The birth of a child is considered auspicious and sacred in every culture. India, being multicultural in its beliefs and customs, has diverse traditions of local cuisines at all occasions, be it childbirth, or even death. Although the recipes have grown in number as a result of shared practices in modern times, traditional food items and their variants are still popular and can be found in almost all mandatory rituals.

Language is the most crucial element of culture. It is the most distinctive accomplishment of humans, marking them off from other animal species. But, being made literally of mere thin air, language is also the most intangible among man’s cultural acquisitions. It has taken humans about half a million years to develop this unique skill that has so profoundly determined how human societies are formed and how they carry out communication among themselves as well as how they hand down the collective knowledge from one generation to another. This greatest cultural acquisition of man has come under an unprecedented stress in our time. It is estimated that out of the approximately 6,000 living languages, a majority shall disappear in near future. UNESCO has already started bringing out inventories of ‘world languages in danger.’

Uzbek craftsmanship is one of the most significant parts of the creative cultural industry, contributing to sustainable economic and social development of society. Uzbek craftsmanship has not only historical and functional significance but also great artistic value. It has been attracting the attention of travelers and scholars for centuries. During the years of independence, since 1991, the handicrafts industry has undergone significant transformation. Today, it ranks high among the export-oriented creative industries of the national economy. Handicraft is an essential domain of intangible cultural heritage of humanity and plays key role in promoting creative economic development.

Laos is aware that culture is the foundation for a nation’s survival. At the same time, culture is considered a driving force and end target for social development. A Lao proverb says, ‘culture proves nationality, and behavior proves social standing (of someone), so to lose culture means to lose the nation (population)’. Based on this consciousness and belief, the Lao government generally considers cultural affairs as the basis for formulating policies and strategies to preserve, promote, and develop national culture. A recent and noticeable achievement by the Ministry of Information and Culture can be seen in the organization’s growing success in promoting and expanding ‘the cultural family model’ and ‘the cultural village model’ within communities nationwide.

The performing art of Mongolia, especially the traditional folk dance, is an expression that embodies and originates from the nomadic way of life, expressing their lifestyle, household activities, courage, love, pride, and livestock. The dance is accompanied by singing, and some musical instruments as morin khuur, ikel khuur, tovshuur, tsuur, with the performers dressed ethnic costumes. Since ancient times the motifs and movements in traditional folk dances were used to transmit the narratives and social myths of Mongol history and culture.

Since 2014, NGOs has been playing an important, if not decisive, role in ICH safeguarding, and the UNESCO Convention 2003 was implemented in Ukraine. The development center “Democracy through Culture,” the independent think-and-do tank engaged in cultural policy issues, including cultural heritage, took a core part in preparing the periodic report of Ukraine on the implementation of the Convention 2003 (approved at the eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Addis Ababa, in 2016) and coordination of all stakeholders.

Changes in our planet derived from human activities are now comparable to massive volcanic eruption and meteorite impacts in the past, to the extent that we can now consider the advent of a distinctively new geological era, the Anthropocene. This concept was first proposed by an atmospheric chemist, Paul J. Crutzen, in 2000 and was quickly adopted by earth system scientists and geologists, humanity scholars and social scientists, artists and performers. Yet this new geological concept is still not much familiar to the general public and has to go through many steps to get the official endorsement from the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the Anthropocene refers to our planet's planetary crisis, which includes climate change and ecological destruction.

Kanklės is certainly one of the most important symbols of the Lithuanian cultural identity as it had an important and symbolic role during the periods of national revival and the independence movements. The instrument itself and the tradition of playing on the kanklės underwent changes, transformations, experienced a revival, and in some sense even a “renewal.” \n\nIn the twentieth century, playing the kanklės moved from the country to the towns. It used to be exclusively a men’s tradition. Now this tradition has been taken over by women, and solo playing has been replaced by an ensemble playing. Playing on the traditional five to twelve-string kanklės does not require any special preparation. The instrument is easily keyed and portable. Even a beginner can play on it. Traditionally, teaching to play on the kanklės took place in families and communities. There are still players who took over the tradition from fathers or old musicians in villages. Nowadays, most of the performers acquire their playing skills in folk groups or music schools or during informal education activities.

‘Pinisi’, the popular appellation for the famed ‘Sulawesi schooner’, since about three decades became the very tag for Indonesia’s heritage of seafaring. However, it is not the rather tangible pinisi, but the sophisticated boatbuilding traditions of the Konjo shipwrights of the island of Sulawesi, the creators of these vessels, that in 2017 were inscribed in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Historically such ships were built in the villages of Lemo-Lemo, Ara and Bira; today, nearby Tana Beru, our World’s largest cluster of wooden shipyards, is the centre of the industry.

The gender diversity expressed in intangible cultural heritage (ICH) should be seen as a part of the cultural diversity now celebrated as a human rights value and should therefore be protected as such. However, this is not a simple matter since, as we know, some traditional cultural practices are incompatible with the fundamental human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination. Indeed, the question of how the requirements of gender equality can be met within the framework of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage raises some important and extremely complex issues. At the core of these rests an apparent contradiction between the human rights concept of gender equality and the multiple ways in which gender is expressed in ICH and understood by bearer communities. Since, as stated in its preamble, the 2003 Convention is explicitly placed within the broader context of human rights, this is not simply a theoretical question; any heritage recognized and safeguarded under that treaty should be compatible with human rights requirements, of which equality on the basis of sex (among other bases) is a central one. This presents important challenges to governments, the international community, and other actors interested in identifying ICH for the purposes of safeguarding; although more leeway may be possible for national safeguarding of ICH, a relatively strict test of gender equality and non-discrimination needs to be applied for the international aspects of the Convention (international inscriptions and assistance, in particular).

Samoa has rich oral traditions, mythologies, and legends, and some have been closely associated with traditional festivals and rituals such as the ‘Ava (or Kava) ceremony. ‘Ava is a beverage produced from the root of Kava, which is consumed throughout Polynesia, Melanesia, and some parts of Micronesia. The dried Kava root is grounded into a powder, added to water, and blended in a tanoa (round bowl made from a single piece of wood with multiple legs). The ‘ava drink is often prepared by a group of people during the ‘Ava ceremony. This well-known ceremony has important socio-cultural meanings and is the most significant ritual at the bestowal of matai, Samoan chiefs.

Cambodia is rich in both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In terms of the tangible, scattered throughout the Kingdom are many prehistoric and historic sites brick, laterite, and sandstone temples, irrigation systems, and other cultural elements. To date, two Cambodian archaeological sites have been registered as World Heritage Sites, the Angkor region in 1992 and the Preah Vihear temples in 2008. At the same time, the Kingdom also has many different forms of intangible cultural heritage, such as arts and crafts, traditional music and dance, traditional customs, and ritual practices. Of the many living heritage elements in Cambodia, UNESCO registered the Royal Ballet of Cambodia and the Khmer Shadow Theatre to the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003 and 2005, respectively.