The National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage, popularly known as Lok Virsa, was established by the government of Pakistan in 1974 with a mandate to collect, document, preserve, and disseminate Pakistan’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Bangladesh is rich in intangible cultural heritage in all the five domains outlined in the 2003 ICH Convention namely oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and festive events, knowledge about nature and the universe and traditional craftmanship.Four elements are inscribed in the UNESCO representative list and two applications are submitted in 2019. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has a list with literature of 54 elementsunder the 5 ICH domains, while researchers identified 123 elements. Comprehensive inventorying of living heritages is under process with the Government. Bangladesh, by ratifying 2003 Convention, assumes its obligation of safeguarding these elements of ICH. Among the elements, some are sustainable for the economic output of the objects associated with the elements. Others remain vulnerable for change in lifestyle, knowledge pattern, social and economic advancement, science and technology. Require safeguardfor sustainable development that includes transmission of the ICH elements for generations.

Culture is chiefly perceived as a driving force for sustainable development in the UN’s action plan for people, planet, and prosperity entitled “Transforming Our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. In this context, there is a foreseeable strength in ICH to generate means for sustainable development. The following issues are considered as starting points of discussion: (1) the methods of aligning commercial activities with ICH safeguarding activities, (2) the possible risks to ICH viability and the ways in which they can be mitigated, and (3) the prospect of moving toward and maintaining a mutual relationship between ICH Safeguarding and development policies.\nKeeping the grassroots level highly pertinent in Session 3, we intend to put various NGOs activities at the center of the discussion, particularly in light of our pursuit to assess their presence in sustainable tourism development and eco‐tourism, looking into the possibility of expanding the role of NGOs in areas such as cultural mapping and gender equality. To end, a plenary discussion will be held. The outcome document will be circulated to share the discussion points of and lessons learned from the meeting.

In September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its ambitious and far-reaching 17 Goals and 169 targets with an endeavor to build on the earlier Millennium Development Goals and complete what the MDGs did not achieve. The focus of the 2030 Agenda remains ensuring peoples’ well-being and dignity, fostering common prosperity, protecting the planet, and building peace, and these through mobilizing global partnerships.

Jeff M. Poulin notes an analysis of a set of ICH NGOs identified by the United Nation’s Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized for their 'good practices' in the early months of the global pandemic. And He provided a discussion overlaying his findings with the theoretical modeling in hopes of illuminating some lessons which can be taken on by ICH organizations as they move forward through this and other crises.

This publication contains papers from the 2021 World Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum held online for three days, from September 29 to October 1, 2021. The event was hosted by the National Intangible Heritage Center and organized by ICHCAP.\n\nThe forum was held under the theme of “Rediscovering Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Era of Convergence and Creativity” to re-examine the creative value of intangible cultural heritage and present the possibilities by examining examples of innovation and value creation through intangible cultural heritage.

The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and its Operational Directives outline the important role of NGOs in creating awareness on the Convention, generating space for dialogue and the exchange of good practices and challenges for inputs to programming and policy making at varied levels, and facilitating community participation in taking safeguarding measures through knowledge and tools support and capacity building. The contributions of ICH NGOs have been manifold, including building the capacity of communities, researching and documenting ICH, upholding distinct identities of places and communities through cultural tourism, facilitating transnational flow of creativity, strengthening cultural resources, and developing artist organizations. Now the ICH NGOs need to play a critical role in enabling the inclusion of cultural dimensions in the post-2015 development policy framework. So far culture is not identified as a goal in the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, culture may be explicitly integrated as a target or as enabler in SDG goals like Poverty Eradication, Building Shared Prosperity & Promoting Equality, Quality Education & Lifelong learning, Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, Strengthening Global Partnership for Development, Ecosystems & Biodiversity, and Creating Peaceful and Inclusive Societies. Through knowledge sharing, networking, and mediating, they can effectively raise awareness among decision makers on the importance of the cultural dimension in development policies. By formulating innovative culture-based development projects with the participation of traditional bearers and practitioners, they can contribute to adoption of locally owned creative economy policies. Key areas of action will include mapping cultural resources; developing indicators on socio economic gains based on heritage, creativity, and cultural resources; and supporting capacity building for managing arts and strengthening the value chain.

Until the last moments of the drafting process of the Convention, the Intergovernmental Meeting of Experts was debating the issue of whether the Convention should employ a listing system or a registration system. The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was finally adopted in October 2003 using a listing system. Some of the experts who were not in favor of this system are still criticizing it today. Today, the Convention has 155 States Parties. There are 288 elements inscribed on the two lists and a selection of ten elements on the Registry of Best Practices. The inscription of elements of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) on the Lists has triggered unprecedented enthusiasm for the ICH among practitioner communities as well as the general public. The Chengdu International Conference held last June to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Convention discussed the listing system currently being used and identified points concerning, on the one hand, the procedure for inscription on the Lists and, on the other, the impact of public recognition on the inscribed elements and their practitioners. This paper offers some suggestions that might be taken to mitigate the problems raised, such that the Convention will not become the victim of its own success.

The role of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as a guarantee for sustainable development has been recognized in the 2003 Convention for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage. The essence of ICH as a living heritage is anchored in the concept of sustainability wherein its practice, intergenerational transmission and re-creation influence its continuity among its bearers and practitioners. One of the safeguarding measures for ICH is through intergenerational transmission where one generation transmits their heritage to the coming generation as a mechanism to keep their heritage alive and thriving. Consequently, sustainability operates in a similar dynamic principle that assures for a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Venerated from a time before antiquity as life-giver, water has been held in the highest esteem in all cultures and eras. Water-related mythologies show as much the divine character associated with it, as its qualities that lie beyond the material. In our time, the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and traditional knowledge that surround water still give us an entryway to a fuller understanding of the great life-giver.

This publication contains papers from the 2021 World Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum held online for three days, from September 29 to October 1, 2021. The event was hosted by the National Intangible Heritage Center and organized by ICHCAP.\n\nThe forum was held under the theme of “Rediscovering Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Era of Convergence and Creativity” to re-examine the creative value of intangible cultural heritage and present the possibilities by examining examples of innovation and value creation through intangible cultural heritage.

01 UNESCO Trends\n* NGOs worldwide submitted accreditation requests to provide advisory services to UNESCO\n* UNESCO organized online sessions to explain the International Assistance mechanism\n* Activities to strengthen capacity to safeguard living heritage within Kenya Refugee Camp\n* Thai-Lao teacher training workshop brings living heritage to the classroom\n\n02 Asia-Pacific Trends\n* First China-ASEAN ICH Week to promote BRI cultural exchanges\n* Global Thematic Webinars to harness living heritage for a sustainable future under India’s G20 Presidency\n* Aboriginal art centre ‘Ikuntji Artists’ made its solo runway debut at Austrailian Fashion Week\n\n03 Korean Trends\n* Young Guardians of UNESCO World Heritage kicked off their activities\n* KOFICE supports International Exchange with Korean Local Cultural Contents\n* Andong city shows its willingness to nominate ‘Andong Chajeon Nori’ to UNESCO ICH Lists\n* International influencers in Korea joins K-UNESCO adventures