Social media has become a powerful means to record and disseminate global intangible cultural heritage (ICH). YouTube specifically provides an avenue for a range of users to distribute ICH videos on this commercial platform. YouTube is essentially designed to monetize the labor and communication of users through algorithms and business models. With the aim of making corporate profits, this platform simultaneously offers a social service by distributing diverse ICH representations in video format. In light of the paradox of disseminating ICH on a commercial platform, the issue is raised as to whether YouTube’s diffusion of heritage videos transmits community expressions of ICH that are not recognized by nation-states. Communities produce ICH within the boundaries of nations, yet the practices of given communities may be excluded from national heritage narratives. The narratives addressed here are those that have been put forward by state representatives through UNESCO. Since 2003, UNESCO has safeguarded ICH through the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Convention). This research is approached through the case study of the Mevlevi Sema (Whirling Dervish Ceremony) of Turkey, recognized as official ICH by UNESCO in 2005. Representatives of the Turkish state safeguard the Sema as a practice that is linked to Sunni Islam and performed in public ceremonies only by men. This national safeguarding renders the Sema a political tool to realize the ruling government’s nationalist agenda of privileging Sunni Islam above other religious affiliations (Aykan, 2012). This safeguarding through the Convention leads to the exclusion of other Sema communities, particularly a community known as the Foundation of Universal Lovers of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi (EMAV), which has allowed women to perform in public ceremonies since 1993 (Pietrobruno, 2014).

Those familiar with Pakistan’s history can easily appreciate the range and variety of its hand-made textiles and the sight of a humble villager using them as everyday wear. The cloth weaving and dying tradition from the Indus Valley that originated roughly five thousand years ago has continued throughout the Middle Ages and has received a tremendous boost of encouragement with the onset of new technological developments and the introduction of new motifs while under Muslim rule.

Based on the accumulated experience over the course of fifteen years since the adoption of the 2003 Convention, Southeast Asia is well known for its diverse and abundant intangible heritage. Many states in this region have already initiated ICH safeguarding plans with active participation of communities.\nHowever, a number of Member States are still having difficulties employing community‐based safeguarding plan and programs. In implementing the 2003 Convention, much attention should be paid to build capacity to support and safeguard a wider range of ICH Stakeholders, including communities, group, and individuals.\nTherefore, this session will provide an opportunity to share experiences and discuss on the roles the community should exercise in safeguarding ICH. In this session, we will discuss the following questions: (1) Do ICH communities, groups, individuals, and practitioners fully recognise the spirit and significance of the 2003 Convention? (2) Are they subsequently assigned to embody appropriate roles?

Two frequently used proverbs in Korea are “like a rat caught in a jar” and “the sauce rather than the pot.” The first is used to describe someone caught in a difficult situation, like a rat that has fallen into a large onggi jar while the second means that the taste of the sauce contained within the pot is more important than what the pot looks like and is used to emphasize that content is more important than form.

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.

Within the world of professional tattooing, Samoans are famous for the continuity of their practice despite missionaries’ efforts to ban it. A detailed study of the archives of the Marist’s fathers and the London Missionary Society revealed that in the western island of Savai‘i, some districts and their ali‘i (high ranking chiefs) where defying the church by organizing tattooing initiation rituals during the second half of the nineteenth century. This in turn, incited the Marist Fathers to ask for official permission from headquarters in Rome to let them practice tattooing.

"Block printing is a technique to create patterns on fabric using blocks. Ink is applied to the wooden or brass block, which is then pressed onto the fabric by hand to impart the design. These blocks are customized and carved intricately, and can be used to print a design of between one and six colors. Block making has been practiced in India for the last 300 years. Pethapur, about 33 km from Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, is home to a community of artisans who have been involved in making wooden blocks for years. Blocks from Pethapur are considered to be the best and earned the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag No. 585 in 2017. I had the pleasure of visiting with Satish Prajapati, a skilled craftsman in Pethapur, when he shared the history and process of block making with me."