Pyongyang hosted a four-day training workshop on Community-based Inventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage from 29 August to 1 September 2016. This capacity-building workshop was the outcome of joint efforts of the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the National Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for UNESCO, and the UNESCO Beijing Office with the financial contribution from the International Training Centre for Intangible Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (CRIHAP) category 2 centre. The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was ratified by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2008. To support the endeavor in safeguarding its rich intangible cultural heritage, UNESCO Beijing Office has been providing assistance in organizing a series of capacity-building workshops since 2010 including the National Safeguarding Awareness-Raising Workshop (2011) and Training Workshop on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention (2013).

Ms Suzanne Ogge, Heritage Specialist and ICH Consultant/ Accredited trainer for the UNESCO Global Capacity-building Program in the Asia Pacific Region. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention (hereon ‘the 2003 Convention) in 2008. Since then, the country has nominated three elements to the Convention’s Representative List, which is aimed at drawing attention to the importance of living heritage in general, both within the nominating country, and on an international level. As most of you would be aware, State Parties to the Convention may prepare nomination files for the purpose of listing a living tradition (also referred to as ICH) and in doing so, contribute to raising awareness both nationally and internationally about the importance not only of the element inscribed on the list, but of intangible heritage in general.