About

the national charity for heritage crafts

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What we do

Heritage Crafts is the national charity for traditional heritage crafts. Working in partnership with Government and key agencies, we provide a focus for craftspeople, groups, societies and guilds, as well as individuals who care about the loss of traditional crafts skills, and work towards a healthy and sustainable framework for the future.

We are a UNESCO accredited NGO for Intangible Cultural Heritage and advocated for UK ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention of the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was announced by the UK Government in December 2023.

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Our Mission

To support and promote heritage crafts as a fundamental part of our living heritage.

We do this through:

Knowledge – researching the status of heritage crafts and identifying those crafts in decline or in imminent danger of being lost.
Advocacy – communicating the vital importance of heritage craft skills to the public, Government, key agencies and organisations.
Safeguarding – ensuring that the highest standard of heritage craft skills are passed from one generation to the next and are recorded for posterity where necessary.
Support – supporting heritage craftspeople to continue to practice, nurture and pass on their craft.
Engagement – actively raising awareness and interest in heritage craft skills with the wider public and offering opportunities to engage.