Publications
Information and Networking for ICH Safeguarding in the Asia-Pacific Region
-
Manage No DI00000663 Country Republic of Korea Author Samuel LEE Published Year 2012 Language English Copyright 
Attach File Preview (ENG)
| Description | "At the beginning of the workshop, I would like to introduce some of ICHCAP’s concerns and discuss our mission and tasks related to intangible cultural heritage. 1) Introduction As we are all aware, the Asia-Pacific region has very abundant and diverse cultural heritage. More than half of the world’s population, 3.5 billion people, is living in the forty-eight Member States, and they make up the diverse ethnic, traditional, religious, and cultural backgrounds that give the region such rich heritage. However, the cultural identities of Asia-Pacific people have been challenged by the long process of colonisation, westernisation, and modernisation, all of which have also changed ways of life and thinking as well as culture and value systems. Industrialisation, urbanisation, and globalisation have sped up socio-economic and cultural transformations through which many valuable customs, rituals, and norms of traditional communities, as well as a lot of their cultural heritage, have been forgotten and lost. Whereas tangible cultural heritage elements, such as towers, temples, and statues, have remained and will continue to exist as long as they are not destroyed in war or by environmental decay, the more precious intangible elements, which are created and transmitted through the spirit of humanity and human skill, have slowly disappeared, and in some countries and societies, not only has this intangible culture been discontinued but also even the slightest traces of the traditional culture have been completely lost. Regrettably, due to the aging of skilled practitioners and the lack of apprentices learning traditional skills, many excellent performing arts and crafts skills are in danger of vanishing. So in general, it would be fair to say that ICH in the Asia-Pacific region is very fragile and vulnerable to the rapid social transformation. The sudden loss and disappearance of intangible heritage has negatively affected the moral and value systems of traditional societies and has damaged traditional " | ||
|---|---|---|---|