The small sun-soaked village of Molela, located approximately fifteen to twenty kilometers from the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan, is home to a vibrant community of terracotta clay artists. Over the years, Molela has emerged as a focal point in the art of making attractive votive plaques or idols of gods, with terracotta. While the early creations were originally cast as standing idols of local deities and various forms of the Hindu god Vishnu, today these figures are often mounted on tiles or plaques and are hung from the walls of homes and temples. These votive figurines can be multicolored or can have a terracotta hue, as is represented in the various temples in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The Mongolia is rich in Shamanic heritage, including both physical artifacts, ritual sites, places of cultural or historical interest and protected landscapes (‘tangible’ heritage) together with rituals, ceremonies, folklore, music, handicrafts, and traditional knowledge ( known as ‘intangible’ heritage). Under Mongolian shamanism we can understand complete science of nomadic philosophy, TNGRI worship, Sacred of peak mountains ritual, parallel psychology of Heaven, earth, fire and human life and supernatural consciousness of Nomadic. On that account we could understand Shamanism is reliable source of Nomadic culture. The Mongols, who themselves worshiped Heaven but had respect for all other religions. The Shamans are merely respected as priests of Heaven./TNGRI/ In Shamanism; the world is alive full of spirits. The plants, animals, rocks, mountains and water, all have a soul. These spirits must be respected to be in the balance with all of them. Balance is an important thing to keep harmony within you, the community, and the environment. When things get out of balance, there are harmful effects. This is when we need a shaman for help. Shamanisms believe in a concept called buyan (physical power) that is very close to the belief of karma (fate). The shaman loses buyan (buyanhishig) by violating taboos, when he has no respect for spirits or our ancestors.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan acknowledges the importance of cultural issues at both the governmental as well as the non-governmental levels, as it promotes the significance of culture for sustainable development and cultural dialogue. Included in this concept is cultural heritage, which shapes the basic elements of identity and social cohesion among communities and minorities of the country. In our assessment report about ICH in Jordan, we were able to trace administrative strengths and weaknesses embraced in this field. For example, subjects included the government’s developed interest on ICH issues, the existence of certain Jordanian institutions, organizations that contributed in various and divergent ways to this field, and the potential and adaptability of the Jordanian laws and legislation to deal with culture related matters. Based on the information collected, it became evident that there were considerable weaknesses in integrating cultural heritage issues into the strategic planning of the nation. Additionally, disseminating the importance of ICH and its great value among Jordanians on governmental, institutional, and public levels was not carried out satisfactorily, resulting in a lack of awareness programs. If awareness efforts were carried out, this would have enabled the people to explore the value of their ICH and allowed them to become aware of its importance as reflected in the cultural diversity of the Jordanian society.

The Sundarbans, consisting of 10,200 km2 of mangrove forest across India and Bangladesh, is the world’s largest delta and mangrove ecosystem. Transected with rivers and creeks, the landscape is home to diverse and endangered flora and fauna, most famously the Royal Bengal Tiger. Because of its unique cosystem, the Sundarbans enjoy the status of a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is also home to millions of forest-dependent people. The colonial period witnessed large-scale deforestation of the mangroves and in-migration, starting from the late eighteenth century, driven by the desire for more farmlands to generate revenue, development of a port township in Canning, and other factors. There was also a substantial inflow of refugees during partition at the time of India’s independence.

Kanklės is certainly one of the most important symbols of the Lithuanian cultural identity as it had an important and symbolic role during the periods of national revival and the independence movements. The instrument itself and the tradition of playing on the kanklės underwent changes, transformations, experienced a revival, and in some sense even a “renewal.” \n\nIn the twentieth century, playing the kanklės moved from the country to the towns. It used to be exclusively a men’s tradition. Now this tradition has been taken over by women, and solo playing has been replaced by an ensemble playing. Playing on the traditional five to twelve-string kanklės does not require any special preparation. The instrument is easily keyed and portable. Even a beginner can play on it. Traditionally, teaching to play on the kanklės took place in families and communities. There are still players who took over the tradition from fathers or old musicians in villages. Nowadays, most of the performers acquire their playing skills in folk groups or music schools or during informal education activities.

Since ancient times, Central Asia has been populated by numerous nomadic and sedentary peoples and ethnic groups. The region is characterized by a rich cultural diversity as well as the interaction and interpenetration of different cultures, each of which is original.

The Dusun people of Brunei Darussalam, amounting to roughly 10,000 people, are traditionally swidden rice cultivators. They used to live in longhouses called alai gayo (big house) that could accommodate three to four generations of bilateral family members, each administered by a council of elders known as tetuwo. The tetuwo were composed of both male elders (usually shaman and medicine men) and female elders called balian (Dusun religious priestesses) who are responsible for Dusun religious ceremonies referred to as temarok. Nowadays, they live in single houses distributed into small clusters of hamlets, due to the erosion of the traditional administrative system as a result of British colonialism in Brunei beginning in 1906.

"The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (‘ICH Convention’ or ‘Convention’ hereafter) was adopted in 2003 and subsequently brought into force in 2006. The ICH Convention mandates signatories to use or mobilise various measures to safeguard intangible cultural heritage. \nEven though the Convention does not succinctly mention the elaborate legal measures for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, the intellectual property rights to protect intangible cultural heritage and its holders are implied throughout provisions of the Convention. To implement the Convention’s spirit, the Operational Directives clarify legal form as safeguarding measures by stating that: State Parties shall endeavor to ensure, in particular through the application of intellectual property rights, privacy rights and any other appropriate form of legal protection, that the rights of the communities, groups, and individuals that create, bear and transmit their intangible cultural heritage are duly protected…."

Bangladesh is rich in intangible cultural heritage in all the five domains outlined in the 2003 ICH Convention namely oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and festive events, knowledge about nature and the universe and traditional craftmanship.Four elements are inscribed in the UNESCO representative list and two applications are submitted in 2019. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has a list with literature of 54 elementsunder the 5 ICH domains, while researchers identified 123 elements. Comprehensive inventorying of living heritages is under process with the Government. Bangladesh, by ratifying 2003 Convention, assumes its obligation of safeguarding these elements of ICH. Among the elements, some are sustainable for the economic output of the objects associated with the elements. Others remain vulnerable for change in lifestyle, knowledge pattern, social and economic advancement, science and technology. Require safeguardfor sustainable development that includes transmission of the ICH elements for generations.

Culture is chiefly perceived as a driving force for sustainable development in the UN’s action plan for people, planet, and prosperity entitled “Transforming Our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. In this context, there is a foreseeable strength in ICH to generate means for sustainable development. The following issues are considered as starting points of discussion: (1) the methods of aligning commercial activities with ICH safeguarding activities, (2) the possible risks to ICH viability and the ways in which they can be mitigated, and (3) the prospect of moving toward and maintaining a mutual relationship between ICH Safeguarding and development policies.\nKeeping the grassroots level highly pertinent in Session 3, we intend to put various NGOs activities at the center of the discussion, particularly in light of our pursuit to assess their presence in sustainable tourism development and eco‐tourism, looking into the possibility of expanding the role of NGOs in areas such as cultural mapping and gender equality. To end, a plenary discussion will be held. The outcome document will be circulated to share the discussion points of and lessons learned from the meeting.

The Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage is a UNESCO-accredited NGO located in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It was established in 2000 with the objectives of protecting and safeguarding various natural and cultural heritage elements, including intangible heritage values, and carrying out various activities for researching, studying, and promoting natural and cultural heritage properties and ICH values.

This Webinar Series begins with an assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 on intangible cultural heritage (ICH), considerably identifying the possible roles ICH might take in critical times. As the pandemic has been disrupting many forms of cultural practices, the effects of which worsen the vulnerability of the stewards of heritage, the first session intends to hold a discussion toward innovative solutions for ICH safeguarding and transmission during a time of global crisis and social unrest.