Shrabana Datta is a social anthropologist by training and development professional by practice. Currently working at UN Women on Gender Based Violence Against Women and Girls (GBVG) and Gender Equality, she earlier worked on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, resilience, social inclusion, and sustainable development in South Asia. With her experience in multi-sectoral approaches for sustainable development, she used responsible tourism as a tool to safeguard intangible cultural heritages and social inclusion within her realm of work while working as a consultant for AJIYER Fair Trade Ltd. Besides, she is passionate about bio-cultural conservation in the Himalayas. She studied Social Anthropology and Geography at Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany and has dual M.A. degree on Global Studies from Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany and University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

To provide artisans with the opportunity to realize their creative capacity, and to insure that craft traditions remained genuine cultural heritage, Judy Frater began a design education program for artisans in Kutch. In 2005, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya opened its doors to artisan students: traditional weavers, ajrakh printers, bandhani artists, and embroiderers, with no further prerequisites of age or formal education.\nIn 2014, the year-long program evolved and expanded to Somaiya Kala Vidya. In six two-week intensive residential sessions spread over a year, artisan students learn to innovate within their traditions. nThe most innovative tool that we use in our design classes is simply to present problems to solve. We also draw on local traditions and teach as practically as possible. In effect, the design course re-imagines traditional systems in an appropriate contemporary form. Master artisan advisors teach students about traditions, as children once learned from elders; weavers, printers, and dyers learning together revitalizes the inherent interdependence in traditional textiles; and interface with urban markets reinvents direct contact with hereditary clients.\nAfter design education for artisans in Kutch reached its goals, Somaiya Kala Vidya is scaling out their approach to other regions. Keeping cultural heritage as the foundation, they intend to teach design within regions, drawing on local language and culture.

The Miao's most important celebration takes place after their autumn harvest. Men play lusheng while women dressed in gaily decorated costumes perform a special dance using stools as props. \n\nDuring New Year celebrations, lusheng music can be heard and the stool dance seen everywhere in Miao villages. In fact, at every get-together the Miao people dance. Elderly members of the minority may be too old to swirl around with stools, but they eagerly watch the fun from the sidelines. Smiling kids wearing New Year outfits excitedly sway to the beat.\n\nMiao people usually wear short skirts when they do the stool dance, and there is an interesting story about this tradition. It is said that one day 300 years ago, an old Miao woman was walking home in a long skirt that was stained with excrement. Dressed in the dirty skirt, she stepped up to analtartooffer a sacrifice to the deity. The deity was offended by her garment and punished her by killing her with a lightning bolt. To ensure the future of the clan, Miao people later decided that their women should wear short skirts instead of long ones.\n\nNote : The text above is an excerpt from the article provided by the China Culture (http://en.chinaculture.org/)

The team of students and young dombra artists from various musical colleges and art communities took part in the festive events for the first National Dombra Day celebration in Almaty. The performance was leaded by the famous artists and musicians.\nFirst celebration of the National Dombra Day had been widely spread in the country. A lot of individual artists and dombra professional and folk orchestra conducted the concert performance at Arbat avenue, popular public place in Almaty.\nThe Dombra is a musical two-stringed instrument, which occupies a special place in Kazakhs’ hearts. The National Dombyra Day has been included in the list of national holidays since 2018 by the decree of the President of Kazakhstan. This was done in in order to further consolidate society around the idea of preserving and reviving national culture and identity. The holiday is celebrated annually on the first Sunday of July.\nKazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev established National Dombra Day on June 12th, 2018. It immediately became a favorite holiday for people and was widely celebrated nationwide with music competitions and festivals.\nDombra belongs to the main symbols of the Kazakh musical heritage and culture. This tool invariably unites people of different professions, religions and nationalities in Kazakhstan. You can meet dombra today in almost every home.\nNone of events in the life of the people could happen without this national musical instrument. Respect for dombra is passed down from generation to generation. So it was in the days of nomads and remains to this day. Interest in dombra, as well as its popularity, is not fading away. Today, an increasing number of young people masterfully own this instrument.

The name Zhana Ngacham comes from the zhana (black hats) worn by the dancers and the use of the ngachung (small drum) during the Cham performance. It is another form of Zhana Cham (black hat dance). Usually, the dance is performed mainly by monks in dzongs (fortresses), monasteries and temples during Tshechu (annual mask dance festival) and also during Drubchen (large ritual ceremonies). However, sometimes the dancers are replaced by lay people if there are no monastic facilities in the community. The dance falls under the category of Tsun cham (monastic mask dance performances). \n\nThe dancers wear a long brocade robe called phoegho with long and wide sleeve ends, a dorji gong (a crossed vajra collar) over the shoulder, and two phoe-cho or phoe-tog, a horn-like tool attached to either side of the hips that helps the robe turn smoothly and elegantly as the dancers twirl. The distinctive feature of the Black Hat dance is the black, spherical hat with decorations in the shape of a human skull and peacock quill, and Thro-pang, an angry face wrapped around the front of the abdomen. \n\nZhana Ngacham is usually performed by 21 dancers under the direction of Cham-pon (dance leader) and Cham-jug (deputy leader). In the seventeenth century, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) is revered for giving more importance to the performance of such dances and including them in the curricula of the central monastery under the title Gar-thig-yang-sum (mask dances, proportions mandala drawing and ritual intonation) to establish them in the field of cultural heritage in Bhutan.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is transnational in nature. It is necessary to spread the perception that ICH transcends geographical spaces and national borders, creating dynamic relations, connectedness, and continuity, which is why it is a timeless bearer of cultural diversity, the foundation of the heritage of humanity. However, as the modern structure of nation-state determines the boundaries of culture with national borders, forming the concept of “culture within the country”, subsequently led to the perception that the ownership of culture belongs to the state.\n\nThe concept of exclusive ownership of culture is often controversial in the UNESCO listing process, particularly in instances where cultural heritage and cultural domains have been shared for a long time by two or more nation-states. Such conflicts lead to excessive competition for nomination, overshadowing UNESCO’s fundamental purpose of contributing to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations, as well as the very spirit of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that promotes international cooperation and assistance in the safeguarding of ICH as a matter of general interest to humanity.\n\nConsequently, UNESCO encourages multinational inscriptions of shared intangible cultural heritage to promote regional cooperation and international safeguarding activities, preventing conflicts among countries and coping with already existing ones. By emphasizing joint nominations of shared ICH, UNESCO revised its implementation guidelines three times to deal with conflicts between countries due to the cultural property rights. In addition, States Parties are encouraged to develop networks among relevant communities, experts, professional centres, and research institutes, particularly with regard to their ICH, to cooperate at the sub-regional and regional levels.\n\nAt the 13th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in the Republic of Mauritius in November 2018, Traditional Korean Wrestling was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as the first joint designation by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea. This milestone in the life of the Convention demonstrates that ICH contributes to the peace-building, reconciliation, mutual understanding, and solidarity among peoples. Indeed, only when acknowledging that shared cultural values are empowering characteristics of ICH, the true perspective of the unifying agent of the cultural diversity can be achieved, and that it is the cornerstone of reaching peace among nations.\n\nCountries in the Asia Pacific region are deeply connected by a long history of interactions, exchanges, flows of people, goods, and ideas that have shaped shared values, practices, and traditions. Having a balanced view, advocating for cultural diversity, and recognizing the commonalities among individuals, communities, and countries as a strength are virtuous tenets in the present time.\n\nIn this regard, APHEN-ICH Secretariat, ICHCAP, and UNESCO Bangkok Office are inviting the APHEN-ICH member institutes and public to this seminar under the theme of Diversity and Distinctiveness: Looking into the Shared ICH in the Asia-Pacific, to re-assess that while fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity, connecting bounds, and enhancing international dialogue and peace.

On 12 and 13 November 2020, ICHCAP and the ICH NGO Forum virtually held the 2020 ICH NGO Conference entitled “ICH and Resilience in Crisis.” The fifteen participants, including eleven selected presenters from ten countries around the world, discussed various cases and activities of each country applied under the Corona-era, and proposed solidarity for the resilience of ICH for a ‘New Normal.’\n\nSession 1: In the Vortex: COVID-19 Era, Roles of NGOs to Safeguard ICH\n\nSpecial Lecture 1: 'Resilience System Analysis' by Roberto Martinez Yllescas, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Mexico\n1. 'Uncovering the veil of immaterial cultural heritage towards and autonomous management of well-being as well as cultural and territorial preservation' by Carolina Bermúdez, Fundación Etnollano\n2. 'Holistic Development Model of Community-Based Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yuen Long District in Hong Kong of China' by Kai-kwong Choi, Life Encouraging Fund \n3. 'Indigenous Knowledge System as a vector in combating COVID-19' by Allington Ndlovu, Amagugu International Heritage Centre\n4. 'Enlivening Dyeing Tradition and ICH: The initiative of ARHI in North East of India' by Dibya Jyoti Borah, President, ARHI\n\nSession 2: Homo Ludens vs. Home Ludens: Changed Features COVID-19 Brought\n\n1. 'The Popular Reaction to COVID-19 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage among Member Cities of the ICCN' by Julio Nacher, ICCN Secretariat, Algemesi, Spain\n2. 'Innovation for Arts and Cultural Education Amid a Pandemic' by Jeff M. Poulin, Creative Generation\n3. 'Promoting Heritage Education through Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Kalasha Valleys of Pakistan' by Ghiasuddin Pir & Meeza Ubaid, THAAP\n4. 'Shifting to Online Activities: Digital Divide among the NGOs and ICH Communities in Korea' by Hanhee Hahm CICS\n\nSession 3: Consilience: Prototype vs. Archetype for Educational Source\n\nSpecial Lecture 2: 'Geographical imbalance: the challenge of getting a more balanced representation of accredited non-governmental organizations under the 2003 Convention' by Matti Hakamäki, Finnish Folk Music Institute\n1. 'Crafting a Post Covid-19 World: Building Greater Resilience in the Crafts Sector through Strengthening Ties with its Community’s Cultural System' by Joseph Lo, World Crafts Council International\n2. 'Arts and Influence: Untangling Corporate Engagement in the Cultural Sector' by Nicholas Pozek, Asian Legal Programs, Columbia University\n3. 'ICH in the South-Western Alps: Empowering Communities through Youth Education on Nature and Cultural Practices' by Alessio Re & Giulia Avanza, Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture\n\n

Same (Sung Liturgical Chorus\nMethodist evangelists, the first Westerners to influence the Fijian society, realized the overwhelming challenge of introducing Christianity to such a complex society. One of the tools they utilized for the Christian liturgy was the meke, or traditional dance. Meke was used as a preaching tool in introducing Christianity. Its text spoke directly to Fijians in their oral traditions. Same, a transliterated name, is not a psalm (as in the Bible) but an indigenous liturgy with Christian text composed in the form of Fijian poetry fitted to the music of the meke. The origin of the same is not clear. However, given the fact that the early missionary activities were concentrated in Eastern Fiji, it can be safely assumed that the Christians started to use same for their services in this region. The sound, vocal parts, and lyrics of the same are entirely iTaukei; however, its only difference with a meke is that the same is religiously (Christian) focused.\n----------------------------------\nSere Ni Lotu (Christian Hymnody)\nOne definition of a hymn is a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung to express a worshipper’s attitude toward God or God’s purposes in human life. It is simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, and spiritual in quality and in its ideas. Fijian sere ni lotu are direct transplants of English Methodist hymnodies, where the Fijian text mirrors the form and style of its English counterpart. The style of the sere ni lotu follows the Western major and minor scale, especially in the polyphony and voice categorizations of sopranos, contraltos, tenors, and basses.\n\nHistorically, sere ni lotu is a turnaround from the traditional styles and melodic forms of the meke and same becoming popular and entrenched as Christianity gained a stronger hold in iTaukei Fijian society.\n- Black, H. Sere dina ni Lotu Wesele e Viti - True Songs. Canberra: Australian National University, 2010. -

This publication of the guide book on intangible cultural heritage of the Philippines is the precious result of the enthusiastic efforts made by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) to reconfirm and restore the national treasure of the long protected traditional culture, which have been alienated and marginalized during the colonial period of many centuries. This guide book has been edited to understand holistically the entire aspects of living heritage, the five domains defined by the Convention, and emphasize the importance of the communities practicing and transmitting them.

Based on the ICHCAP Field Survey on Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Efforts in some East and Central Asian countries from 2009 to 2012, this summary provides a brief overview on the ICH situation in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan . The summary focuses mainly on ICH safeguarding systems, safeguarding policies, and ICH inventories as well as on pending issues and the urgent safeguarding needs of these countries. Moreover, information on the main entities in charge of ICH safeguarding and opinions of each country on the issue of community involvement are provided. To give a quick overview these countries’ participation in ICH safeguarding at the international level, some additional information related to UNESCO is specified as well. This survey report offers a large sample of the diverse ICH situations in East Asian and Central Asian countries. Although each country has a different background on issue of intangible heritage, depending on its cultural, economic, and socio-political situation, the countries participating in the survey share a commonality: They are post-communist countries that were once under the Soviet system. Moreover, they share a traditional culture shaped by nomadic pastoralism that offers a variety of cultural similarities. For instance, they keep an ancient and rich tradition of epic singing, and they are highly concerned about this oral heritage as it is on the brink of disappearance. In this sense, they have much to exchange and share in regards to safeguarding ICH. The countries participating in the survey are concerned with the threats against their ICH, but most of these nations are in the early process of defining ICH and establishing independent national ICH lists. At the same time, each country expresses a high degree of motivation and encouragement for safeguarding ICH, sharing experiences, and participating in international cooperation programmes. Apart from the main subject, a brief glimpse is taken on the situation of intellectual property in ICH safeguarding in each country. Compared to the Southwest Asian countries that participated in the field survey, the East Asian and Central Asian countries provided little information on intellectual property issues, so it is recommended that ICHCAP undertake the Field Survey on Intellectual Property Issues in the Process of ICH Information Building and Information Sharing in some countries to see their status on this subject.\n\n- Ratified the ICH Convention in 2008; survey conducted in 2009 and updated in 2014.\n- As of March 2018, has 6 ICH elements on the RL, 1 element as GSP, and no accredited NGOs.