Western textual documentation methods as found in archives, libraries and information centers were primarily codified in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but today in the 21 st century, are proving inadequate to fully accommodate the varieties of memory and records of a global society. Privileging the scribal and the tangible over the oral and intangible has meant that thoserecords created by communities whose heritage and history are expressed through dynamic oral and performative cultural traditions are generally not considered as archival documentation. New models are needed to meet the demands of a multi-cultural and post-colonial environment. This presentation suggests such a model – a cultural archive - that both challenges conventional documentation practices and turns the focus onto living cultural traditions. It claims that living cultural traditions as recognized by UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, also function as the dynamic records and documentation of their communities. While these traditions may be conveyed orally, musically, performatively and artifactually they are also equal to written text in their expressions of heritage and identity. Suggestions for bridging this theoretical concept of a cultural archive and its practical implementation will be presented as well as discussed further in the panel presentation.