The culture of the Central Asian steppes expresses itself vividly in the lifestyle of traditional nomadic practices. Mongolian culture has been in practice in the nomadic life and the traditions surrounding the nomad’s home (ger). And it is present in religious celebrations, national festivals, art and crafts, music and dance, language and literature, which form the backbone of Mongolian intangible cultural heritage of Mongolia. Mongolia is filled with valuable cultural properties and intangible cultural heritage of humanity that have been kept or practiced for thousands of years.\n\nGer, Mongolian Traditional Dwelling\nThe traditional architecture of the Mongols differed strongly from that of the settled peoples of Asia and other continents. Centuries ago, there the ger, also known as a yurt, appeared. It still offers shelter to nomads in particular places in Central Asia. Its development and fundamental principles are determined by the specific features of the way of life of Mongol tribes, which made it necessary to evolve a light and collapsible structure to be used as a dwelling or for public functions.\n\nMongolian Language and Literature\nMongolian is the language of most of the Mongolian population and inner Mongolia. By origin, Mongolian is one of the Altaic family of languages, and the history of the Mongolian language is long and complicated. Significant literary work of early Mongolia includes The Secret History of the Mongols, which was published in 1228).\n\nMongolian Religion and Beliefs\nThe Mongols have practiced several religions, of which Shamanism and Buddhism were the most common. The faith in Mongolia is Buddhism, though the state and religion were separated during the socialist period, but with the transition to the parliamentary republic in the 1990s, there has been a general revival of faiths across the country\n\nMongolian Art and Crafts\nMongolian arts and crafts have been passed down across generations from the Paleolithic times to today, leaving behind deep impressions on all facets of life and conscious, aesthetic, and philosophical thinking. Highly developed Mongolian arts and crafts come from the second millennium BCE. The works included sculptured heads of wild animals with exaggerated features. Other items include knives, daggers, and other items of practical and religious use.\n\nMongolian Music and Dance\nMusic is an integral part of Mongolian culture. Among Mongolia’s unique contributions to the world’s musical culture are the long songs, overtone singing, and morin khuur (the horse-headed fiddle). The music of Mongolia is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country. Among the most popular forms of modern music in Mongolia are Western pop and rock genres and the mass songs written by contemporary authors in the form of folk songs.\n\nHorse Culture of Mongolia\nIt is famously known that horses play a large role in the Mongols’ daily and national lives. Common sayings are, “A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings,” and “Mongols are born on horseback” these are arguably true words. Even today, horse-based culture is still practiced by nomadic Mongolians.\n\nVisit https://www.toursmongolia.com/tours for additional information about Mongolian culture.\n\nPhoto 1 : Prairie meadow grass inner Mongolia traditional clothing © Batzaya Choijiljav\nPhoto 2~7 : © Batzaya Choijiljav

The Gangneung Danoje Festival has maintained typical elements of ancient festivals that were held in May (seedtime) and in October (harvest time) during the Samhan period (around 300 CE). In the fifth lunar month, which includes Dano day, local people perform rituals for driving away evil spirits and welcoming the fortune and participate in traditional games and activities. The main deities of the festival are the mountain god, Kim Yusin, who was the general of Shilla and the United Three Kingdoms, and the royal tutor tutelary deity, Beomil, who was a Shilla monk. The first documented record of Dano folklore appears in the Samguksagi (A History of the Three Kingdoms). Other records indicate that Dano has commonly been referred to as ‘Suri’ in local dialects.

Performed in villages and closely attached to water rice agriculture, water puppetry is a unique performing art and is the intangible cultural heritage of the Viet people in the Northern Delta region of Vietnam. Created in the tenth century, the first historical record on water puppetry was inscribed in an ancient stele in 1121 called the Sung Dien Dien Linh in the Long Dọi Buddhist Temple of Ha Nam Province. The inscription reads that water puppetry was performed to entertain the king on the occasion of his longevity ceremony.

In the 70 years of national division, the society and culture of the two Koreas have moved very far apart, through severance of ties, alienation, and the rule of hostile ideologies in the Korean War and Cold War era. The North Korean society and culture borne of dogmatic communism and armed with Juche ideology feels too different and unacceptable to South Koreans awash in liberal capitalism. I personally have a deeper understanding and greater acceptance than the average since I met with North Korean bureaucrats frequently and made several visits to North Korea in my former role at a UNESCO organization, but still would never be able to adapt to life in North Korean society. Just as we find it difficult to accept their invocations of the great leader and inflexible expressions about capitalism and imperialism, the North Koreans reject terms like liberty, human rights and civic society as bourgeois ideology. This difference in political regime and ideology has created heterogeneity between the two Koreas in every aspect of society and culture- education, culture, arts, religion, theater and movies. The heterogeneity and hostility in political and economic regimes make reconciliation or unification difficult. However, if the heterogeneity in culture, arts and lifestyles intensifies, even the establishment of a peace community, let alone peaceful unification, would appear to be an impossibility. Overcoming differences in ideology to achieve national unity (as proclaimed in the July 4th Joint Statement) does not seem possible.

Afghanistan is a culturally rich and diverse country with an abundance of tangible and intangible heritage stretching back from over a millennium. The nation has suffered a lot during the long years of war and conflict and the generations of ancestors who depended on transferring their intangible cultural heritage skills and knowledge to descendants were severely affected and displaced during the years of war.\n

Jeju Yeongdeunggut is a shamanic ritual performed during the second lunar month to greet and see off the goddess Yeongdeung. Yeongdeung, the goddess of wind, is typically recognized in the form of Yeongdeunghalmang (Grandmother Yeongdeung). In winter, when the cold wind blows from the northwest, she brings prosperity to the land and sea. It was the custom for the Yeongdeung Welcoming Ritual to be performed to celebrate her arrival and the Yeongdeung Farewell Ritual to be performed fifteen days later to mark her departure.

The region of Bay of Bengal has been an important part of maritime activities, including trading and fisheries from very ancient times. The significance of the region continues even at present. The massive \nwaterbody is a representation of a busy network of trade and commerce and the basis of livelihoods for thousands who surround it from all sides from various countries. Fishing as an occupation is an important \nsector of food and nutritional security and India alone, has more than nine million active fisherfolk across its coastline, who are directly dependent on fisheries for their livelihood, amidst which 80 % are small scale fishers. The sector of fisheries employs over 14 million people and contributes to 1.1 % of the Indian GDP. Though the number remains unaccounted for in most countries, but amidst the number of \nfishermen, there is a substantial number of fisherwomen, who have been contributing through generations in various ways, including supplementing the family income through alternative methods of income, as well as being the main conduits of maintaining various elements of intangible cultural heritage, including traditional methods of fishing. This research paper is an attempt to look into the contribution of the fisherwomen community around the western fringes of the Bay of Bengal, especially looking at the countries of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka and the vital contributions of these womenfolk. The fisherwomen \nnot only help to sustain the families through the main profession of the family, but also helps financially through various subsidiary modes of income, like handicrafts and artwork. This is extremely helpful for sustaining the family in time of the lean seasons of fishing, as well as during periods of disaster, like the present Covid-19 pandemic situation. These attempts of the fisherwomen, thus, connects various factors to \noverall social cohesion and development, including sustaining various channels of intangible cultural heritage which directly connects to their main profession and also helps in transmission of community values \nand also redefines gender roles within the community.

UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage Convention, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in April 2006, highlighted “Recognizing that com-munities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some case, individuals, play an important role in the production, safeguarding, mainte-nance and re-creation of the intangible cultural heritage, thus helping to enrich cultural diversity and human creativity.” Articles 1 and 15 on purposes of the Convention make further references to issues relating to the participation of communities, groups, and individuals. By respecting and empowering practicing communities to define, desig-nate their intangible heritage, and engage in protecting ICH, many states have come to acknowledge community as one of the central goals of the convention. In fact, the interrelationship between community and heritage seems to be inseparable. Valdirmar Tr. Hasfstein pointed out that “At closer inspection, intangible cultural heritage is practically synonymous with community” and therefore “the purpose of the conven-tion is not only to safeguard traditional practice and expressions, but also, and just as importantly, to safeguard communities” (Valdirmar Tr. Hasfstein 2004, p.212)

The shamanism heritage is not a tangible cultural asset preserved in the halls of a museumor a recording that can be viewed repeatedly as a still or moving image. It is true that tangible assets as subjects of observation are also part of the shamanism heritage, the essence of shamanism is a complex and real cultural asset experienced through rituals performed in the real world occupied by people living in a specific time and space. In fact, the tangible and intangible is impossible to differentiate when in comes to cultural assets of shamanism. They are treated as separate entities for realistic, methodological or technological limitations, but in fact all traditional culture, not just shamanism, is a composite of tangible and intangible elements.

Trần Thương Temple Festival in Nhân Đạo Commune, Lý Nhân District, Hà Nam Province\nTrần Thương temple - one of the three largest and holiest temples in the Red River delta is dedicated to worship Trần Quốc Tuấn or Trần Hưng Đạo, a supreme commander of Viet Nam during the Trần dynasty and his army to defeat the Mongolian – Yuan invaders in the 13th century.\n

Session 1. What effects has the 2003 Convention had in the Asia-Pacific region?\n\nChairperson Professor Noriko Aikawa opened the conference by welcoming all of the participants. She explained the topic of the first session and introduced the first two speakers: Dr. Tim Curtis and Professor Amareswar Galla. She then invited the first presenter, Dr. Curtis, to give his presentation. Dr. Curtis’s presentation provided data on where ICHCAP stands and what has been accomplished so far. ICHCAP is getting close to including the entire Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Curtis’s data showed that this region is particularly active, representing almost half of the listings worldwide. Dr. Curtis argued that the unprecedented rapid\nincrease in popularity ICHCAP has experienced means that it has responded to a need. Dr. Curtis’s data showed that ICHCAP has been successful in raising awareness. However, he argued that while awareness is necessary for progress, it is not sufficient. He explained that people may be aware of the need to safeguard ICH but it is difficult to measure how successful ICHCAP has been in actually safeguarding ICH.

In Myanmar traditional dance, Yein Aka (group dance) is a form in which dancers perform solos, alternating with their fellow group members. It is performed with the accompa\u0002niment of a traditional orchestra known as Hsaing Waing. There are various kinds of Yein, including Thagyan Yein (water festival dance), Nat Kadaw Yein (a dance to pray to spirits), A Pyodaw Yein (ladies’ dance), and Simi Yein (candle light dance). Most group dances are performed by women, although some are for men.