Capturing the Intangible

An Introduction to the I-Treasures Project

Kosmas Dimitropoulos

, Sotiris Manitsaris

, Filareti Tsalakanidou

, Spiros Nikolopoulos

Bruce Denby

, Samer Al Kork

, Lise Crevier-Buchman

, Claire Pillot-Loiseau

Martine Adda-Decker

, Stephane Dupont

, Joelle Tilmanne

, Michela Ott

, Marilena Alivizatou

Erdal Yilmaz

, Leontios Hadjileontiadis

, Vassilios Charisis

, Olivier Deroo

Athanasios Manitsaris

, Ioannis Kompatsiaris

and Nikos Grammalidis

Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thessaloniki, Greece

Robotics Lab, Dep. Of Mathématiques et Systèmes, MINES ParisTech-ARMINES, Paris, France

Universite Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6, Paris, France

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie UMR 7018, Paris, France

Universite de Mons, Mons, Belgium

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Genoa, Italy

University College London, London, U.K.

Turk Telekom, Ankara, Turkey

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Acapela Group, Mons, Belgium

MTCG Lab, Dep. Of Ap. Informatics, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

Keywords: Intangible Cultural Heritage, Multisensory Capturing and Analysis, Semantic Media Interpretation,

Sensorimotor Learning, Transmission and Preservation.

Abstract: Cultural expression is not limited to architecture, monuments or collections of artifacts. It also includes

fragile intangible live expressions, which involve knowledge and skills such as music, dance, singing,

theatre, human skills and craftsmanship. These manifestations of human intelligence and creativeness

constitute our Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), a basic factor of local cultural identity and a guaranty for

sustainable development. In this paper, we briefly introduce the i-Treasures research project, which aims at

developing an open and extendable platform to provide access to ICH resources, enable knowledge

exchange and contribute to the transmission of rare know-how. The project goes beyond digitization of

cultural content; it creates new knowledge that has never been analysed or studied before through novel

methodologies for the analysis and modelling of ICH based on multisensory technology. High-level

semantics are extracted enabling researchers to identify possible implicit or hidden correlations between

different ICH expressions or interpretation styles and study the evolution of a specific ICH. Four different

ICH cases are studied: traditional songs, dance interactions, pottery and contemporary music composition

Combining conventional learning procedures and sensorimotor learning through an interactive 3D

environment, i-Treasures breaks new ground in education and knowledge transfer of ICH.

1 INTRODUCTION

Cultural expression is not limited to architecture,

monuments or collections of artifacts. It also

includes fragile intangible expressions and is

controlled by the intelligence of the human

creativeness, which involves practices,

representations, knowledge and skills. Such

expressions include music, dance, singing, theatre,

human skills and craftsmanship. The importance of

this intangible expression is not limited to cultural

manifestations but it coexists with the wealth of

knowledge, which is transmitted through it from one

generation to the next.

This transmission of knowledge has both

economic and social value since it goes further and

far beyond cultural fragments and attitudes. This

kind of culture is called Intangible Cultural Heritage

773

Dimitropoulos K., Manitsaris S., Tsalakanidou F., Nikolopoulos S., Denby B., Al Kork S., Crevier-Buchman L., Pillot-Loiseau C., Adda-Decker M., Dupont

S., Tilmanne J., Ott M., Alivizatou M., Yilmaz E., Hadjileontiadis L., Charisis V., Deroo O., Manitsaris A., Kompatsiaris I. and Grammalidis N..

Capturing the Intangible - An Introduction to the I-Treasures Project.

DOI: 10.5220/0004871607730781

In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications (IAMICH-2014), pages 773-781

ISBN: 978-989-758-004-8

 2014 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

(ICH). ICH is “constantly recreated by communities

and groups in response to their environment, their

interaction with nature and their history, and

provides them with a sense of identity and

continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural

diversity and human creativity” (UNESCO, 2003).

ICH is at the same time traditional, contemporary

and living, because it does not only refer to inherited

knowledge but also to contemporary, rural or urban,

cultural expressions. In other words, it refers to the

past, to the present, and, certainly to the future. It is

the “mainspring of humanity's cultural diversity”

and its maintenance is a guarantee for continuing

creativity. For this reason, UNESCO introduced the

term “Living Human Treasures” (LHT) for persons

who possess to a high degree the knowledge and

skills required for performing or re-creating specific

elements of the intangible cultural heritage.

ICH’s creations are transmitted orally or by

gestures and are modified over a period of time

through a process of collective recreation. As the

world becomes more interconnected, many different

cultures come into contact and communities start

losing important elements of their ICH, while the

new generation finds it more difficult to maintain the

connection with the cultural heritage treasured by

their elders. Museums can play the role of a

mediator or communication bridge to fill the gaps

between generations and to share the community

knowledge on a larger scale, however, their role is

usually limited to presentation, while ICH is more

efficiently preserved 'with' the people or community

by protecting the processes that allow traditions and

shared knowledge. To this end, ICT technologies

can contribute to the safeguarding of ICH, improve

its presentation, provide seamless and universal

access to cultural resources, and support services for

research and education.

The main objective of the i-Treasures project is

to conduct multidisciplinary research relying on the

development of both novel methodologies and new

technological paradigms for capturing and analyzing

different forms of ICH, either traditional or

contemporary, and propose a novel strategic

framework for the safeguarding and transmission of

ICH. This novel methodology is based on the use of

multisensory technology for the generation of

cultural information that has never been analyzed

before and not for the digitalization of existing

cultural content. The project focuses on the study of

ICH domains for which human body motion is

extremely important, i.e. performing arts and

traditional handicraft. Its basic goal is scientific

research and technological development for the

analysis, modeling, recognition, renewal and

transmission of both contemporary and traditional

cultural knowhow. Four specific ICH cases will be

studied in detail: a) rare traditional songs, b) rare

dance interactions, c) traditional craftsmanship and

d) contemporary music composition.

The contribution of the i-Treasures project to the

generation of novel data related to ICH is just the

starting point of this research effort. The main

objective concerns the semantic analysis and the

presentation of the content in order to build a

platform for knowledge exchange between

researchers and for the transmission of rare know-

how from LHTs to new apprentices. To this end,

high-level semantics are extracted enabling

researchers to identify possible implicit or hidden

patterns and correlations between different ICH

expressions (e.g. between “Cantu in Paghjella” and

“Canto a Tenore” singing traditions) or different

interpretation styles of the same ICH (e.g. the

Patriarchal and the Mount Athos interpretation styles

in Byzantine music). The unveiling of such hidden

correlations is expected to help the scientific

community study the evolution of a specific ICH

through its transmission from generation to

generation or to other communities. Besides the use

of conventional learning procedures, the adoption of

sensorimotor learning methods can change radically

the way that rare know-how is transmitted from one

generation to the next.

2 ICH PRESERVATION AND

TRANSMISSION

ICH’s creations are transmitted orally or by gestures

and are modified over a period of time through a

process of collective recreation. To this end, there is

always a risk that certain elements of ICH could die

out or disappear. The issue of the preservation of

intangible cultural heritage came to light as the

effects of globalization caused the diminishment of

the unique culture of many communities. As the

world becomes more interconnected, many different

cultures come into contact and communities start

losing important elements of their ICH, while the

new generation finds it more and more difficult to

maintain the connection with the cultural heritage

treasured by their elders.

For example, a Corsican singing tradition,

namely the “Cantu in Paghjella”, has been listed by

UNESCO as one of ICH treasures in need of urgent

safeguarding. Paghjella makes substantial use of

echo ornamentations and it is sung a capella in a

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variety of languages including Corsican and,

Sardinian, Latin and Greek. Comment: the Paghjella

is emitted only using Corsican and Latin languages.

Despite the efforts of its practitioners to revitalize its

repertoires, Paghjella has gradually diminished in

vitality due to a sharp decline in intergenerational

transmission caused by the emigration of the

younger generation and the consequent

impoverishment of its repertoire. A similar case is

the “Canto a Tenore” in Sardinia, which was

inscribed by UNESCO in 2008 on the representative

list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Another example is the byzantine music, which is

the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to

Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music.

Research done in this field has proved that byzantine

music has its root in ancient Greek music and

although it has not been listed by UNESCO as an

endangered ICH, there is a risk that certain

interpretation styles of Byzantine Hymns could die

out if no action is taken.

There are numerous examples of living ICH

expressions both at European and international level,

such as the art of pottery, which has played a

significant role in many societies since ancient

times; local traditional dances, e.g. the Romanian

Căluş ritual dance, which also formed part of the

cultural heritage of the Vlachs of Bulgaria and

Serbia (inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List

of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity) or

the Mongolian folk dance Biyelgee, which is typical

in remote areas of western Mongolia and has been

inscribed by UNESCO in the list of ICH in need of

urgent safeguarding; and so many other intangible

treasures, which have either been listed by UNESCO

or recognized by local communities and groups as

part of their living tradition and heritage.

In recent years, ICH has received international

recognition and its safeguarding has become one of

the priorities of international cooperation thanks to

UNESCO's leading role. The Convention of the

Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of

UNESCO (UNESCO, 2003) sets the intangible

cultural sources as a basic factor for the local

cultural identity and constitutes an eternal guaranty

for sustainable development. ICH is manifested inter

alia in the following domains: (a) oral traditions and

expressions, (b) performing arts, (c) social practices,

rituals and festive events, (d) knowledge and

practices concerning nature and the universe, and (e)

traditional handicrafts. Within this framework, many

museums have already started exploring new ways

for safeguarding ICH.

Museums can play the role of a mediator or

communication bridge to fill the gaps between

generations and to share the community knowledge

on a larger scale with different communities and a

diverse range of visitors. However, there are specific

limitations to their role: a) usually the physical

presence (especially in the case of small local

museums) of visitors is required, b) in many cases,

national museums focus on the presentation of the

local ICH, c) museums usually collect, preserve and

interpret material evidences associated with the past,

while ICH is not simply about the past, but also

about the present or even the future and can be used

as the base for new cultural expressions, d) the

presentation and interpretation in museums is static,

while the elements of ICH are living (Yin, 2006).

Moreover, ICH is more efficiently preserved 'with'

the people or community by protecting the processes

that allow traditions and shared knowledge, while

museums are usually limited to presenting ICH

treasures. For this reason, modern ICT technologies

can be employed to improve the presentation of

ICH, raise public awareness, provide seamless and

universal access to cultural resources, support

services for research and education and bring hidden

intangible treasures to light. Especially the latter

constitutes the most challenging issue in the

safeguarding of ICH and can:

a. give rise to a deeper understanding of this kind

of cultural heritage,

b. unveil unknown correlations between ICH

treasures associated with societies from different

time periods or geographical areas,

c. create new ways for cultural expression that

connect the past and have relevance in the

contemporary world, and

d. break new ground in education, knowledge

transfer and research of ICH.

3 PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

The i-Treasures overall goal is to develop an open

and extendable platform to provide access to

intangible cultural heritage resources for research

and education. The core of the system lies in the

identification of specific media patterns (e.g.

postures, gestures, audio patterns, actions etc.) using

multi-sensor technology (e.g. 2D/3D optical sensors,

ultrasound sensors, microphones, EEG etc.) in order

to reveal hidden intangible treasures from different

ICH forms. In these ICH forms, the human body

motion is a dominant factor, however a specific

sensors set up is defined for each use case, as

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described in Section 3, taking special care to use

non-obtrusive technology, which does not affect the

performance of experts; however, especially in the

case of rare songs, the use of special equipment (e.g.

ultra sound sensor) for the modelling of vocal tract is

inevitable.

In order to successfully fulfil the aforementioned

goals, the establishment of an active group of LHT

is required. In a typical application scenario, the

exemplary bearers of ICH performing their art are

captured using multimodal sensors. Image/signal

processing and pattern recognition techniques are

applied to recorded signals to extract low (e.g.

motion tracking) and medium (media patterns, e.g.

postures, actions, audio tempos etc.) level features.

Subsequently, data fusion analysis is applied to

exploit information across different modalities,

while context and content are integrated for mapping

the set of low or medium-level multimedia features

to high-level concepts using probabilistic inference,

i.e. transforming the extracted data into a level of

interpretation that is understandable by humans.

Given that digital heritage resources include heritage

artifacts in digitized form, the semantic analysis of

multimedia content, taking into account the

specifications defined in ESE (Europeana Semantic

Elements) (Europeana, 2013), (Concordia, 2009) is

necessary since the automatic annotation of such

artifacts enables their quick integration in digital

collections and facilitates various research or

educational tasks.

This completely novel information coupled with

other cultural resources is accessible through the i-

Treasures platform in order to enable the widest

possible participation of communities, groups and

individuals in the safeguarding of ICH. The platform

gives access to different types of content (e.g. text,

audio, images, video, 3D graphics) from different

types of heritage or educational institutions. Using

the proposed technology, the cultural institutions are

capable to decide what content they will produce,

thereby contributing to the enrichment of the cultural

content. The platform is an open-source content

management system offering a variety of advantages

(automated templates allowing multi-lingual and

universal access to the content, scalable expansion,

easily editable content, access and version control,

scalable feature sets with installable software plug-

ins or modules to extend functionality, etc.). For this

reason, as depicted in Figure 1, the web platform

consists of four different sub-systems for i) user

interaction (browsing, searching, viewing, playing),

ii) back-end management of the web platform (user

management, template management, etc.), iii)

database management and iv) educational

management of the ICH treasures. The main focus of

interest on the central database of the platform is the

metadata repository and the corresponding

knowledgebase (instantiated ontologies) that hosts

the products of the semantic analysis.

In addition to the aforementioned functionalities,

3D technology taking advantage of recent advances

in web-based game engines is used to develop a

learning environment, either as a standalone

application invoked by relevant interface handles, or

as an embedded into the platform application, which

will enhance training and evaluation of the learner’s

performance by means of sensorimotor learning. The

application enables users to create an avatar, i.e. a

3D representation of them that visualizes their

motions using multimodal inputs from different

sensors. An AI based virtual tutor (Figure 2)

corrects/ manipulates/guides the user to help in

mastering the ICH by providing visual and audio

feedback. The application compares user inputs with

the master inputs in the database and evaluates the

performance of the user.

Figure 1: Proposed methodology.

Animation of vocal tract gestures, which can

significantly contribute to the improvement of

learners’ performance (in singing), is also supported.

Another novel feature is the text to singing voice

service of the platform, which is able to produce

personalized singing voices on the fly for the uses

cases of Byzantine, Corsican and Sardinian music.

The educational aspect of the platform is technically

realized by a seamlessly interoperable Learning

Management System (LMS) for planning,

implementing and assessing learning processes in

order to support educational scenarios providing

personalized adaptive learning. The learning

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scenarios encompass and distinguish among formal,

non-formal and informal learning.

Figure 2: Virtual tutor instructions for the use case of

pottery.

4 USE CASES

Four different ICH cases are studied within i-

Treasures: a) rare traditional songs, b) rare dance

interactions, c) traditional craftsmanship and d)

contemporary music composition.

4.1 Rare Singing Knowledge

The singing use case deals with four different

singing techniques. The “Cantu in Paghjella” of

Corsica (France) and the “Canto a Tenore” pastoral

songs from Sardinia (Italy), which both have been

listed by UNESCO to the Inventory of Intangible

Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding, the

Byzantine hymns from Mount Athos as well as the

“Human beat box” (a newly expanding

contemporary singing style, where the vocalist

imitates percussive and other instrument sounds like

trumpet or guitar). Revealing hidden treasures for

the aforementioned cases is expected to contribute to

improved techniques for teaching singing and will

make rare singing styles accessible to a wider public.

Our goal for this case study is the development

of innovative methodologies for multimodal voice

and gesture analysis based on state-of-the-art sensors

and data fusion techniques. The development of a

light mobile hyper-helmet (Figure 3) with light

instruments (a novel ultrasound miniaturised

transducer, an optical camera, a piezoelectric

transducer and/or nasal acoustic microphone will be

mounted) for field recordings is one of the major

objectives of the project, which will enable us to

produce knowledge about the investigated singing

styles and the capacities of the human voice

apparatus.

(a) (b)

Figure 3: (a) The proposed hyperhelmet (1.Adjustable

headband, 2. Probe’s height adjustment strut, 3.

Swivelling probe platform, 4. Lip Camera Proximity

Adjustor, 5. Microphone) and b) ultrasound image

showing tongue position.

Voice, speech and singing are produced at the

level of the vocal tract and the oro-facial region,

associated and dependant on aerodynamic energy.

Vocal tract sensing is of major importance to relate

specific artistic vocal productions to specific

configurations and movements of the vocal

apparatus. Recent studies revealed a close

relationship between external body gestures and

internal vocal gestures in beat boxers during their

vocal performances (De Torcy et al, 2010). In

addition, acoustic-phonetic and linguistic analysis

(languages spoken, rhythm, prosody etc.) can

complement the collection of instrumental analyses.

Apart from the hyper-helmet, slightly more invasive

measurements will be carried out for on-site

recordings, based on fiber-optic laryngeal sensors

(for the larynx and gestures of the surrounding

organs), and EVA (Evaluation Vocale Assistée) for

intra-oral pressure and flow measurements.

Examples of features that can be extracted for

this use case are tempo, rhythm, prosody, body and

hand gestures, singing style, changes of the vocal

tract, etc.

4.2 Rare Dancing Knowledge

The dance case-study focuses on two specific use

cases: contemporary dance and traditional dance.

Dance is an immaterial art by essence, as it consists

in the motion of the performer’s body. Dance can

convey different messages according to the context,

and focus on aesthetics or artistic aspects

(contemporary dance, ballet dance), the cultural and

social aspects (folk dances, traditional dances), a

story telling (symbolic dances), spiritual meanings

(whirling dervishes), etc. According to the type of

dance, the precision of the motion and the way it is

executed (referred to as “motion quality”) is of

uppermost importance (contemporary dance), or is

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secondary as only the functional motion will matter

(most traditional dances). Some dances also come

with additional accessories like costumes or

instruments, which are part of the performance and

need to be taken into account as they modify and

influence the body motions.

Figure 4: Contemporary dance capture using an optical

motion capture system.

Depending on the degree of precision of the

motion that has to be taken into account and to the

constraints posed, different type of sensors are used:

i) Optical motion capture, which is the most accurate

motion capture technique, but it is also the most

expensive and constraining one. The capture area is

surrounded by cameras and reflective markers are

taped to the performer’s body. These markers are

tracked by the cameras and their position in the 3D

space can be known on the sub-millimeter precision.

ii) Inertial motion capture: inertial sensors attached

to the limbs can track the angles between the body

segments. This mocap system is less accurate than

optical mocap but it is very stable and does not need

cameras or specific lighting conditions around the

mocap area. Furthermore, as it is not linked to

vision, it is the only system that will be able to

capture the leg motion under a skirt.

Figure 5: Contemporary dance capture using inertial

sensors.

iii) Depth cameras such as Microsoft Kinect sensors

can track the volume of a performer and produce

skeletal data. This system is very cheap but the data

captured are still noisy and some rotations or body

parts cannot be recorded (especially when two

dancers interact).

Figure 6: Traditional dance capture using multiple

synchronized Kinect sensors.

Features that will be extracted for this use case

include motion quality, dance figures, type of dance,

dancer style, etc.

4.3 Traditional Craftsmanship

The case study of the traditional handicrafts aims at

the analysis, modelling, recognition and semantic

analysis of gestural interactions between the

craftsman and his material. Within the proposed

context, handicraft interaction means gesture control

of the material. In order to develop a hybrid gesture

recognition methodology, depth cameras are used

for the detection of global hand gestures and

postures, optical cameras for finger gesture

recognition and embedded sensors for the

measurement of gestural parameters (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Capturing of a pottery artist using multiple

synchronized Kinect sensors.

Some examples of features that will be extracted from this

use case are finger trajectories, hand movements, basic

phases of wheel-throwing pottery (hollowing, pulling,

thinning), etc.

Thus, this novel methodology integrates both

gestures performed in space, implying motion of the

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arms, and hand gestures performed on a surface or

on objects, taking into account the fingers’ motions.

The system continuously recognizes the entire

gestural information of the craftsman, relying on the

recording and the identification of the most effective

interactions between him and his material. In short,

this use case aims to “put in a closet” the most

effective gestures of holders of rare handicraft

knowledge.

4.4 Contemporary Music Composition

The performing arts combine both the

communicational (expressions, emotions, etc.) and

control aspects (triggering actions, controlling

continuous parameters). The performer is both a

trigger and transmitter connecting perception,

gesture and knowledge. A few years ago, the

electronic synthesizer was a revolutionary concept

of a new music instrument that was capable of

producing sounds by generating electrical signals of

different frequencies by pianistic gestures performed

on a keyboard. Nowadays, the music production still

depends on musical instruments that are based on

intermediate and obtrusive mechanism (piano

keyboard, violin bow, etc.).

The case study of the contemporary music

composition aims to develop a novel intangible

musical instrument. This digital music instrument is

a novel Multimodal Human-Machine Interface for

the music composition where natural gestures

performed in a real-world environment are mapped

to music/voice segments taking into account the

emotional status of the performer. A hybrid

approach is used for gesture data acquisition and

analysis based on 2D/3D and embedded sensors

(Fig. 8), while the emotional status of the performer

is analyzed via EEGs and facial expression analysis.

Figure 8: Hand skeletal model for depth images applied to

capture music-like finger gestures (Dapogny et al., 2013).

All these gestures, expressions, emotions and

sounds are integrated into the intangible instrument

enabling users with different profiles (composers,

performers, non-musicians etc.) to explore more

sophisticated body/music interactions and control

the synthesis of music entities. Those music entities

can be a) music patterns of classic composers (i.e.

Beethoven, Haydn or Mozart), b) natural and

instrumental sounds or c) segments of

speaking/singing voice.

This intangible musical instrument is not only

addressed to experienced performers, musicians,

researchers or composers, but also to users without

any specific music knowledge. The heritage of the

classic composers can this way be available to

everyone; it can be better preserved and renewed

using natural body and emotional interactions.

Figure 9: Interaction of the performer using EMOTIV for

EEG/GYRO/AFFECTIVE recordings. The conductor is

equipped with 3D Arduino accelerometers for gesture

recordings and live electronics (Hadjileontiadis, 2011).

Examples of features that will be extracted from this use

case include natural gestures, facial expressions, emotions,

musical patterns, music style etc.

5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE

WORK

The intangible cultural heritage represents an

important part of the world heritage. However, since

ICH is transmitted orally there is always a risk that

certain elements of ICH could die out or disappear.

Since the loss of such elements is irreversible, there

is great significance in integrating the technological

components required for the protection of ICH.

Nowadays, UNESCO defines the transmission of

rare ICH knowledge as a universal challenge. This

challenge passes through three fundamental actions

aiming at (a) the “learning” of this knowledge, (b)

its “economical support” and (c) the “valorisation”

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CapturingtheIntangible-AnIntroductiontotheI-TreasuresProject

779

of the specific “cultural, social and/or public

contribution“ of its holders. For many years,

ethnologists have studied the characteristics (arts

and techniques, oral traditions and living

expressions) of groups and communities in their

surroundings. Nevertheless, “learning” and

“transmission” of rare knowledge has never been a

privileged research field for the ethnologists, since

these concepts still constitute separated headings for

them. Thus, “what exactly” should be transmitted to

next generations has never been defined, since it was

extremely difficult to “capture it” (capture means

analysis, study, recording, modeling and

recognition).

The i-Treasures project provides a novel strategic

framework for the safeguarding and transmission of

ICH based on the development of both novel

methodologies and new technological paradigms for

capturing ICH. This novel strategic framework will

give rise to the discovery of hidden intangible

treasures and the generation of completely novel

data related to ICH. This data coupled with other

cultural resources will be accessible through the i-

Treasures platform in order to enable the widest

possible participation of communities, groups and

individuals in the safeguarding, transmission and

research of ICH.

More specifically, the i-Treasures project aims to

develop a new technological approach that will:

 Contribute to the safeguarding of ICH:

Multisensory technology (e.g. 2D/3D sensors,

ultrasound sensors, microphones, EEG etc) will

be used for the creation of cultural content that

has never been extracted or analyzed before.

 Unveil unknown correlations: The analysis of

such cultural content will allow researchers to

discover unknown correlations between

intangible treasures associated with different

ICHs (e.g. between Corsican “Cantu in

Paghjella” and Sardinian “Canto a Tenore”

singing traditions).

 Give rise to a deeper understanding of specific

forms of ICH: The discovery of hidden treasures

is expected to help the scientific community

study the evolution of specific forms of ICH

through its transmission from generation to

generation or to other communities (e.g.

correlations between the Patriarchal and the

Mount Athos interpretation styles of Byzantine

music).

 Break new ground in education and knowledge

transfer of ICH: Besides the use of conventional

learning procedures, the adoption of

sensorimotor learning methods can change

radically the way that rare know-how is

transmitted from one generation to the next.

 Create new ways for cultural expressions: A

novel intangible musical instrument will be

developed within the i-Treasures project opening

new ways for cultural expressions that connect

the past and have relevance in the contemporary

world.

Furthermore, since rare intangible cultural content

and knowledge constitute local cultural resources,

the project is expected to directly contribute to the

development of a systemic methodology for the

preservation, renewal and transmission of this

knowledge to the next generations through the

concept of prototype Territorial Schools. These

schools could be created through combined actions

based on the active participation of local agents

(teachers, local cultural organisations, music

academies, schools of History, etc.) acting as a

means for stimulating creative economy and

promoting local cultural tourism.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research leading to these results has received

funding from the European Community's Seventh

Framework Programme (FP7-ICT-2011-9) under

grant agreement no FP7-ICT-600676 ''i-Treasures:

Intangible Treasures - Capturing the Intangible

Cultural Heritage and Learning the Rare Know-How

of Living Human Treasures''.

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