Sici (common name: univalves; scientific name: trochus nilotucus)\u000b \n\nSigns/indicators of Sici - It is harder to pull as they are firmly stuck to the rocks.\u000b\n\nThis is classified as a waitui or sea categories when sici or univalves is very hard to pull as they are firmly stuck to the rocks. Some of the reasons why warnings are ineffective or people do not respond in a timely way are economic factors, lack of understanding, experience that official warnings are not always reliable, inconsistencies in the warnings, and warnings coming from a single source only. Cyclones in particular are unpredictable in their behavior, and so official warnings are often considered unreliable. People need to trust in the warnings and in the need to act upon those warnings. \n\nAncient early warning systems used by ancestors to predict an incoming natural disaster have been an integral part of saving lives long before the introduction of technology.\n

Uto (common name: breadfruit; scientific name: artocarpus altilis)\u000b\u000b\n\nsignificance/indicators of uto: Bears more than three fruits in a branch.\n\nIn a breadfruit tree which often bears more that three fruits in a branch which also been found to significantly enhance the ability to understand and interpret warning information. The usage of traditional knowledge leads to practical strategies that are accepted by local cultures and are therefore more likely to be sustained. The incorporation of traditional knowledge into warning systems has been recommended to increase perceptions of reliability and hopefully thus increasing responses.\n

Beka or Bats has disappear mysteriously which also indicates warning to disaster preparedness. It is a continuous and integrated process resulting from a wide range of activities and resources rather than from a distinct sectoral activity by itself. Hence, it is necessary to incorporate Traditional Knowledge on early warning system into the current system in place. \n

유네스코아태무형유산센터 창립 10주년 기념 홍보영상(2021)

Juliette Hopkins introduces results of a survey that launched to share living heritage experience. It was an online survey how their living heritage has been affected by the pandemic, what role their living heritage has been playing and what safeguarding initiatives have been put in place. Its aim was to create accessible platform to share information, exchange experiences, learn from each other and also to draw inspiration.\n\nJULIETTE HOPKINS is an Associate Programme Specialist in the Secretariat for UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. She currently works in the Capacity Building and Heritage Policy Unit, where she is the focal point for issues relating to intangible cultural heritage and emergencies. Before joining UNESCO in 2016, she worked as an anthropologist with indigenous communities in Australia on heritage management and community development projects. She also has professional experience as a journalist in Cambodia and France. Her academic background is in social and medical anthropology with degrees from The University of Sydney and University of Oxford.

The tug-of-war is widely spread throughout the world, especially in agricultural communities. The Gijisi Tug-of-War Festival is highly regarded. Held on the second weekend in April, it has a five-hundred-year history. The event, which is based on agriculture, fishery, and merchant traditions, is held to wish for prosperity and good luck for the coming year. The tug-of-war represents the agricultural, rural, and social characteristics of the region. The rope used for the event is two hundred meters long and one meter thick, so it is truly a community event. Similar tug-of-war games are also held in other nations. After creating a museum for Gijisi tug-of-war, members discovered that it could be a symbol of the region, so the local government invested into the museum. After building the museum, we wanted to expand our knowledge of tug-of-war events in other countries. In the past, there wasn’t much communication among the different communities celebrating tug-of-war festivities. However, after building the museum, we had the opportunity to invite other countries as a sort of network that allows research into other types of tug-of-war in the Asia-Pacific region. As Gijisi tug-of-war is well known, we thought that having a festival to display other cultures’ traditional tug-of-war through a networked festival. \n\nTug-of-war (juldarigi in Korean) is an intangible heritage that is commonly found in various regions across the world. In particular, it is a popular activity that takes place with the aim to foster harmony and solidarity among communities in rice-farming regions across Korea, Japan,and various Southeast Asian countries.

While we seem to have been prepared for a critical pedagogy for ICH including both the challenges and opportunities ICH education may pose for teaching learning, it seems we actually took for granted so many of our assumptions as well. Neel Kamal Chapagain draws some implications for our future pedagogy in terms of making it flexible through this presentation. \n\nNEEL KAMAL CHAPAGAIN is the Director of Centre for Heritage Management, Ahmedabad University – a centre dedicated for advancing critical but holistic education on heritage management in the Asia-Pacific region. An architect by training, a native of Nepal, Professor Chapagain is interested in deeper issues of education and engaged in exploring contextual learning at all levels of education.

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

Webinar: “Life, Environment, and ICH along the Silk Roads”\n\n<Day 1>\n\n1. 'The Need to Shift from Global to Local' by Helena Norberg-Hodge\n2. 'On Cooperative Mechanism for the Silk Roads ICH toward Sustainable Development' by Seong-Yong Park\n3. 'Vitality and Sustainability of the Silk Roads ICH Festivals' by Alisher Ikramov\n4. 'The Water-Performance Installation Project—Art Practice for the Coexistence of Humanity and Nature in the Silk Roads Region' by Dong-jo Yoo\n\nㅇ Panel Discussion\n\nSession1 : Online Strategic Meeting on Silk Roads ICH Networking\n: Case Studies on the Vitalization of the Silk Roads ICH: ICH Festivals & Sustainable Development\n\n1. 'Case of Tajikistan : Role of Festivals for ICH Safeguarding Within Local Communities' by Dilshod Rahimi\n2. 'Case of Kyrgyzstan: Influences and Effects of ICH Festivals on Local Communities' by Sabira Soltongeldieva\n3. 'Case of Kazakhstan: ICH Festivals’ Influence and Effects on Local Communities' by Khanzada Yessenova\n4. 'Andong International Mask Dance Festival: Realization of Folkloric Values and Transmission of ICH' by Ju Ho Kim\n5. 'Case of Turukmenistan : Future of ICH Safeguarding' by Shohrat Jumayev\n\n<Day 2>\n\nSession2: Cooperation and Solidarity for Operating the ICH Network along the Silk Roads\n\n1. 'On the Feasibility of the Silk Roads ICH Network' by Sangcheol Kim\n2. 'Operational Issues of the Network' by Alim Feyzulayev\n3. 'Cultural Context of a CIOFF Festival' by Philippe Beaussant\n4. 'ICH Festivals in Specific Goal and Task' by Kaloyan Nikolov\n5. 'Identifying Ways to Develop Intangible Heritage Festivals through Community Networks (Focusing on the Case of the Gijisi Tug-of-War Festival)' by Daeyoung Ko\n\nㅇ Panel Discussion\n\nSession3: Collaborative Work and Benefits through Activities of the Silk Roads ICH Network\n\n1. 'Scope and Definition of Collaborative Work through Activities of the Silk Roads ICH Network' by Kwon Huh\n2. 'Cooperative Measures for Festivals in the Silk Road Region' by Jahangir Selimkhanov\n3. 'ichLinks: Information-Sharing Platform as a Key Base for Safeguarding and Use of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific' by Sangmook Park\n4. 'Case Study: Silk Roads Heritage Corridor - Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Iran' by Krista Pikkat\n5. 'UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform' by Mehrdad Shabahang\n\nㅇ Panel Discussion

I remember the dancers of Asia, who flew in from far and wide each year without hesitation. Meeting these dancers, united in their passion for keeping the beauty of traditional dances alive against the impending threat of rapid urbanization and globalization, was a deeply moving and happy experience for me. Their joy, talent, earnestness and pure intent were what made "One Asia in Dance" possible.\n\nDance is a living and breathing art form. In performance, it goes beyond the preservation of the fixed original form, to connect the past, present and future, evolving and developing. 'One Asia in Dance' showed not only the transmission of traditions but also the continuing reinvention of traditions to reflect contemporary sentiments in the traditional dances of Asia. I sincerely hope that a wider audience will find an opportunity to rediscover the value of cultural heritage in the Asia Pacific through the window of dance.\n\n*This collection is donated by the Asia Dance Culture Institute in Korea

Youth Meets ICH is video clips on ICH produced by six Asia-Pacific institutions with youth participation.

The song was composed by a group called Kabu ni Delai Drekei River from Nabavatu village, Dreketi district in Macuata province. The music was recorded by the South Pacific Commission (SPC) in collaboration with the Fiji Museum on May 16, 1974.

This was performed by the late Professor Asesela Ravuvu from the University of the South Pacific. Prof. Ravuvu talks about indigenous iTaukei spirituality and its inherent values and contrasts it with Christianity, which was seen as a recent introduction at that time. Both ideologies serve as pillars in their value systems and culture.

Serenicumu literally means “bumping songs,” a genre of popular music that is widespread throughout Fiji today and is performed in villages as well as at local resorts and hotels. These songs are covers of or are influenced by styles from Europe and America as well as from other Pacific islands or the Caribbean (particularly reggae). They are often performed at informal yaqona drinking sessions and are also associated with informal dance types broadly termed tauratale or danisi (taken from the English word ”dance”).\n\nThe exact origin of the genre is obscure. Serenicumu is said to be associated with the first legally allowed sales of beer to Indigenous Fijians in the 1920s in Suva, and it is suggested that this genre originated from parties where men bumped their drinking glasses together. Another source further adds that this music was originally called sere ni cumu saqa (saqa meaning “barrel” or “tankard”) and that it referred to the practice of Fijian men sitting in a circle at a table and resting their heads against their tankards of beer. Many serenicumu songs still performed today date from World War II―an intense period of creativity for this genre―when soldiers from the US, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Australia interacted extensively with Fijians.\n\nCurrently, musicians distinguish two main styles of serenicumu: trio and sere bass (also called sere makawa or “old songs,” even though they may be fifteen or more years old). Sere bass performance features a large group of bass vocalists (bass/besi) in addition to three solo voice parts: tatabani/tatabana, domo tolu/vakababa, and laga/lagalaga in descending order in terms of their vocal range. Only the three solo parts are heard in trio. The types and roles of the instruments, their tuning, and their playing techniques have also changed over time. The technique of vadivadi (plucking), which characterized sere bass guitar performance in the past, has been replaced by various “scrumming” (strumming) for the rhythm guitar and a range of left- and right-handed techniques for the lead guitarist. The only chords used in sere bass were dua(tonic), rua (subdominant), and tolu (dominant), whereas trio also featured warning (seventh), minus (minor), and flat (supertonic) chords.\n\nAnyone can participate in sere bass performance, which makes it ideal for use at large social gatherings. Trio performers are expected to perform to a high standard and are usually heard at small social functions such as yaqona drinking sessions.\nThe tempo tends to be slower and the overall pitch lower in sere bass when compared to trio. Sere bass, being closer stylistically to meke, tends to be preferred by older people (those in their mid-40s and above) and provides them with a means to connect with and celebrate their cultural roots. Trio, which tends to be popular with those in their 20s and 30s, exhibits a greater degree of Westernization than sere bass, but it is still regarded as being part of the serenicumu oral tradition that has been passed down through the generations and that continues to change as new songs are continually added to the repertoire and old ones fall into disuse.

Katta Ashula (a song performed with a plate) is specific to the Ferghana Valley of Uzbekistan. Usually, it is performed a cappella by two to five singers of the same vocal range who use a plate or tray to project their voices in different ways. In most cases, Katta Ashula is performed by singers with a high-pitched, wide-ranging voice, and these are some of the distinguishing features of the complex performance style. Katta Ashula developed from basic traditional events in history, from labour songs, and from different styles of ghazal verses. Usually, Katta Ashula is performed in big gatherings, festivities, and party celebrations.\n\nKatta Ashula songs were performed professionally and further developed by famous Khofizes such as Erkaqori Karimov, Turdiali Ergashev, Matbuva Sattorov, Jo'rakhon Sultonov, Mamurjon Uzoqov, Boltaboy Rajabov, Orif Alimakhsumov, Fattohkhon Mamadaliev, Jo' rakhon Yusupov, and Khamroqulqory To'raqulov. Today, Katta Ashula is masterfully performed by experienced singers with the highest skill, such as Khalima Nosirova, Munojot Yo'lchieva, Ismoil and Isroil Vakhobovs, and Mahmud Tojiboev.

Lapar performing arts, as an ancient folklore genre of people’s creation, has a rich history. Lapar songs are performed by famous artists during holidays, public festivities, and wedding parties as well as in a bride’s house in the evening during ‘Girls’ Evening’, ‘Girls’ Party’, and ‘Lapar Night’. Girls and boys perform Lapar songs composed of four-lined ghazals in two groups. Through Lapar songs, girls and boys express their love for each other, make decisions, and take oaths. They sing their heart’s grief with a certain melody but without any music. If both the girl and the boy who are singing Lapar fall in love with each other, they present gifts to one another. If the boys present flowers to girls, the girls present a kerchief, belt-kerchief, handkerchief, perfume, or some other gift.\n\nLapar songs are mainly composed of four-lined verses and are performed in the form of a dialogue between two parties. If they resemble o'lan songs from these features, they are distinguished by the ideas, literary references, descriptive objects, and the lifestyle that are sung in the lyrics- the level of thought is more highly developed by images. \n\nLapar songs were performed and became increasingly better known through the work of famous Lapar singers, such as Lutfikhonim Sarimsoqova, Tamarakhonim, Lizakhonim Petrosova, Gavkhar Rakhimova, Oykhon Yoqubova, Guishan Otaboyeva, To'khtakhon Nazarova, Qunduzkhon Egamberdiyeva, and others. To pay more attention to Lapar and o'lan songs, to collect them, to support the performers, and to publicise their creative work to the broader community, the Traditional Republican Festival of Lapar and O'lan performers is regularly conducted by the Republican Scientific and Methodological Center of Folk Art under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan.\n\n\n\n

O`lan is a genre of people's oral creation. Mainly, it is performed by women with or without doira accompaniment. At Uzbek parties and celebrations, the O`lan is sung by a girls' team on one side and a boys' team on the other side, or it is sung by two people who take opposing sides so they can perform as though they are having a dialogue.\n\nYor-yor is a folk song performed at a wedding celebration when the bride is seen off. In ancient times, it was widespread among Uzbek, Tajik, Uygur, and Turkmen people. Yor-yor consists of two or four lines; at the end or in the middle of each line are the words 'yor-yor, aylanaman' (my beloved one, I am enchanted). Usually, yor-yor is accompanied by doira music performed by women. The high effect of yor-yor is that it simultaneously harmonises sadness with a merry melody, tone, and the mood of holiday joys. In yor-yor songs, the bride's features, wishes, cherished dreams, and congratulations to her are praised. \n\nThe Republican Scientific and Methodological Center of Folk Art under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in cooperation with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO, organised an expedition to Ferghana Valley to research and classify intangible cultural heritage samples as well as to inventory and define the bearers of this heritage. The expedition team recorded samples of O'lan songs from ICH bearers and transmitters of intangible cultural heritage, including Xayrullo Mirzayev, Hanifa Mirzayeva, Inoyat Rafiqova, Makhbuba Yo'ldosheva, Baxtiyor Turg'unov, Zebikhon Abdunazarova, Ko'paysin Oqboyeva, and Qo'zikhon Siddiqova.

Audio and Video Materials Collected from the Onsite Survey in the Ferghana Valley_2012 Uzbekistan-ICHCAP Joint Cooperation Project of Producing Digital Contents on ICH\n\nThe glorious intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of Ferghana Valley encompassing the state of Ferghana, Andijion, and Namangan in Uzbekistan includes oral traditional, performing arts, traditional rites and festive events, and traditional crafts. However, this heritage is largely unknown to the public in the nation and abroad, and it is fading out even more rapidly due to the young generation’s lack of interest.\n\nSince 2011, the four Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, have been implementing a three-year project, Facilitating ICH Inventory-Making by Using Online Tools for ICH Safeguarding in the Central Asian Region as a Central Asia–ICHCAP cooperative project. In the framework of the project, the countries have collected ICH information and tried to build an online system for managing the collected information.\n\nIn Uzbekistan, the Republican Scientific and Methodological Centre of Folk Art, under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO, implemented the three-year project. They collected information on ICH elements in the Ferghana Valley (Andijan, Namangan, and Ferghana regions), Zarafshan Oasis and Southern Uzbekistan (Jizzakh, Samarkand, Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya regions), and the Republic of Karakalpakstan (Navoi, Bukhara, and Khoresm regions) through onsite surveys from 2012 to 2014.\n\nIn 2012 when the first onsite survey was concluded, Uzbekistan and ICHCAP selected representative materials among collected videos, audios, and photos on ICH elements and ICH bearers, and compiled the materials as a ten-CD/DVD collection. Also, booklets in English, Uzbek, and Korean were made to spread related information to a wider audience.\n\nFerghana Valley is also home to Tajikistan, Uighers, and Turkistan. In the other words, different traditions co-exist in the same place. ‘Katta Ashula’, which integrates arts, songs, music, and epics, is one Uzbek cultural heritage representing the identities of the diverse people live in the valley\n\nThe collection could preserve the disappeared and disconnected ICH and encourage increased mutual understanding and communication by spreading the information widely from the experts to the people.

Sounds that Run in the Vast Grasslands of Mongolia_Oral Traditions and Performing Arts in Mongolia\n\nSince the early 1950s, the Institute of Language and Literature at the Academy of Science (ILL) has been sending survey teams one to three times a year to research and gather data on oral literature and local dialectics. These activities set the groundwork for officially establishing a new archive with written documents and magnetic audio tapes that could be used for research purposes and be maintained. Preserved on magnetic tapes are languages and dialects that have gone extinct, have lost their distinctiveness, or have been adsorbed into other languages or dialects.\n\nHowever, most of the magnetic tapes being kept at the ILL are more than sixty years old, and the expiration date on many tapes has already lapsed. Also, improper storage conditions have caused some tapes to dry out, cling to one another, or fracture. For these reason, it would be hard to transmit to the next generation. Accordingly, since 2008, efforts have been made towards restoring and digitizing superannuated magnetic tapes within the internal capability and capacity of the ILL. The lack of training, finance, and proper tools and technical equipment has, nevertheless, created several obstacles and the digitizing results have not been very successful.\n\nAt this crucial state, the ILL introduced a cooperative request to the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage (FPNCH), and the FPNCH proposed that ICHCAP continue the joint project and take measures for restoring and digitizing superannuated magnetic tapes and distributing and disseminating the data among the general public. According to the above decision, the FPNCH and ICHCAP implemented the Joint Cooperation Project of Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage by Using Information Technology from October 2011 to April 2012.\n\nAs the first stage of the project, the Expert Meeting for Safeguarding ICH by Using Information Technology was held in the Republic of Korea to exchange information with experts for digitizing and restoring the analogue data. The experts of Mongolian National Public Radio, the ILL, and the FPNCH started the project after sharing restoration and digitization knowledge with the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) of Korea, the National Archives of Korea, and the Korea Film Council.\n\nAs the main outcome of the project, a total of 715 hours of superannuated magnetic tapes including epics, folk tales, tales accompanied by the morin khuur, traditional arts, khuumei, chor, long and short folksongs, and traditional customs were restored, digitized, and categorized. Among them, 128 audio clips were selected and reproduced in a ten-CD collection called Sounds from the Mongolian Grasslands. The collection also includes a twenty-page handbook in English or Korean. Through this project, the general public’s, involved organizations’, and domestic and international experts’ awareness about Mongolian ICH increased, and the archive and music contents of regional ICH were strengthened.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

Yapese Intangible Cultural Heritage: History, Legends, Myths, and Performing Arts of the Federated States of Micronesia home\n(2017 Federated States of Micronesia-ICHCAP Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials)\n\nThe Yap State Historic Preservation Office (YSHPO) is a national research institute established to record and preserve the history and cultural heritage of Yap State, one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). FSM has great cultural diversity, as the country consists of Pacific island groupings located between Palau and the Marshall Islands. Even in the same state, cultural differences can be found among residents of major, small and reef islands. Yap State, in particular, is known for its well-maintained traditions and practices. For instance, the Yapese still use stone money, the largest physical currency in the world. YSHPO has recorded and safeguarded various cultures and history in the Yap island.\n\nIn 2017, ICHCAP carried out the Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Materials in cooperation with YSHPO, which resulted in the digitization of five hundred hours of analogue materials. Based on this, ICHCAP has published an audiovisual collection, titled “Yapese Intangible Cultural Heritage: History, Legends, Myths, and Performing Arts of the Federated States of Micronesia”, which contains selected digitized materials that well represent FSM’s traditions. YSHPO not just contributed to the digitization of analogue materials, but also supported the production of the collection to help more people discover the precious materials.\n\nThe FSM collection consists of eight CDs and two DVDs. The collection lists twenty tracks of ICH-related stories, legends, and myths of everyday life of the Yapese that were recorded in the 1960s. The collection also features a video on major dances performed during Yap Day, an annual holiday celebrated since 2007. Each CD contains photos about live performances to provide a better understanding.\n\nThe digitization project is meaningful in that it has restored analogue materials in FSM, which were at risk of severe damage, to enhance academic values and raise public awareness of the materials. ICHCAP will continue its efforts to identify valuable materials in the Asia-Pacific region and provide a better access to ICH information through related projects.

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.

ICHCAP published the book Living Heritage Series – Traditional Martial Arts in collaboration with UNESCO International Centre of Martial Arts (ICM). The Living Heritage Series is a serial publication on regional/national transmission and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage elements. It focuses on a different topic each time, discussing the relevant intangible cultural heritage of various regions to raise the visibility of cultural diversity emphasized by the UNESCO.\n\nLiving Heritage Series-Traditional Martial Arts showcases creative and historical traditional Martial Arts from around the world through contributions from 19 writers in various countries.

Together with the UNESCO National Commissions in the Central Asia, the Seventh Central Asi Sub-regional Meeting on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held between 16 and 18 May at Dushanbe, Tajikistan.\n\nThe report includes papers of the thematic symposium on Sacred Cultural Spaces, Safeguarding ICH and Enhancing Identity and country reports.

The word “jewelry” brings to mind something shiny or glamourous that makes people more beautiful. Jewelry can take the form of a pretty-looking hairband in a high-street shop, rings that a couple exchange as a symbol of their promise to each other, or an item that helps people stand out in smart clothes. \n\nBeyond aesthetic functions, jewelry can also have shamanistic meanings, such as the seashell masks of ancient times. This section introduces various meanings through ornaments from the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, India, and Fiji.