Once upon a time, a beautiful young woman wandered into a jungle carrying her little baby girl in search of food. She was very tired, so she made a soft bed from the petals of flowers and laid the baby on it. Then she left to search for fruits to satisfy her immense hunger. Two great birds who had no babies of their own found the little human baby in its nest of flowers and carried it away on their backs to their own nest. Their nest was very large; many strange birds lived together there in harmony. There was a parrot, a myna, a hen, a stork, a kingfisher, and a tailorbird in their nest.

According to CIOFF policy, an international folklore festival will be fully accomplished as a meeting place for cultures when it is organized in the spirit of friendship and promoting a culture of peace. ICH is an excellent culture inherited over generations, a source of cultural development, and a manifestation of cultural diversity. The new management mechanism realizes the integration of ICH and tourism. The launch of “One Belt and One Road” strategy actually provides an important strategic opportunity for the protection and development of ICH. At the beginning of a new civilization cycle, to open a new window of civilization with people of the world. While there are four main cradles of civilization, which, moving from East to West, are China, India, the Fertile Crescent, and the Mediterranean, specially Greece and Italy, India deserves a larger share of credit because it has deeply affected the cultural life of most of Asia. India has also extended her influence, directly and indirectly, to other parts of the world.\n\nAn International Folklore Festival is one of the means to safeguard, to promote and to diffuse ICH, mainly through such genres of expressions as music, dance, games, rituals, customs, know-how of handicraft and other arts. To be a significant contribution to the maintenance and enhancement of cultural identity and diversity, a folklore festival has to be implemented in an appropriate cultural context. The reflections presented aim to develop a pertinent cultural context in existing and in new international folklore festivals. The following items constitute and describe what CIOFF sees as important elements of the term cultural context.

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 creation of life on Earth begins with mystery. In pursuit of understanding mysterious things, humankind gained one of their most valuable qualities—veneration of sacred. Understanding the link between mystery and sacred has existed since the dawn of humanity. The first lightning in the sky and thunder, sunrise and moonrise, and heat and coldness—all these were once mysteries that people worshiped as to unknown and sacred. The first forms of worship were to water, sky, and wind—early formations of sacred spaces. Therefore, knowing who designates this or that object is sacred or what the criteria is not possible because no one knows all the mysteries of creation. Objects or artifacts that people qualify as sacred spaces are those that remind us that we are not alone in the universe.

Koliniasi L.T. Fuko explained the significance of traditional fishing methods of Tonga for achieving sustainable development. The purpose of this discourse is to promote awareness of Tongan Traditional Fishing Methods to ensure the sustainability of food security from the ocean.

In May 2007, the director of Memória Imaterial met José Craveiro. The University of Minho organised the IX Story Days, in Braga. Craveiro was one of the invited storytellers and José Barbieri was presenting MEMORIAMEDIA, a project dedicated to the study and inventory of expressions of intangible cultural heritage. During the break for lunch when the two of them went together to the university canteen, Craveiro interrupted the conversation to identify the plants that spontaneously grew in the outer spaces of the campus. It was at this time that José Barbieri realized that Craveiro was not only one of the most influential storytellers of the traditional Portuguese tales but also a specialist and practitioner of traditional medicine. The desire to work together on this subject was born there, and they promised each other that this project would happen at a future date. \n

Dibya Jyoti Borah, President of ARHI introduces the role of ARHI in safeguarding of ICH. Established in 2008, ARHI is collaboration of individuals belonging to the indigenous tribe, activist working for the cultural-educational rights of native people. It is a wider platform for all indigenous communities to discuss and reflect upon challenges and problems faced by indigenous communities as well as finding the best means to address those concerns. It is a grassroots organization comprising all small & big indigenous communities.

"To the Pacific islanders, the waters that separate them are also a factor that connects them. Bearing this in mind, the four themes in this section offer a glimpse into the need to hold mastery over the sea for survival—for the fish that sustain the people and for the creation of pathways to connect them. Through extensive interisland trade, the ocean pathways maintain and sustain relationships for political, social, educational, economic, and most of all, spiritual benefits. \nIn “Palauan Knowledge of the Sea,” for example, we see how extensive methods and nuances of fishing and oceanic knowledge are part of both the livelihood and identity of Palauans. Similarly, by examining the Yapese knowledge related to canoes and ocean voyaging, we can see the effects and importance of inherited know-how on the connected lives of Micronesians through the ages and today. In these and all the themes in this section, we see how expressions by custodians of cultural know-how and development of sophisticated navigational systems have allowed Pacific islanders to travel safely and interact with the ocean and each other. Pacific navigation is perhaps one of the most singular human achievements of humanity. "

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.

For centuries, the people of the central Caroline Islands have relied heavily on their voyaging canoes as their primary means of transport. They made voyages to islands near and far to obtain food, tools, and other valuables. In some instances, following devastating natural calamities, their canoes are used to relocate to a different island as was the case for the Carolinians who now reside in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI). Today, the art of canoe building and traditional celestial navigation continues in these remote islands of the Federated States of Micronesia. Although at a smaller scale than what it used to be, the important knowledge of their ancestors is being passed on to younger generations. Waa’gey is a community-based organization working with island communities to transfer traditional skills and knowledge. Realizing the challenges brought to the shores of Micronesia by globalization and environmental issues including climate change and rising sea levels, the people of Lamotrek Atoll in Yap worked with Master Navigator Larry Reigetal and his crew to build an outrigger canoe named The Lucky Star1.. Using only traditional seafaring methods and no modern navigation technology, the eight-man crew led by master Reigetal braved storms and powerful ocean currents to travel over five hundred miles to Guam over five days to showcase the Micronesian culture at the Festival of Pacific Arts in May 2016. After the festival, the crew sailed back to Lamotrek over a period of ten days.\n\nThe crew brought along a traditional pandanus sail woven by the people of Lamotrek to use during the festival and to display the skills used to create it. The entire process of weaving the sail took more than six months, with over thirty people contributing to its construction. Due to modern seafaring technologies, the traditional weaving techniques in Lamotrek had not been in practice for over half a century. However, through this project, Waa’gey was able to enlist the help of a 95-year-old Maria Labusheilam, the last master weaver in Lamotrek. She taught the skills to twenty women apprentices, led by her daughter Maria Ilourutog, granddaughter Pualina Lairegiyalo, and daughter-in-law Esther Letalimepiy. The men of Lamotrek, led by Xavier Yarofaliyango, cut and stretched the leaves and stitched the sail together. Labusheilam died two weeks after passing on the knowledge. She did not see the final outcome of her work. The pandanus sail is woven from the Pandanus odoratissimus (screwpine) commonly grown on beaches of tropical islands. The leaves are harvested, dried under the sun, and stripped into single fibers. They are then woven into longer strips of sheets that are then strengthened by stretching and wrapping the sheets around coconut trees. The sheets are then sewn together with sennit twine ropes made from coconut fibers. Sail weaving is not the same as weaving sleeping mats, as they need to be doubled and overlapped to ensure strength and durability.\n\nThe sail was displayed at the University of Guam and the Honolulu museum. It is now in Hawaii and will make its way to New York where it will be the main art display at the UN Headquarters during the Ocean Conference. It will then travel to Europe, Asia, and Australia before making its final voyage to the Federated States of Micronesia in 2018 to sail the MicroGames torch in Yap . It is autographed by all the people from Lamotrek and the president of the FSM, H.E. Peter Christian.\n\nPhoto : Master Navigator Larry Raigetal and his crew entering Guam harbor on their canoe the Lucky Star during the opening ceremony of the 12th Festival of Pacific Art and Culture © Waa’gey

The twenty-second Jeju Fire Festival will run for four days from 7 to 10 March 2019 at places across Jeju, including Jeju City Hall Square and Saebyeol Oreum in Aewol-eup.\n\nThis year, the festival has the theme “Light up the world with wildfire and dreams.” The first day will begin with a torch lighting ritual at Samseonghyeol. The torch will be conveyed along a route from Samseonghyeol to the KAL intersection, Gwangyang intersection, and Jeju City Hall Square. In addition to the torch ceremony, various events will be held at the city hall, including writing wishes on paper and a music concert.\n\nThe second day will see a number of programs taking place, including a prayer ritual for the prosperity and development of the Jeju city, a sheaf making contest, and diverse cultural and media art performances staged by delegates from other countries. There also will be a large full moon ceremony where visitors can wish upon the moon, which will be followed by putting the torch to a field, a torchlight parade, and a sheaf burning event.\n\nOn the third day, various traditional cultures of the island will attract visitors. One of them is majoje, a ritual of praying for the health of horses, which is representative of the pastoral culture of the island. Others include neokdungbegi, the traditional yutnori (board game) of Jeju, and deumdol-deulgi (stone lifting), a coming of age ceremony of the residents. A forum on how to develop the festival is scheduled as well. In addition, there will be a burning of a pig sheaf to hail the year of the pig according to the Chinese zodiac. Then, the oreum will be set alight, which is the highlight of the festival, to pray for good fortune in the new year.\n\nEven during the 1970s, farming households in Jeju raised a couple of cows to plow the land and carry the harvest from the fields to their homes or village market. In the off-season, farmers in each town took turns to manage the fields for their livestock. They set the pastures alight to get rid of old grass and harmful pests between late winter and early spring, so their livestock could graze fresh quality grass. The fields were set alight all over the hilly areas, and it created a spectacular sight. The Jeju Fire Festival is a modern interpretation of the ancient pastoral traditions of the island.\n\nPhoto : Jeju Fire Festival ⓒ Jeju City