This paper presents an overview of the current situation of intangible maritime cultural heritage among coastal residents and fishing cooperative association members who work and live in the Matsushima Bay region of Miyagi, Japan. \n\nThe Matsushima Bay has a rich history of peoples living around and accessing the sea’s resources since at least the Middle Jomon Period (4000 to 2500 BC). The Bay, named a quasi-national park and known as \none of the three most scenic places in Japan, was made famous by the poet Basho who visited the area in 1690.\n\nToday, however, the area suffers from high population density in the surrounding mainland, intense industry along the coast, demographic change in the coastal communities, and the impacts of the tsunami generated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. \n\nWith these challenges, maritime ICH is at risk, and with it, communities and ways of life since, if ICH can help strengthen social cohesion and inclusion, the loss of ICH can weaken it. Social practices, rituals, and \nfestive events structure the lives of coastal communities, strengthening shared understandings of the local culture and environment. Two communities, maritime events, “Minato Matsuri” and “Hama O-bon”, \nwill be presented to highlight the importance of such activities.\n\nMaritime ICH also provides an opportunity for environmental sustainability and resilience. The paper thus also touches upon local concepts of “fisher-forests” and “sato-umi” and presents local examples of coastal community activities which, along with fishers’ local ecological knowledge, supports resilience and sustainability goals

The profound difficulties international ICH community faces during the Corona pandemic is truly worrisome. For the NGOs of Korea, the common factor in dealing with the pandemic was for the ICH communities to absorb online activities and become fluent in online platforms for ICH safeguarding. But Bridging the digital gap is still remaining. So Hanhee Hahm, presented experience of COVID-19 and engagement of her with the ICH Community and counter measures against the pandemic society.

Singapore is a culturally diverse society and one of the most religiously diverse nations of the world, and the understanding of cultural practices aids in fostering dialogue and social cohesion in such a social context. This paper discusses the important role of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in fostering a deeper appreciation of the commonalities and differences among people, particularly in an era where societies around the world are facing complex effects of social diversity, movements of people and the effects of globalisation. It highlights the efforts to safeguard ICH in Singapore through partnerships between government agencies, educational institutions and the community.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is the most populated city in the country. It is also one of the most populated cities in the world with a density of 23,234 people per square kilometer within a total area of 300 square kilometers. The Greater Dhaka Area has a population of over 18 million as of 2016 (World Population Review, 2017). According to the UN World Urbanization Prospects (2014), the population of Dhaka was only 336,000 in 1950. Dhaka has always been a center of cultural vibrancy and has a long history and tradition of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The cultural vibrancy and heritage that have given glory to Dhaka for centuries often get buried under different modern-day civic problems. As an ever-expanding mega city, Dhaka is losing its cultural spaces to religious and ruling coteries. Many of the city’s prime spaces are now earmarked for various public and private business, commercial, or military purposes. The situation was not so deplorable even during the Pakistan era from 1947 to 1971.

Annually, from 13 to 15 April, the people of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia celebrate their traditional New Year—Paveni Pi Mai Muang or the Songkran Festival, which is also known as the Water Splashing Festival. According to Northern Thai or Lanna culture, Songkran is traditionally celebrated during the seventh lunar month of the Lanna calendar. Establishing April as the first month of the year coincides with the movement of the sun through the zodiac, a pattern that reflects the changing seasons and accords with the natural rhythm of nature and the universe. This time of year provides an opportunity for family members to gather and make merit through traditional rituals, such as washing Buddha images and other water blessing ceremonies. Each day of the New Year festival serves a particular purpose as outlined in this article.

Food plays an important role in spiritual rituals and worship for many faiths including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. The food offered to God is called prasada/prasadam, which means a gracious gift. Prasadam could be any o!ering, but typically an edible food is firrst o!ered to a deity in his or her name.

Seong-Yong Park talks about the importance of ICH for the sake of sustainable development along with the characteristics of Silk Roads region. He also discusses the various Information and networking programs ICHCAP has implemented in collaboration with Central Asian nations, especially nations along the Silk Roads, showing ICHCAP’s interest in developing projects along the Silk Roads. At the same time, He proposes to develop a broader network targeting the Silk Roads region with upgraded functions of sharing information and building networks. In addition, he argues that for better opportunities for future collaborations, establishing a Silk Roads ICH Network would be a meaningful journey through cooperative and multilateral partnerships among the stakeholders to recreate the glory of the Silk Roads through ICH.

Co-orgarnized by ICHCAP and Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC), this year’s Asia-Pacific ICH NGO Conference was held in Hue, Vietnam under the theme of ICH NGOs towards Sustainable Development of Communities.

Today in this brief presentation, I’d like to talk about the concept of sea ethics as intangible cultural heritage based on two of my previous studies on cultural heritage in Japan. Both relate to specifically spiritual practices and knowledge about the ocean gained through traditional fisheries, one diving fishery and other whaling. It so happens that both are practiced by women. I’ve also discussed this in the context of SDG Goal No. 5 and 14 in my publication if anyone is interested. Clearly, discussion of sustainability is even more relevant today, as we navigate ourselves through the unprecedented global uncertainty.\n

The location of Indonesia is at the junction of the Australian, Eurasian, and Pacific tectonic plates. and Positioned on the ‘ring of fire’ with many active volcanoes as well as its high annual rainfall, Indonesia susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, and mudslides.

Long known as the cradle of civilization, the area that bounds from the fertile valleys of Al-Hasakeh, across the ancient deserts of Palmyra, and westward to the Mediterranean Sea, includes present-day Syria. Due to the vastness of the region, it is no wonder that Syrian cuisine boasts a rich culinary heritage dened by exceptional diversity and human creativity.

Nowadays, tug-of-war has become a popular traditional game and loved by many communities in Vietnam. Both children and adults love playing this game since it doesn’t require many particular skills or training and doesn’t limit the number of participants. Tug-of-war today is played in dif-ferent cultural and social events in youth camps, student gatherings, and traditional festivals as well as during Tet Lunar New Year celebration in Vietnam. In a traditional tug-of-war game, players are divided into two teams and stand opposite along a string (normally a bamboo cord or a jute rope). A red piece of cloth marks the middle of the cord, which is positioned parallel to a line drawn on the ground that separates the two teams. After a signal (either a whistle or a hand signal) from the referee, players tug the cord as hard as possible to pull the red cloth towards their side. For every match, both teams receive great cheer from surrounding spectators.