The Association for the Conservation of Folk Traditions, presided over by Rosario Perricone, was set up following the will of Antonio Pasqualino, by signing its Memorandum of Association on 23 August 1965.
The Association is a non-profit organization and aims to support activities, initiatives and events to help the preservation of Sicilian folk traditions and the promotion and encouragement of the study of the correlated issues. In order to achieve these objectives, the Association promotes the direct or indirect organization of exhibitions, calendars, directories, recitals, publications, performances, reviews, conferences and any initiative close to the Association’s profile, in collaboration with local, national and international organizations and entities.
The Association's engagement in the preservation and promotion of folk traditions, with particular reference to Sicilian puppetry, is evident in its support of UNESCO application of Sicilian traditional puppet theatre. In May 2001, UNESCO proclaimed the Opera dei pupi a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
By virtue of its recognized competence in the field of research and study of the intangible heritage, on the occasion of the fifth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO – Paris, 2 to 5 June 2014 – the Association for the Conservation of Folk Traditions was accredited as a non-governmental organization to act in an advisory capacity to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with the registration number NGO-90316.
Moreover, on 21 December 2015, the Association was enrolled in the Anagrafe Nazionale delle Ricerche of the Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (ID code 61993JYI).
The Association's headquarters are located in Palermo, Piazzetta Antonio Pasqualino 5. The offices are open to the public from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 1.00 pm. and from 2.30 to 6.30 pm.