HIP HOP PROTECTION: FOR THE NOMINATION OF HIP HOP CULTURE TO THE UNESCO INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE LIST
The Hip Hop Protection promoting committee is a free, non-profit association gathering support to promote the nomination of Hip Hop culture to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
If you also want to make a contribution, support the project with your signature. This invitation is open to everyone who shares the values and goals of our mission.
ABOUT
Hip Hop Protection is a non-profit cultural association founded in 2022 in Rome to promote the nomination of Hip Hop culture to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list through a multinational nomination proposal.
Since 2022, the HHP association has been actively collaborating with ambassadors, technical experts, and other local organizations such as Hip Hop Cinefest, Raw Ground Krump School, Hip Hop Epidemy, BRC OFF LINE, and many others.
The association regularly participates in and/or organizes artistic, cultural, and social events—such as jams, battles, show battles, conferences, and talks—both locally and, starting in 2026, abroad, with its participation in the event“Things Done Changed: Hip Hop Future for a World on Fire,” organized by the European Hip Hop Studies Network at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands.
• Essere trasmesso da generazione in generazione
• Essere costantemente ricreato dalle comunità e dai gruppi in stretta correlazione con l’ambiente circostante e con la sua storia
• Permettere alle comunità, ai gruppi nonché alle singole persone di elaborare dinamicamente il senso di appartenenza sociale e culturale
• Promuovere il rispetto per le diversità culturali e per la creatività umana
• Diffondere l’osservanza del rispetto dei diritti umani e della sostenibilità dello sviluppo di ciascun paese
RESEARCH
We investigate and study the process of patrimonialization of Hip Hop culture, the institutional impact this culture has had, the application of Critical Heritage Studies theories and New Museology within institutional dialogue, the processes of globalization and musealization along with their subsequent challenges and critical issues, the historical precedents of a potential multinational nomination, and the reasons why Hip Hop culture should be considered a living intangible heritage.
To Know more about our activities and research, visit our Blog.
Intangible heritage represents everything that identifies a group of people in one or more areas and is expressed in what “happens”. The description of what intangible heritage is is explored in detail in the 2003 UNESCO Paris Convention, which identifies its main characteristics.
DEFINITION OF INTANGIBLE HERITAGE
The “intangible cultural heritage” means 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. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, 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. For the purposes of this Convention, consideration will be given solely to such intangible cultural heritage as is compatible with existing international human rights instruments, as well as with the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups and individuals, and of sustainable development.
- (a) Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage (Hip Hop Slang and non-verbal language like hand signs and gestures);
- (b) Performing arts (djing, breaking, writing, mcing and more);
- (c) Social practices, rituals and festive events (jam, cypher, party);
- (d) Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe (knowledge);
- (e) Traditional craftsmanship (flyer, cover records, clothing and more).
UNESCO Convention of Paris Art. 2.2 Definitions
HIP HOP PROTECTION THEORY
Hip Hop Protection believes that Hip Hop culture is inherently compliant with the requirements established by UNESCO.
The theory that HHP aims to advance is founded on the following thesis: Hip Hop culture, by its very historical nature, aligns with UNESCO’s requirements. This theory, supported by in-depth and constantly evolving research, forms the foundation of the nomination proposal.
The process of patrimonialization of this culture has crossed many different channels, thanks in part to its frequently cited multidisciplinarity, and is still continuously evolving. With such deep and versatile roots, Hip Hop has succeeded in becoming a language, a movement, an aesthetic, a political stance, and a form of recreation, inevitably challenging the very concept of “value.”
Through the various instances mentioned above, we have sought to reconstruct an analysis of the fundamental steps of this process, analyzing a wide range of initiatives and situations, both successful and failed. In attempting to map out the crucial phases of this process in ever-greater detail, we have identified a series of actual historical precedents in terms of official patrimonialization by institutions. These initiatives are paving the way for a potential multinational nomination and have successfully captured the attention of organizations such as the UN and UNESCO.
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HIP HOP DECLARATION OF PEACE: a document presented to the UN on May 16, 2001, by the Temple Of Hip Hop association, founded by KRS-ONE (world-renowned MC and Hip Hop philosopher) in 1996. This is the first document to have recognized Hip Hop culture at an international institutional level; divided into 18 points, it describes this culture as a tool for peacebuilding and intercultural dialogue.
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INTANGIBLE ROOTZ: a project led by Moncell Durden (dance educator, choreographer, ethnographer, historian, and researcher, member of the historic MOPTOP crew and University professor) who sought to propose the nomination of Hip Hop dance as American Folk Dance, recognizing it as intangible heritage by UNESCO and the CID (International Dance Council). This project has a dynamic history and has evolved over time through various phases: it began as a training course, then became a nomination attempt, and evolved once again into the educational experience it is today.
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PROCLAMATION OF REGGAE AS INTANGIBLE HERITAGE: on November 29, 2018, Reggae music was recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. According to UNESCO, reggae music has “contributed to the international debate on injustice, resistance, love and humanity,” highlighting how it encompasses elements of “cerebral, socio-political, sensual and spiritual” value.
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PROCLAMATION OF HIP HOP CULTURE AS UNESCO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE IN BRAZIL IN 2023: in 2023, Brazil became the first country to recognize Hip Hop culture as intangible heritage at a national level. The initiative stems from a social movement called Construção Nacional 50 Anos da Cultura Hip Hop and has been recognized in 26 National States and the Federal District, with the participation of ten thousand activists.
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GERMANY: Hip Hop culture in Heidelberg, 2023 [ongoing theory].
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SIGN THE PETITION
The first requirement for any nomination proposal is that the community producing the culture in question must be an active participant in the recognition process. For this reason, the HHP association has decided to propose the project through an online petition. This choice helps us guarantee community consent and create statistical data on how Hip Hop culture is perceived.
SUPPORT OUR OWN INITIATIVE
Hip Hop Protection in a free no-profit association. Self-financed by youg guys. We collect donatoins for our sustenance and our studies.
Se vuoi sostenere il progetto con una donazione, puoi procedere tramite bonifico bancario, inserendo i seguenti dati:
- Codice IBAN: IT56X3608105138299150099158
- Destinatario: Veronica Benanti
- Causale: Nome-Cognome – Sostegno a HIP HOP PROTECTION COMITATO PROMOTORE
JOIN FREE OF CHARGE
SIGN THE PETITION
CONTACT
comitatopromotore@hiphoprotection.com
veronica.benanti@timpec.it
CODICE FISCALE
96521560589