“ICH and Gender” introduces the mutual relationship between gender norms and ICH and emphasizes that understanding the intimacy between ICH and gender is important for effective ICH safeguarding and gender equality.\n\n

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.

This book contains ten good practices from five Asia-Pacific countries (Nepal, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, India, and Kyrgyzstan) selected through an international contest in 2022. Through this publication, the authors highlight the status of traditional crafts in their respective countries and showcase how traditional crafts contribute to sustainable development within communities, focusing on policies, programs, and activities such as marketing, consulting, and capacity development.\n\nPreviously overshadowed by mass-produced crafts in the market, traditional crafts have gained new importance today in the context of sustainable development, including ecosystem conservation, climate change, job creation, and economic growth. They are now acknowledged as a promising foundation, forming the basis of a new economic model based on well-being and contentment, extending beyond the realms of community sustenance and economic expansion.\n\nICHCAP aims to raise awareness of the significance of traditional crafts in this context and strengthen the network of craft experts and institutions. Moreover, the publication seeks to explore ways in which traditional crafts can be passed down in a modernized manner. Furthermore, the good practices featured in this publication can be linked to various programs of domestic and international craft-related institutions, aiming to enhance awareness of traditional crafts.

The Book of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Timor-Leste is a rich and vivid documentation of the living traditions that shape the identity, resilience, and spirit of the Timorese people. Developed through close collaboration between local communities, cultural authorities, and ICHCAP (International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO), the book highlights the depth and diversity of Timor-Leste’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH).\n\nFeaturing 14 carefully selected elements—from ritual dances and sacred ceremonies to traditional craftsmanship, music, and ecological knowledge—the book reflects the wisdom passed through generations and the values that continue to guide community life today. Each element is presented with detailed descriptions, vivid images, and QR codes linking to videos that bring the traditions to life.\n\nAt a time when modernization and global change pose challenges to cultural continuity, this publication serves both as a record and a call to action. It encourages appreciation, safeguarding, and intergenerational transmission of practices that are not only culturally meaningful but vital to social cohesion, environmental stewardship, and identity.\n\nWhether you are a researcher, cultural practitioner, educator, or simply someone interested in the living heritage of Timor-Leste, this book offers a gateway into the heart of a nation's cultural soul—where memory dances, stories sing, and tradition breathes.

Since the beginning of 1950s, the Institute of Language and Literature at the Academy of Sciences in Mongolia has initiated sending the survey teams, 1-3 times a year, for researching and gathering data on oral literature and local dialectics. The initiation of above activities has set the groundwork for official establishment of a new archive with written documents and magnetic audio tapes, utilization for research purposes and the maintenance. Along with sending the survey teams, individuals/bearers were invited to the Institute from the local areas and their repertoire were recorded on magnetic tapes.\n\nAs a result, a rich repertoire of the epics, folk tales, folk songs, benedictions, odes, riddles, proverbs and other main elements of Mongolian oral heritage in their local dialectics and characteristics were succeeded to be recorded and collected at once as never before. The language and dialects that have already lost their distinctiveness or absorbed into the central one, now already the extinct forms of oral literary expressions and heritage are remained and preserved on magnetic tapes. This fact is raising the historic and academic values more for those original forms which were preserved on the magnetic tapes.\n\nDue to the fact that the most of the magnetic tapes being kept at the Institute are more than 60 years old, the storage period of some of the tapes has already been expired. Also, the un-proper storage conditions have caused some tapes to get dried, clung to one another or fractured. Due to above reasons, the inevitable need has risen for restoration and digitization of these magnetic tapes as well as improvement of the storage conditions and environment. Accordingly, since 2008, some efforts have been made towards restoration and digitization of these superannuated magnetic tapes within the internal capability and capacity of the Institute. Although, due to the lack of capable human resources, finance and proper tools and technical equipment, these efforts to restore and digitalize faced several obstacles and have shown un-successive results.\n\nIn 2009, the authorities of the Institute have introduced to the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage their request to cooperate. Since, the organizations have started to collaborate on the possibilities to restore and digitalize the superannuated magnetic tapes. Accordingly, the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage proposed to ICHCAP to continue the Joint Project and take measures for restoration, digitization of the superannuated magnetic tapes, and distribution and dissemination among general public.

The Korea-Mongolia Joint Project ‘Establishing a Safeguarding System for the ICH in Mongolia’ was officially launched in 2008 subsequent to a series of consultative meetings between concerned officials from both parties, held in both countries.\n\nAs a third-phase of the Project, the previously prepared texts were deeply elaborated in addition to ICH related photos were provided and reference book layout, designing and publications were implemented. As a result, a 272-page book titled ‘The Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Mongol Nation’ was published and a relevant book opening ceremony and project evaluation seminar were held on 08 and 09 December2010 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Lialiaci is a publication of the iTaukei Institute of Language and Culture, Ministry of iTaukei Affairs. Lialiaci means to ponder or reflect upon deeply. \nThat is the intent of these articles and perspectives on culture.

Universities are essential vectors to build a skilled workforce to implement and support ICH safeguarding activities in a sustainable and locally-appropriate manner. Whilst there has been an increase in post-graduate heritage education in the Asia-Pacific Region in the past decade, few programmes focus on ICH.\n\nThis survey generates an understanding of current activities and needs of tertiary education actors in the Asia-Pacific Region. It also explores the feasibility of establishing a network of universities to deepen reflection on ICH in the academic world.

This short brochure gives an overview of ICHCAP, providing a brief history of the organization as well as an overview of its functions and activities related to safeguarding ICH in the Asia-Pacific region as a UNESCO category 2 center.\n\n

Due to the countless reasons affect the intangible cultural heritage of Mongolia, number of heritage elements are on the very brim of extinction. Therefore, establishing concrete and inclusive system for the safeguarding of the ICH is crucial in Mongolia.\nOne of the measures taken by various stakeholders for the protection of ICH as well as development of overall safeguarding capacity of ICH was the Mongolian-Korean Joint Cooperation Project ‘Establishing a Safeguarding System for ICH in Mongolia’. This project was launched in 2008 by Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO. By the implementation of the first-phase activities under the framework of the Project, a number of meetings were held among the Project partners, implementers and coordinators.\n\nWithin the framework of the second-phase of the Project:\n- Continuation of field surveys in other regions, including Central, Eastern and Gobi aimags\n- Organization of the symposium and workshop on the issues of intangible cultural heritage and safeguarding thereof\n- Elaboration of tentative list of ICH and its bearers\n- Text preparation of guidebook of ICH in Mongolia were planned to be implemented respectively

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 2 is 'ICH AND LABOR'.

The creation of this reference book, “The Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Mongols” sticks to the vision, principle and classifications of the UNESCO Convention of the ICH. This book consists of five chapters, each dealing with a domain of the ICH and explaining every episode. The national language and dialect, romantic oral literature, folk knowledge, wisdom and method, tangible art, delicately inventive and traditionally undying crafts, folk art, national toys and games, human feelings, decencies, solemn ceremonies and festivities of Mongolia are inexhaustibly rich sources and have subtle differences in nuance.