the depositary of this peculiar and relevant cultural patrimony.

Keywords:

Technology Enhanced Learning, Intangible Cultural Heritage, web 2.0, e-learning.