Phi Ta Khon is a three-day mask festival held every year between March and July in Dan Sai District in Loei Province, Thailand, which includes a ceremony to express respect to the gods and rituals to protect the village and pray for abundant rain during the farming season. Young men wear colorful, fluttering costumes and Phi Ta Khon masks. The mask, representing spirits of the dead, is adorned with a long nose in vibrant primary colors. It consists of three main components: a hat, a face, and a nose. The mask is crafted using a traditional bamboo container known as a Huat, traditionally used for containing boiled glutinous rice.

Phi Ta Khon is a three-day mask festival held every year between March and July in Dan Sai District in Loei Province, Thailand, which includes a ceremony to express respect to the gods and rituals to protect the village and pray for abundant rain during the farming season. Young men wear colorful, fluttering costumes and Phi Ta Khon masks. The mask, representing spirits of the dead, is adorned with a long nose in vibrant primary colors. It consists of three main components: a hat, a face, and a nose. The mask is crafted using a traditional bamboo container known as a Huat, traditionally used for containing boiled glutinous rice.

Phi Ta Khon is a three-day mask festival held every year between March and July in Dan Sai District in Loei Province, Thailand, which includes a ceremony to express respect to the gods and rituals to protect the village and pray for abundant rain during the farming season. Young men wear colorful, fluttering costumes and Phi Ta Khon masks. The mask, representing spirits of the dead, is adorned with a long nose in vibrant primary colors. It consists of three main components: a hat, a face, and a nose. The mask is crafted using a traditional bamboo container known as a Huat, traditionally used for containing boiled glutinous rice.

Phi Ta Khon is a three-day mask festival held every year between March and July in Dan Sai District in Loei Province, Thailand, which includes a ceremony to express respect to the gods and rituals to protect the village and pray for abundant rain during the farming season. Young men wear colorful, fluttering costumes and Phi Ta Khon masks. The mask, representing spirits of the dead, is adorned with a long nose in vibrant primary colors. It consists of three main components: a hat, a face, and a nose. The mask is crafted using a traditional bamboo container known as a Huat, traditionally used for containing boiled glutinous rice.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is transnational in nature. It is necessary to spread the perception that ICH transcends geographical spaces and national borders, creating dynamic relations, connectedness, and continuity, which is why it is a timeless bearer of cultural diversity, the foundation of the heritage of humanity. However, as the modern structure of nation-state determines the boundaries of culture with national borders, forming the concept of “culture within the country”, subsequently led to the perception that the ownership of culture belongs to the state.\n\nThe concept of exclusive ownership of culture is often controversial in the UNESCO listing process, particularly in instances where cultural heritage and cultural domains have been shared for a long time by two or more nation-states. Such conflicts lead to excessive competition for nomination, overshadowing UNESCO’s fundamental purpose of contributing to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations, as well as the very spirit of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that promotes international cooperation and assistance in the safeguarding of ICH as a matter of general interest to humanity.\n\nConsequently, UNESCO encourages multinational inscriptions of shared intangible cultural heritage to promote regional cooperation and international safeguarding activities, preventing conflicts among countries and coping with already existing ones. By emphasizing joint nominations of shared ICH, UNESCO revised its implementation guidelines three times to deal with conflicts between countries due to the cultural property rights. In addition, States Parties are encouraged to develop networks among relevant communities, experts, professional centres, and research institutes, particularly with regard to their ICH, to cooperate at the sub-regional and regional levels.\n\nAt the 13th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in the Republic of Mauritius in November 2018, Traditional Korean Wrestling was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as the first joint designation by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea. This milestone in the life of the Convention demonstrates that ICH contributes to the peace-building, reconciliation, mutual understanding, and solidarity among peoples. Indeed, only when acknowledging that shared cultural values are empowering characteristics of ICH, the true perspective of the unifying agent of the cultural diversity can be achieved, and that it is the cornerstone of reaching peace among nations.\n\nCountries in the Asia Pacific region are deeply connected by a long history of interactions, exchanges, flows of people, goods, and ideas that have shaped shared values, practices, and traditions. Having a balanced view, advocating for cultural diversity, and recognizing the commonalities among individuals, communities, and countries as a strength are virtuous tenets in the present time.\n\nIn this regard, APHEN-ICH Secretariat, ICHCAP, and UNESCO Bangkok Office are inviting the APHEN-ICH member institutes and public to this seminar under the theme of Diversity and Distinctiveness: Looking into the Shared ICH in the Asia-Pacific, to re-assess that while fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity, connecting bounds, and enhancing international dialogue and peace.

The traditional musical instruments of Myanmar were prominent throughout the nation’s history. The instruments were developed as early as the Pyu Era, Bagan Era and many were dominant features of music during the Innwa Era and Konbaung Era.\n\nWhile some of these instruments have been preserved and are used today, others have been lost to history.\nIn an attempt to preserve the traditional musical instruments of Myanmar, the Ministry of Culture displayed traditional instruments and distributed the books about the instruments during an exhibition in 1955. This research shows thirty-three kinds of instruments. Moreover, in a 2003 celebration of traditional instruments, the Ministry of Culture exhibited over two hundred traditional instruments at the national museum.\nWhile the instruments on display were representative of many regions and states, many instruments were not included.\nBecause of this lack of full representativeness, additional research through field studies is required. This project proposal addresses this need.\n\nTo create a preliminary basis towards developing a national ICH inventory of craftsmanship and performing arts of traditional musical instruments in Myanmar. To safeguard ICH related to the craftsmanship and performing arts of traditional musical instruments and to promote cultural diversity among multi- ethnic groups in Myanmar. To raise awareness of the Myanmar public on the importance of ICH. To expand networking and information sharing between Myanmar and Korea.

ICH Webinar Series on Maritime ICH: Maritime Living Heritage-Building Sustainable Livelihood and Ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific Region\n\nSession1: Traditional Maritime Skills and Knowledge for Inclusive Social and Economic Development\n\n1. 'Maritime Living Heritage and the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development' by Athena Trakadas, National Museum of Denmark / Ocean Decade Heritage Network\n2. 'The ties and tides of knowledge: Living as a community, living as the sea people' by Narumon Arunotai, Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand\n3. 'Strengthening Women Fisherfolk Empowerment toward Social Inclusion in Coastal Environment of Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines' by Elmira Thrina C. Pelayo, Bulacan State University, Philippine\n4. 'Traditional Maritime Skills and Knowledge of Social and Economic Development in Inle Lake' by Thu Thu Aung, Department of Archaeology and National Museum, Myanmar\n5. 'Preserving Maritime Cultural Values and Promoting Community Cohesion: From the Viewpoint of Cau Ngu (Whale Worship) Festival in Thanh Hoa Province' by Thao Phuong Le, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam\n6. 'Fisherwomen across Bay of Bengal region and the extension of their profession in ICH- Understanding the contributions of a vital part of the community and their symbolisms of sustainability, survival, and continuity' by Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai, Symbiosis International University, India\n\nSession2: Traditional Maritime Skills and Knowledge for Environmental Sustainablity and Resilience\n\n1. 'Evidence from the Social Economic Impact Acessment of COVID-19 in the Pacific: The Contribution of ICH in human-centered development' by Ellen Lekka, Cultural Officer, UNESCO Apia Office\n2. 'The Coastal Cultural Landscape of Yap and Marine Ecological Conservation' by William Jeffery, University of Guam, Guam\n3. 'Korean National Important Fisheries Heritage System for Strengthening Sustainability:' by Hyunjong Jong, Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries, Republic of Korea\n4. 'Voicing Culture after Nature : Traditional Knowledge and Marine Resource Management in the Sulawesi Islands' by Dedi Supriadi Adhuri, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Indonesia\n5. 'O le Va‘a Tā Palolo – The Palolo Fishing Canoe' by Galumalemana Steve Percival, Tiapapata Art Centre inc., Samoa\n6. 'Maritime Cultural Heritage of Matsushima Bay Japan:' by Alyne Delaney, Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Tohoku University, Japan\n\n\n\n

This Book is the outcomes of the 2021 Expert Meeting for Building Network on Maritime ICH, which is held on 29 October 2021.\n\nThe expert meeting was co-organized by ICHCAP and SPC under the theme of Maritime Living Heritage: Coastal Communities in the Asia-Pacific Region and Their Traditional Food System.\nThis meeting consisted of two sessions with the different approaches to the costal communities and their traditional food system; ecocultural approach and socio-cultural approach. This book contains nine case studies of experts and scholars.

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. These reports were compiled into a bound publication and is now made available as an online download.

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 23 is 'Traditional Navigation of Pacific Islanders.'

The 2016 South-Asia Sub-regional Meeting of NGOs on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Development was held between 25 and 27 August at the Sanskruti Bhawan, Panjim, Goa, India. The meeting was organized by Contact Base, a social enterprise working under the trading style of banglanatak dot com and specializing in culture and development in collaboration with ICHCAP, UNESCO Office in New Delhi and the Directorate of Art and Culture under the Government of Goa.\n\nThirty NGOs from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka participated in the meeting. This report provides a detailed documentation of the meeting and the related activities.