UNESCO inscription
The skills of watchmaking and mechanical art in the Jura region were added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2020.
This listing represents international recognition of the contribution these practices make to cultural and human diversity.
The UNESCO Convention and Representative Lists
The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), adopted in 2003, aims to protect the living practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities consider to be their heritage.
This Intangible Cultural Heritage includes oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, as well as skills related to traditional crafts.
This heritage is considered a melting pot of cultural diversity and a guarantor of sustainable development, contributing to peace and security.
The Convention provides for lists of cultural heritage elements for which States can submit nominations. The Representative Lists of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity aim to raise awareness of the importance of this heritage.
Intangible Heritage in France and Switzerland
In 2006, France ratified the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Law No. 2006-791 of 5 July 2006 formalises this ratification.
Launched in March 2008, the National Inventory of ICH aims to catalogue living practices with the help of communities, groups and individuals. Its purpose is to meet the requirements of the UNESCO Convention, but it also provides a tool for public awareness.
The French ICH is divided into seven themes: social and festive practices; oral traditions and expressions; physical practices; performing arts; games; rituals; knowledge and skills.
In 2024, France has 30 elements inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of ICH.
Switzerland, for its part, ratified the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of ICH in 2008. Since then, ICH has been regulated by laws and ordinances at federal and cantonal level. At the federal level, the 2009 Culture Promotion Act (LEC) and the 2024 Implementing Ordinance provide the legal basis for safeguarding ICH by encouraging preservation projects, establishing an inventory of living traditions and providing financial support.
Since 2008, Switzerland has initiated a comprehensive policy for the safeguarding, promotion and research of living traditions in Switzerland. A first national inventory was established between 2010 and 2012, which led to the creation of a Tentative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Switzerland, useful for identifying traditions that could be eligible for international inscription.
In 2025, 14 Swiss intangible cultural heritage elements are included on UNESCO's Representative List.
Four elements inscribed on UNESCO's ICH List currently bring together France and Switzerland, and sometimes other countries as well:
- Mountaineering, inscribed in 2019;
- Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, inscribed in 2020;
- Watchmaking and mechanical artistry skills, inscribed in 2020;
- The art of dry-stone walling, inscribed in 2024.
