I’ve been asked to speak about regional collaboration for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in South-East Asia, but I will be focusing more on safeguarding as it relates to the 2003 Convention, particularly on processes for ratification, inventory making, and legislative measures that have or have not been taken. It is important to know that there is a broader sense in which safeguarding happens at its best when UNESCO is not needed by which I mean it is happening in the communities, and there is no need for international conventions, laws, and national measures. That is the ideal situation. Unfortunately, that is not the situation of the world today. That is why we have the 2003 Convention, and that is why these measures are being put into place. I am going to try to focus on that.

Culture. Is it still relevant in the twenty first century, the age of globalization? Can culture provide useful input in solving the problems of development, democracy, economy, environment, urban development, interfaith, and social development? Such questions on the role of culture have become targets of attention and debate among world leaders and experts today.

Our current climate change crisis, termed the Anthropocene, has been tied to the history of the colonial plantation, capitalism, empire, nuclear testing, and a globalization era of disposability and waste. All of these histories have impacted (tropical) islands to a far greater extent than their continental counterparts, because islands have often functioned as laboratories for colonial experimentation, from the plantation complex of the Caribbean to nuclear testing in the Pacific. The climate crisis alerts us to the peril of living beyond our limits, yet islanders have long had to negotiate ecological crisis as well as find innovative solutions of sustainability and resilience in bounded lands and with limited resources.

For centuries, Korea had been a predominantly agricultural society; the overwhelming majority of its population engaged in farming. As a result of the rapid industrialisation that began in the 1960s, however, much of the population migrated from farming villages to cities. And during this period, Americancentred, Western culture had an enormous impact. Owing to this simultaneous industrialisation, urbanisation, and westernisation, the older way of life was rapidly disappearing. The older arts, rituals, and other kinds of intangible cultural expression that articulated the formerly prevalent way of life were also in jeopardy of rapidly disappearing. The instigation of the intangible cultural heritage system was intended to designate the valuable forms of expression that were being pushed to extinction by modern civilisation, to protect them, and to ensure their continued transmission.

First, allow me to express my thanks and honour for being invited to make this keynote speech. This is the second time I have come to Korea at ICHCAP’s kind invitation. My contact with colleagues from this and other countries in the AsiaPacific Region has left me feeling more an ally than a mere sympathizer of their work. We live in an era of globalization, not only of the economy, information and communication, but also of solidarity towards building a better world for ourselves and for future generations. I hope this meeting will be a landmark in our joint efforts to make our contributions to the cultural communities with which we presently work and our role as advisors to the Intergovernmental Committee more effective, in terms of our joint mission of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. Huge geographical distances and cultural differences separate our countries, a fact that is immediately evident in the linguistic diversity present in this room. Use of the English language facilitates our communication and, in addition, we can understand each other thanks to the efficient collaboration of the interpreters, even though we are so very much aware of how much subtlety is inevitably lost in translation. My thanks, therefore, to our backstage partners.

The consumption of vitamins and minerals is essential to endure the harsh winters of Korea. Today, we can easily buy fresh vegetables at a supermarket, even in winter. But in times before greenhouses and imported agricultural products, how did our ancestors obtain vegetables? In the past, people salted vegetables in the autumn and consumed them through midwinter until the following spring. The famous Korean dish kimchi, made using a fermentation method, is a representative example of these preserved vegetables.

The wide construction of heritage and its symbolic value in the Asia-Pacific region (“wide” in terms of form and content) is made necessary and complex by the intervention of key global organizations such as UNESCO, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Recent intervention in addressing the cultural complexity of heritage is the introduction of informal education of intangible cultural heritage. This kind of education, in its simplest form, provides a basic training that has the potential to put intangible cultural heritage to the mainstream public sphere. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia initiated this kind of project called Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship (IACS) in 2003, focusing on traditional dance and music.\n\nIACS was originally intended for Member States of the South West Pacific Dialogue such as Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste, but has over the years expanded to include Member States of ASEAN+3 and Pacific Islands Forum as well as European countries and the US. In the period of 2003 to 2016, IACS has been awarded to 718 alumni from 63 countries. By appropriating local performance cultures and branding them “traditional,” the program asserts sustainable cultural systems detached from Indonesia’s history of colonialism thereby affirming the importance of indigeneity of ethnic groups as the primary source of diversity and cultural identities in Indonesia.\n\nThe three-month program is offered largely to non-Indonesians whose main qualification is arguably “interest in Indonesian arts and culture.” When selected and grouped, they will be deployed to a participating Indonesian city where they will learn music and traditional performance by practice and immersion. The visibility of non-Indonesians “doing” Indonesian culture reinforces the idea of social inclusion in heritage learning. Considering how scholars of globalization view the world as a global village, the program poignantly paints cultural diplomacy as a viable method of exchange, communication, and, to some extent, multi-layered artistry. Another important element in the program is its laudable effort of moving away from the center or the capital (Jakarta). As the capital is perceived as the main economic zone, most cultural activities carried out there are charged as more valuable than others, inevitably putting other cultural practices in the periphery. Therefore, moving away from the center gives those “other cultural practices” and the communities surviving them the priceless tendency to be appreciated and recognized in wider terms. Art centers also play a crucial role in the program. As they carry the main obligation of deciding what and how IACS participants should learn, the program is implicitly building their capacity to devise an “informal curriculum” for effective learning. Finally, it should be noted that all the participants of IACS are tourists; even when Indonesian citizens are selected as participants, they will still be sent to a city almost always different to them. For effective safeguarding of cultural heritage, Logan and Wijesuriya (2016) fittingly remind, the focus is not “knowledge transfer” to heritage practitioners but “knowledge acquisition” by a wide range of audiences. As the program clearly reflects this proposition, the idea of tourism as a strategic employment of informal heritage education can be organized into an actual and sustainable project in such a way that certain observable outcomes can be achieved.\n\nThis year, citizens of forty-five countries were selected for IACS. And with the expertise of and training from art centers and one university namely Rumata Artspace (Makassar, South Sulawesi), Sanggar Sofiyani (Padang, West Sumatera), Sanggar Semarandana (Denpasar, Bali), Studio Tydif (Surabaya, East Java), and Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” (Yogyakarta, East Java), the selected participants gathered together and performed in a big event called Indonesia Channel 2017 on 18 August 2017 at the Empire Palace Building in Surabaya.\n\nReference\nLogan, William, and Gamini Wijesuriya. ‘The New Heritage Studies and Education, Training, and Capacity‐Building’. In A Companion to Heritage Studies, 557-573. William Logan, Máiréad Nic Craith, and Ullrich Kockel, 1st ed. Sussex: Wiley Blackwell, 2016.\n\n*The author thanks Fiska Dali Putri for her time and generosity as a resource.\n\nB.B.P. Hosmillo, 2017 ICHCAP Associate Expert Program Participant (Founder & Co-Editor, Queer Southeast Asia: a literary journal of transgressive art, the Philippines)\n\nPhoto : IACS participants deployed in Makassar © Pepeng Sofyan

In the context of maritime realm, when people hear about Sulawesi Islands, they might directly think of Coral Triangle Ecoregions (CTE). This is because since the declaration of Coral Triangle Initiative, a multilateral cooperation of six nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands) to save guarding the productivity and sustainability of the Coral Triangle Ecoregions in 2009, these regions have attracted worldwide attention on its coral reef and associated ecosystem bio-diversity. Sulawesi Islands sit at the center of the regions (Figure 1). As the name implies, CORAL Triangle ECOREGIONS, people’s focus of attention is coral reef and associated ecosystems. Or, to put it in different words, the focus of attention is the natural ecosystem. Thus, the mainstream narratives about CTE is about bio-diversity, conservation and the ecosystem services to human being (see for example The Nature Conservancy 2008, CTI brochure). \n\nNonetheless, there is a serious concern on the sustainability of the regions. International institutions such as the World Ocean Council notes ‘as a global center for marine biodiversity, the CT is a major conservation priority. The CT’s environmental diversity and economic value are threatened by climate change, urbanization, overfishing, and other impacts. With these threats affecting six countries in the region, leaders created the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI). Officially titled the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (World Ocean Council 2016).

The Phnom Penh Vientiane Workshop and Charter were driven by participants who represented museum and heritage leadership from linguistically and culturally diverse communities of South-East Asia and Timor-Leste. Its integrity, from preparation to follow-up, has been overseen by a leadership of entirely Asian linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It was the first of such major initiatives in Asia by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). It addressed the concern that models and methods from developed or rich countries, where heritage contexts are well resourced, may not necessarily work for cultural communities and groups in low economic indicator countries. This concern was prioritised with the significance given to stakeholder or carrier and transmitter communities in the UNESCO 2003 Convention.

The evolution of industrialization process and globalization has endangering traditional textile which put in place intangible culture heritage (ICH) of weaving tradition dramatically decrease over years. Rapid of changing process has impact on change of people lifestyles and resulted traditional practice of handcraft lose slowly. In order to safeguard local knowledge, government played significant role on develop ICH policy and its legal framework implementation associate with international standard.

Traditional houses (uma-lulik in the local language) are considered cultural centers and roots for Timorese people and a symbol of national identity that defines who we are. These houses are also considered sacred by the local community and places for generations of families to gather and communicate with their ancestors. Ritual ceremonies, which consist of ICH elements, are associated with uma-lulik. The traditional houses are known as a main pillar in regard to social interaction, with each individual integrated into the sacred houses since birth.\n\nTimor-Leste’s traditional houses play an important role that embraces various ICH elements, for instance sau-batar (corn harvesting, a ritual celebration usually conducted every six months) and finadu (soul day, a ritual celebrating death, which is usually held on 2 November every year). Two perspectives can be used to describe aspects of the uma-lulik: first, as a material construction, usually recognized as tangible heritage. If we are specifically looking into a piece of material/tangible heritage itself, it’s the same as other traditional houses around the world—that is to say, the overall physical shaping with local materials such as timber, bamboo, rope, and grasses. However, from another perspective, if we look into the intangible cultural elements associated with uma-lulik, then we can see that the traditional houses of Timor-Leste are totally different from others. Usually, constructing a uma-lulik takes a long time due to the various ritual ceremonies that are conducted at every stage of the build.\n\nCauses of Uma-Lulik Endangerment\nThe existence of traditional houses has been endangered due to conflict and the negative effects of globalization and human interference. The current economic expansion and infrastructure development displace local communities, who maintain cultural value. As a new country in Southeast Asia, Timor-Leste is currently facing huge challenges, and most traditional houses have been destroyed and abandoned by local communities.\n\nThe long process of conflict has had effects on the cultural heritage value, specifically of traditional houses themselves. Many uma-lulik were destroyed and abandoned during the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999). The existence of the uma-lulik was dramatically reduced due to most people being classed as suspect and ritual ceremonies being prohibited by the Indonesian military. In 1999, many traditional houses were destroyed during the final period of Indonesian occupation. The long-running background of conflict also includes the Japanese attacks between 1942 and 1945 and the Portuguese colonialism period for almost five centuries (1512–1975). The overall stages of occupation and turmoil has put Timor-Leste’s traditional houses at risk.\n\nSafeguarding Local Knowledge\nTransmitting local knowledge (the construction technique) should be considered a priority and must be safeguarded before it is lost (the Lia-Na’in are the oldest community leading ritual ceremonies). Local knowledge is a crucial indicator, meaning that people are vital resources and significant actors. The Lia-Na’in have high competence related to cultural decision making, including the overall house construction process.\n\nIt is important for the main ICH elements and concepts to be transmitted for future generations to safeguard traditional houses will have a positive impact in maintaining other ICH elements such as sau-batar and finadu. This could be achieved through networking cooperation to enhance advocacy, documentation, and research.\n\nPhoto : The formation of traditional houses in the Atu-Aben Clan, Bobonaro Municipality, Timor-Leste. Site abandoned by the local community. ⓒ Abraão Mendonça, Timor-Leste National Commission for UNESCO

Ceremonial cloth known as tais (traditional handcraft) has been woven in Timor-Leste for generations. Weaving traditions are considered key social functions for strengthening familial bonds. Textiles handcrafts are an invaluable expression of traditional knowledge and East Timorese culture. The designs and techniques to produce textiles have been handed down matrilineal lines recording a woven narration of the culture, lore, paradigms, and stories of Timor-Leste’s history.\n\nTraditional textile cloths are traditionally given by one Timorese woman to another as a mark of respect or symbol of repentance. From Timorese ancestors’ time, a woman learns how to make tais so that when she gets married, she can make tais for ceremonies or to sell in the barter market. Meanwhile tais led important role for Timorese children, and the local knowledge has been transmitted across generations. In Timor-Leste, transmitting weaving knowledge from mother to daughter is interwoven within a cultural system of collaboration and respect, where women, men, and young people work together to share cultural practices in a way that benefits the entire community.\n\nTais place a significant value on the process of feto-sa and umane in Timor-Leste’s cultural context (relationships between two families having marriage, and they establish a bond of obligation between the marrying families). Tais were also used on occasions such as funerals and kore-metan ceremonies (funeral anniversaries usually held one year after death).\n\nBoth dyeing and weaving are intimate social processes, usually done by a group of women. Women who are isolated in villages both socially and economically usually work together as team to work on obtaining a common goal. This reflects a broader social structure in Timor-Leste, where people once built their societies on a system of connectedness and community, a set of values and beliefs surrounding kinship, ceremony, spirituality, and weaving. The weaving, wearing, and use of the textiles are essential to the Timorese sense of being and was a way of asserting their differences in the past.\n\nWaving Techniques\nThe designs and color used to make a tais vary. For instance, in eastern part of Timor-Leste tais is mainly woven from cotton using a combination of plain weave and ikat techniques. Ikat is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarn prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. In ikat the resist is formed by binding individual yarn threads or bundles of yarn with a tight wrapping applied in the desired pattern (ikat means “to bind” in the Indonesian language). Long, narrow panels of cloth often take months or years to complete. Concern with the dyeing process, usually the giant pestle is used to pound leaves and bark for a new batch of natural dyes.\n\nIn the western part of the country, weavers have used a tapestry weaving technique called mnaisa to weave small sections of belts for the past four years, which is the overall process of using natural dyes.\nIn tradition, the colors chosen for any one cloth depend on the occasion and where it will be worn. In the villages, weavers use endemic plants to color hand-spun cotton; however, the lack of raw material for dyeing and increasing availability of polyester fibers and synthetic dyes are changing the way tais is made.\n\nThe practice of the weaving traditions have declined dramatically due to globalization and post-conflict isolated conditions in Timor-Leste. The lack of participation of young peoples on the weaving process and the lack of the society awareness and government support to enact ICH as a priority national action plan has created challenges on pursuing safeguarding implementation.\n\nPhoto 1 : The Kingcraft, Tais weaving in Timor-Leste Ⓒ i0.wp.com/thekindcraft.com\nPhoto 2 : Baucau weaver, East part of Timor-Leste Ⓒ Abraão Ribeiro Mendonça