The unbalanced geographical distribution of accredited NGOs was identified as one of the major concerns by the General Assembly, the Committee and the Secretariat when the reflection process on the advisory role of accredited NGOs started at 12.COM in 2017. One of the recent actions to address the challenge is an initiative towards the establishment of aworking group for the ICH NGO Forum dealing with regional imbalance of accredited ICH NGOs. The initiative came from our NGO, the Finnish Folk Music Institute, and was endorsed by the ICH NGO Forum Steering Committee. The working group will start discussions based on the possible measures received via the survey and work with the aim to overcome the ongoing imbalance.

Since its inception in 2006, the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) noted very limited professional heritage expertise in the culture sector. In Uganda, both private and public universities do not offer fully fledged degree courses and therefore those with professional qualifications in heritage were trained outside the country. Over the past 14 years, CCFU has carried out trainings for development partners and designed training manuals on heritage preservation and promotion, but soon realized this was not sufficient. In 2017 CCFU, in consultation with partner universities, applied for assistance from UNESCO’s ICH International Assistance Fund to design a degree course on ICH and Sustainable Development for universities in Uganda. As the coordinating organisation, CCFU ensured that representatives from four universities, the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Uganda National Commission for UNESCO, the Department of Culture and Family Affairs, as well as the National Council for Higher Education formed a Steering Committee and working groups that were responsible for designing the university course syllabus. Emily Drani talks about inter-regional field experiences on curriculum development in Uganda. \n\nMS. EMILY DRANI is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda, an organisation dedicated to promoting the value of ‘culture in development’ approach. She holds a Master of Philosophy in Development Studies with a focus on Endogenous Development.

In 2017, Tajikistan ratified the 2003 Convention. Two years later, the Tajik government passed a decree and project to take place between 2013 and 2020. The goals of this project were to safeguard ICH from disappearing; reviving traditions; helping and supporting performers and masters; endorsing cultural elements accessible for wide use; studying and preparing books, films, and musical discs; and organizing folk festivals, cultural competitions, and other exhibitions. The festivals have several social and cultural functions due to their continuity. Infestivals, a person experiences his/her membership in society and feels the collective solidarity. Festivals also include didactic elements, mainly structuring the young generation in the task of responsibility among other members of the society; they should follow prescribed social and cultural norms. At the same time, festival also function on a psychological level, giving people a sense of national or ethnic identity and building social integration, solidarity, thus creating an atmosphere of friendship.

Ghiasuddin Pir & Meeza Ubaid introduces the activities of THAAP, the only UNESCO accredited NGO under the Convention 2003 from Pakistan, initiated the process of community-based inventorying (CBI) of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) among the Kalasha community. THAAP, in collaboration with UNESCO, funded by the Embassy of Switzerland, has worked towards inclusive documentation processes of forty-five intangible cultural heritage from the five listed ICH domains. Furthermore, THAAP endeavored at cultural education activities in Kalasha.

UNESCO organized, in collaboration with ICHCAP an intersectoral online expert meeting on ‘Education-related indicators in the Overall results framework (ORF) for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and their relationship with SDG 4. This online meeting held in three sessions in December 2020, generated important knowledge on the interface between living heritage and education, identified examples to illustrate the relationship, and provided advice for future monitoring and reporting in these related fields.\nThe public webinar aims to raise awareness for the benefits and challenges of monitoring living heritage in education by sharing the results of the above-mentioned intersectoral expert meeting. It will include a brief presentation on the education-related indicators of the ORF and how they can inform the monitoring system of SDG 4. Speakers will be invited to share their experiences and discuss the benefits of this intersectoral monitoring to inspire relevant stakeholders from the education and culture fields to undertake their own initiatives in this innovative intersectoral field. \n\nThe children's Museum in Cairo: Educational activities and partnerships with schools to strengthen the safeguarding or intangible cultural heritage by Ms. Fatma Mostafa, museum specialist (Egypt)

UNESCO organized, in collaboration with ICHCAP an intersectoral online expert meeting on ‘Education-related indicators in the Overall results framework (ORF) for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and their relationship with SDG 4. This online meeting held in three sessions in December 2020, generated important knowledge on the interface between living heritage and education, identified examples to illustrate the relationship, and provided advice for future monitoring and reporting in these related fields.\nThe public webinar aims to raise awareness for the benefits and challenges of monitoring living heritage in education by sharing the results of the above-mentioned intersectoral expert meeting. It will include a brief presentation on the education-related indicators of the ORF and how they can inform the monitoring system of SDG 4. Speakers will be invited to share their experiences and discuss the benefits of this intersectoral monitoring to inspire relevant stakeholders from the education and culture fields to undertake their own initiatives in this innovative intersectoral field. \n\nThe Socio-festive and productive calendar: A pedagogical device for inter-cultural bilingual education by Mr. Luis Enrique Lopez, senior education specialist (Peru)

UNESCO organized, in collaboration with ICHCAP an intersectoral online expert meeting on ‘Education-related indicators in the Overall results framework (ORF) for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and their relationship with SDG 4. This online meeting held in three sessions in December 2020, generated important knowledge on the interface between living heritage and education, identified examples to illustrate the relationship, and provided advice for future monitoring and reporting in these related fields.\nSession 3: Panel on Living Heritage in Education: Benefits of (Intersectoral) Monitoring by Ms. Lynette Schultz, senior specialist in Global Citizenship Education (Canada)

UNESCO organized, in collaboration with ICHCAP an intersectoral online expert meeting on ‘Education-related indicators in the Overall results framework (ORF) for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and their relationship with SDG 4. This online meeting held in three sessions in December 2020, generated important knowledge on the interface between living heritage and education, identified examples to illustrate the relationship, and provided advice for future monitoring and reporting in these related fields.\nThe public webinar aims to raise awareness for the benefits and challenges of monitoring living heritage in education by sharing the results of the above-mentioned intersectoral expert meeting. It will include a brief presentation on the education-related indicators of the ORF and how they can inform the monitoring system of SDG 4. Speakers will be invited to share their experiences and discuss the benefits of this intersectoral monitoring to inspire relevant stakeholders from the education and culture fields to undertake their own initiatives in this innovative intersectoral field. "he intersectoral expert meeting that was held in three sessions in December 2020 was a platform for international experts in the field of culture and education from across the world to deepen the understanding of the education-related indicators and demonstrate more clearly the linkages this has with the reporting on the progress towards quality education for sustainable development and peace. It generated important knowledge on the interface between living heritage and education, identified examples to illustrate this relationship and provided advice for future monitoring and reporting in these related fields. The webinar welcomes all governmental and non-governmental stakeholders interested in culture and education to join this debate on monitoring living heritage in education.

UNESCO organized, in collaboration with ICHCAP an intersectoral online expert meeting on ‘Education-related indicators in the Overall results framework (ORF) for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and their relationship with SDG 4. This online meeting held in three sessions in December 2020, generated important knowledge on the interface between living heritage and education, identified examples to illustrate the relationship, and provided advice for future monitoring and reporting in these related fields.\nThe public webinar aims to raise awareness for the benefits and challenges of monitoring living heritage in education by sharing the results of the above-mentioned intersectoral expert meeting. It will include a brief presentation on the education-related indicators of the ORF and how they can inform the monitoring system of SDG 4. Speakers will be invited to share their experiences and discuss the benefits of this intersectoral monitoring to inspire relevant stakeholders from the education and culture fields to undertake their own initiatives in this innovative intersectoral field. \n

Marc Jacobs, PhD, is Professor in Heritage Studies at the University of Antwerp, and holder of the UNESCO Chair on Critical Heritage Studies and the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He shares his experience in drafting heritage related courses and curriculum.