Purpose and mandate
Folk culture remains alive when people can practise, share and renew it.
IOV World connects cultural bearers, researchers and organisations working to protect, preserve and promote folk art and folk culture as living heritage.
The mandate
Protect, preserve and promote folk art and folk culture.
Founded in 1979, IOV brings an international network into dialogue around living cultural heritage. Its founding mission connects cultural diversity with mutual understanding and peace, while keeping communities, practitioners and context at the centre.
International standing
IOV is an NGO in official partnership with UNESCO in the Consultative category. It has also been accredited since 2010 to provide advisory services to UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Accreditation number NGO-90154. Separately, IOV held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council from 2012 to 2026; it does not currently hold ECOSOC consultative status.
Read the status records
Areas of work
How the mission becomes practice
The network combines public programmes, specialist exchange and long-term cultural relationships.
Knowledge exchange
International conferences, seminars and assemblies connect researchers, practitioners and cultural organisations.
Research and documentation
IOV supports records, studies and archives that make cultural knowledge visible without separating it from its communities.
Festivals and exhibitions
Public programmes create space for performance, craft and cultural encounter across the international network.
Cultural exchange
National Sections and regional leaders connect people and institutions across borders through shared programmes.
Youth participation
Intergenerational work gives younger practitioners opportunities to learn, contribute and take responsibility.
Institutional cooperation
IOV works with cultural organisations, public institutions and international partners where mandates align.
Working principles
A people-centred cultural network
Community context
Cultural practices are presented with attention to the people, places and relationships that sustain them.
Responsible documentation
Consent, attribution and provenance guide the use of photographs, testimony and archival material.
International dialogue
Different regional perspectives meet through exchange, research and long-term professional relationships.
Take part
Connect your work with IOV
Membership and direct contact are the clearest routes into the international network.