Bharatanatyam is the oldest classical dance traditions among the eight classical dances of India. It has its origin in the southern parts of the country. The art form has its beginning as a temple tradition and later evolved on to the proscenium stages. The history of Bharatanatyam is as vibrant as the cultural traditions of south India, especially Tamil Nadu. The sculpture, fine arts, music, and every other art tradition is interlinked with this age-old art form which successfully retains its significance until today.\n\nTraditional Bharatanatyam follows a seven-part presentation, which is called margam. The art form generally includes a solo dancer and musicians along with on or more singers. The music and vocal performance and the dance movements trace back to the ancient Natya Shastra, and many other Sanskrit and Tamil texts.\n\nThe solo Bharatanatyam dancer wears a dress that resembles a Tamil Hindu bridal attire. She wears a brightly colored sari, specially designed for the dance to accommodate the dancer’s movements. Her body is also adorned with jewelry—on her ears, nose, and neck that outlines her hair.\n\nGiven our current situation with COVID, much of world is going digital, and performing arts are also adapting. However, online Bharatanatyam sessions are offered by Aiswarya Lakshmi. The sessions allow participants to have a similar learning experience from a mentor or teacher. Having gotten her Bharatanatyam training from the prestigious Kalakshetra Foundation, India, her sessions follow the dancing and teaching methods of the school. The focus on the Bharatanatyam vocabulary and basics of dance textual traditions will sculpt a participant into an artist themselves and a better connoisseur of classical Indian arts.\n\nFor further information, send Aiswarya Lakshmi a message at lakshmi.aiswaryaa@gmail.com\n\nPhoto 1 : Dear All, Image courtesy of Prateeba Mayuran, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, Dance photographer, Chennai, India\nPhoto 2 : Handful of Flowers, Image courtesy of Prateeba Mayuran, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, Dance photographer, Chennai, India

Silambam, a martial art originating from Tamil Nadu, South India, that focuses on stick twirling is one of many Indian traditional arts that have survived through the periods of Ancient India, Medieval India, and Modern India, including the British colonial era. It remained alive in other countries as well, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Singapore. Silambam is an ancient Tamil martial art that carries many Tamil cultural values in its training and also during the transmission of the art from master to students.\nAncient Silambam’s cultural heritage and knowledge survived thousands of years through transmission to many generations, but the art is currently facing extinction. This drastic change is due to contemporary Silambam practitioners forgoing the values of the art and adopting elements of other martial art cultures, introducing new traditions such as belt grading systems, becoming more competition focused, and so on. The martial art with these newly adapted elements has been categorized as Sports Silambam. Many new Silambam organizations have been registered and even masters who have coached traditional Silambam are adopting these changes to train students toward success in competitions. Meanwhile, competition organizers offer handsome rewards to the winners in order to entice many young students to learn Sports Silambam. By focusing on the new approach geared toward competition, Sports Silambam masters fail to preserve the original combat techniques and cultural heritage values of authentic Silambam arts. While Sports Silambam is heavily and widely promoted, authentic Silambam masters and practitioners are struggling and facing hurdles to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of this particular ancient Silambam. Adding to the obstacles is the issue of finding the right disciples to ensure the knowledge is transferred to the next generations in the current era of mushrooming globalization.

Co-orgarnized by ICHCAP and Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC), this year’s Asia-Pacific ICH NGO Conference was held in Hue, Vietnam under the theme of ICH NGOs towards Sustainable Development of Communities.

Old Polish sabre fencing fits within the limits of broadly understood Polish martial art, which in addition to sabre fencing includes fighting on war horses with a hussar lance, pickax (horseman’s pick), scythe, or Polish lance. The basis for the claim that Poland has its own sabre fencing pattern is the fact that it developed its own type of sabre pattern called the hussar sabre (Kwaśniewicz, 1988, p. 66) and the existence of Old Polish fencing with palcaty (short sticks) (Kwaśniewicz, 2017, p. 473)—an important element in the preparation of noblemen and courtiers for fencing with this weapon known as “cross art” (Jezierski, 1791, p. 213), and in the case of short sticks, “striking the clubs ( )” (Kitowicz, 1985, p. 113). This had its origins in the 16th century and its tradition was cultivated until 1939. It was resurrected as a Polish martial art in 1986 under the name Signum Polonicum, functioning as a contribution of Polish national heritage to the world family of national sports and martial arts.

Bread making is more than a culinary tradition: it is an integral part of the Austrian Lesach Valley’s cultural heritage, which carries aesthetic, symbolic, and religious value for the community of the valley. Rituals, customs, and personal stories constitute the nature of the element and illustrate the high significance of the practice for the region.

The climate crisis is increasing the number of dangerous weather events that are occurring all over the world with challenges such as floods and droughts, wildfires and heat waves; these phenomena are getting more serious every year. It is important to note that most of these events are related in some way to rainwater. For example, by collecting rainwater near the place it falls, the risk of flooding will be reduced, and the collected rainwater can later be used to mitigate drought. By collecting rainwater on the ground and making the land surface wet, forest fires can be prevented and the chances of heat waves occurring can be reduced. Therefore, good rainwater management can overcome the water- and heat-related challenges that arise during times of climate crisis.

The Kakiseni Association was established in 2001 as the only online platform for artists to post information about productions and events, share news about auditions, reviews, and interviews, essentially functioning as an information hub for artists. In 2011, Kakiseni registered as a non-profit organization and expanded its scope of activities to include events and initiatives aimed at increasing audience size and appreciation for performing arts; developing the skills of Malaysian performing artists and the quality of their performances; and advocating for the arts to the Malaysian government and businesses.

Since the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was initiated in 1946 to promote world peace and development based on international understanding and cooperation, there have been continuous efforts to safeguard cultural heritage of humanity. However, it is undeniable that tangible cultural heritage, which includes natural and cultural heritage, received greater emphasis than intangible heritage. The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted in 2003 in Paris ("2003 Convention" hereinafter) is regarded as a milestone that changed the historical perception and marked a turning point.

Yuen Long Community Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Project is a proposal of the Life Encouraging Fund, a non-governmental organization based in Yuen Long district. This pilot project is an exemplar of an NGO working for community-based ICH education and transmission with a holistic development model. Kai-kwong Choi introduced activities of the project implemented by the Life Encouraging Fund.

The Tao Foundation for Culture and Arts is a Philippine non-profit, non-governmental orga-nization based in Quezon City, National Capital Region, Luzon and in Agusan del Sur, Caraga Region, Northeastern Mindanao. Established in 1994, the Tao Foundation is led by an all-fe-male Board composed of Filipino scholars, artists, and Indigenous community leaders engaged in cultural regeneration initiatives in response to the five centuries of colonial and neocolonial histories and the need to help build strong cultural communities. The Tao Foundation’s mission is to (1) facilitate the exchange, transmission, and development of Philippine ICH/TCH; and to (2) contribute to the empowerment of culture bearers or those who possess ancestral practical and theoretical knowledges that have endured and transformed to remain relevant through colonial and neocolonial histories as a result of day-to-day and more large-scale acts of resistance.

As part of the Cultural Partnership Initiative of 2016, ICHCAP invited ICH professionals from Malaysia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Tonga. Each participant researched ICH topics of interest that relate to comparative studies, sustainable development, traditional medicine, and safeguarding organizations.\n\nMaisaraf Binti Marman from Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia studied traditional postpartum care in Korea, this research is very good to strengthen research on indigenous heritage and culture of Korean society.