The Impact of the Sustainability of Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements (ICH) and the Awareness of the Ministry of Culture Personnel on the Safeguarding and Sustainability of Cultural Heritage

With the Republic of Türkiye signing the “Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage” in 2006, awareness and sensitivity towards the safeguarding of cultural heritage has also begun to develop in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which has close relations with the Republic of Türkiye. However, the intangible cultural heritage convention could not be signed in the TRNC due to political reasons, and this has led to a lack of sufficient change and awareness about it on the island. Regrettably, the limited number of academic studies carried out in universities in this field has proven to be inadequate in terms of creating general public awareness about the subject. However, the knowledge and experience of both the community and individuals working in this field are crucial for the safeguarding and sustainability of cultural heritage elements. In this context, this study collected the knowledge and opinions of personnel affiliated with the TRNC Ministry of Culture on the subject of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), and it investigated whether the adequacy of the personnel’s knowledge and opinions around cultural heritage had a direct impact on its safeguarding and sustainability. This research used a type of mixed method called “Convergent Mixed-Methods Design”. The sample of this research consisted of 30 personnel working in different units affiliated with the Ministry of Culture in Northern Cyprus. This study included personnel working in different units and positions affiliated with the ministry. An interview form was used to obtain the data that formed the basis of this research. The interview form consisted of 10 structured and 3 semi-structured questions prepared by the researchers. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of the quantitative data, and content analysis was used in the analysis of the qualitative data. This study, which aimed to determine the knowledge and opinions of Ministry of Culture officials working in the TRNC regarding the safeguarding and transfer of intangible cultural heritage elements, revealed that the employees were not fully informed about the scope, objectives, and protection of ICH.