During the public discussion on the draft Protection of Cultural Heritage Act (ZVKD-2), Professor Dr Mojca Ramšak, who heads the project “Smell and Intangible Cultural Heritage“, submitted amendments to the Act on 28 January 2025 to expand the definition of intangible cultural heritage by including smell as a separate category in the concept of “sensory cultural heritage”.
The proposal contains a comprehensive definition of sensory and olfactory cultural heritage and sets out a protection regime and implementation measures for its preservation. If adopted, it would be the first systematic regulation for the protection of sensory and olfactory cultural heritage in Europe.
The legislative amendments were proposed as part of a public discussion launched by the Ministry of Culture, which closed on 31 January 2025 via the e-democracy portal.
This innovative initiative is important because it opens an important debate on the role and importance of sensory and olfactory cultural heritage and for weighing up positions with the regulator.