If development is an aspiration, then culture is the historical sediment underlying this aspiration. Culture conveys humanity’s intersecting bonds and the kinds of rituals, practices, and representations that make up its ways of life. Development—conceived narrowly as income growth or broadly as ways in which people participate to achieve well-being—is heavily influenced by this sense of bonding and group-ness. Culture is literally the way humanity recognizes itself and reveals its aspirations.

Eau le inailau a tamaitai—this Samoan adage explains the capability of women to achieve their goals in any domain through singularity of purpose and collaborative efforts.

The Cambodian teanh prot (“pulling the rope”), which is generally rendered in English as “tug-of-war,” is one of the most important ritual games played nationwide during certain times of year, especially around the three-day New Year holiday in mid-April. Although the game can be played at any time for entertainment, it is ritually played in the afternoon on the last day of the New Year and/or in the afternoon of chlong chet, a rice-associated ceremony observed shortly after the New Year. The event takes place in an open space of the village or Buddhist monastery.

In Turkmenistan, the national inventory of intangible cultural property comprises five domains: oral expression, beliefs, performing arts, craftsmanship, and traditional knowledge. Epics belong in the division of oral expression. More than ten elements have been identified in this field, including epics such as Gorogly, Shasenem and Garip, Zokhre and Takhir, Khuyrlukga and Khemra, Sayatly Khemra, Asly Kerem, Arzy-Gambar, Khatamnama, Warka-Gulsha, Kasym oglan Melike-Dilaram, Nejep oglan, and Tulum Hoja. The epic Gorogly holds an especially important position among Turkmen epics.

Edward Freeman defined a stakeholder as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organization’s objectives. In business management literature, stakeholders are people or groups who have the power to directly affect an organization’s future. Others stress that it is necessary to consider a very broad range of individuals, groups, communities, and organizations, including the less powerful: the affected that can also affect, when taken into consideration. Thinking in terms of stakeholders and using mapping techniques, grids, and tools to identify relevant stakeholders have become crucial steps in strategic planning in the twenty-first century, not only in business contexts but also in culture management. In contexts of consensus building, the central process of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, it is an important technique not only for bringing together as much potentially relevant information and experience as possible but also for trying to act in an ethical way and cultivate sustainable development.

The Turkmenistan intangible cultural property comprises five domains that are summarised below:\n\n1. Oral expressions - oral folklore\n2. Traditions, customs and people’s beliefs\n3. Traditional performing arts\n4. Traditional craftsmanship\n5. Traditional knowledge\n\nEpics are included in the ‘oral traditions’ section. By now more than 10 elements have been identified in this field, including such epics as Gorogly, Shasenem and Garip, Zokhre and Takhir, Khuyrlukga and Khemra, Sayatly Khemra, Asly Kerem, Arzy-Gambar, hatamnama, Warka-Gulsha, Kasym oglan, Melike-Dilaram, Nejep oglan and Tulum Hoja. Gorogly occupies a special position among the abovementioned range of epics.

Epics form a considerable part of the cultural heritage of the Tajik. The oral epic traditions in the Tajik culture appeared and formed in the most ancient period of its history, originating from the mythology of ancient Iranian peoples.

The Cultural Research Foundation (CRF) was founded in 2002. Led by folklorists and anthropologists, the work of CRF regarding intangible cultural heritage can be categorized as\n\n- Researching and documenting ICH,\n- Sharing and promoting ICH through publications and events, and\n- Creating cultural heritage awareness, especially for pre-school and youth.\n\nCRF, accredited under the UNESCO ICH Convention in 2012, carries out this work under the sections of Culinary Culture, Toy, Crafts and Rituals Research Programs. CRF is also a member of the Izmir ICH Commission.

The term pastellessa represents an extraordinary combination of food, culture, music, and folklore, an expression of the people of Macerata Campania. It’s a term with a very rich history and tradition, relating to the celebration of a religious event: the Feast of Sant’Antuono (St. Anthony the Abbot).

The paper presents the status of Shamanism practice, in terms of state policy, research status and challenges for the Shaman heritage in Bhutan. The paper is based on field research and policy analysis conducted by the National Library and Archive of Bhutan under a ICHCAP project grant. An overview of shamanism in different regions of Bhutan is presented with a region-wise categorization of Shamanism in Bhutan. This is followed by a brief overview of four shamanism practices prevalent in Bhutan, three in the southern region and one in the western region. The preliminary data show that the Shamanistic practices in Bhutan, as in other parts of the world, has been deeply rooted in religion and supernatural power. The paper also presents future plans and initiatives of the National Library and Archives Division for the documentation and preservation of Shaman heritage. In absence of any written state policy regarding the preservation and promotion of Shaman heritage, the study concludes by proposing some recommendations to the government and local stakeholders for the preservation and promotion of the practice.

The Asia-Pacific region can be called a treasure house of ICH because of its diverse heritage and rich cultural environment. However, much of the ICH in the region is facing the possibility of disappearance because the value of ICH isn’t fully understood and there is a shortage of institutional and administrative support. In particular, developing or underdeveloped countries in the region are experiencing difficulties in effectively safeguarding ICH in the context of maintaining sociocultural traditions and promoting sustainable development because globalisation, urbanisation, and modernisation stand as obstacles.Recognising the shortcomings in ICH safeguarding, ICHCAP, a UNESCO Category 2 Centre, has recently been established based on the approval of UNESCO General Conference in 2009 and the agreement between UNESCO and the government of the Republic of Korea. The main roles and functions of the Centre focus on information and networking in the ICH safeguarding field. ICHCAP has contributed to ICH safeguarding and has learned a lot from the activities the Centre has conducted and participated in over the past four years.In this paper, I will introduce the main roles, functions, and collaborative works of ICHCAP in relation to ICH safeguarding in the Asia-Pacific region. I am hoping that the information provided here will also contribute to developing useful methods and cooperative measures in the ICH field among Asia-Pacific Member States and ICHCAP.

"This presentation paints a broad portrait of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in Canada. In the first section, I examine the political and legal situations of a country that has not signed the 2003 UNESCO Convention. My focus rests more specifically on the recent legislative recognition of ICH in the Canadian province of Quebec, which adopted the Cultural Heritage Act on 19 October 2011. I explain the safeguarding mechanisms prescribed in this act and describe how the legislation will be put into practice. In the second section, I examine safeguarding initiatives that support ICH directly and indirectly at the federal and provincial levels. The presentation analyses more specifically the inventories undertaken in Quebec since 2003 and 2004, revealing their benefits and drawbacks. I conclude by demonstrating how international cooperation has strengthened efforts to develop ICH in Canada and abroad. Important aspects of these efforts include the exchange of expertise, political legitimacy conferred by external recognition, and professional networking."