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 12 is 'ICH AND SHAMAN HERITAGE'.

The international conference of ICH NGOs was held in the National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju from 26 to 28 June 2014 to strengthen the NGO's networking efforts. Under the theme of “Towards Efficient Roles of NGOs for Safeguarding ICH in the Asia-Pacific Region,” some fifty NGOs from the Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America, and Africa participated in the lively discussion on the diverse roles of NGOs as mediators between the government and local communities. This book is an outcome of the conference presentations and discussions.

Pacific islanders have been dealing with changing environmental factors for centuries. Adapting to change is part of Pacific lifestyles, and traditional knowledge, values, and practices—or intangible cultural heritage—underpins the ability of Pacific communities to live successfully and thrive in their environment. In this brief brochure, a publication by the UNESCO Office in Apia and ICHCAP, we learn how intangible cultural heritage, along with other scientific knowledge, may enhance the communities’ resilience against natural disasters and climate change. The following examples relating culture and sustainable environments are included in the brochure:\n\n- Traditional Navigation Systems\n- Environmental Resource Management\n- Vernacular Architecture\n- Social Cohesion, Networks, and Cooperation

The word “jewelry” brings to mind something shiny or glamourous that makes people more beautiful. Jewelry can take the form of a pretty-looking hairband in a high-street shop, rings that a couple exchange as a symbol of their promise to each other, or an item that helps people stand out in smart clothes. \n\nBeyond aesthetic functions, jewelry can also have shamanistic meanings, such as the seashell masks of ancient times. This section introduces various meanings through ornaments from the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, India, and Fiji.

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 3 is 'ICH AND TEXTILES'.

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 28 is 'ICH and Sacred Cultural Spaces.'

Based on the ICHCAP Field Survey on Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Efforts in some Pacific countries (2009-2013), this summary provides a brief overview on the ICH situation in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, Tonga, Palau, Vanuatu and Federated States of Micronesia. The summary focuses mainly on ICH safeguarding systems, safeguarding policies, and ICH inventories as well as on pending issues and the urgent safeguarding needs of these countries. Moreover, information on the main entities in charge of ICH safeguarding and opinions of each country on the issue of community involvement are provided. To give a quick overview these countries’ participation in ICH safeguarding at the international level, some additional information related to UNESCO is specified as well. Apart from the main topic, information on the situation of intellectual property related to ICH safeguarding in each country is included. This survey report offers a large sample of the diverse ICH situations in Pacific countries. Each country has a different background on the issue of intangible heritage. Although all countries participating in the survey are concerned with the threats facing their ICH, most of them haven’t defined ICH and haven’t established inventory national ICH list or inventory. However, each country expresses a high degree of motivation and encouragement for safeguarding ICH, sharing experiences, and participating in international cooperation efforts. Compared to some Asian countries, Pacific countries seem to be well aware of the emerging intellectual property issues related to ICH. This might be related to the internationally publicized infringement and violation of intellectual property rights by outsiders on the Pacific’s traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, and genetic resources . Moreover, these countries appear to collaborate closely with the World Intellectual Property Organization on various awareness-raising and capacity-building activities on protecting traditional culture in a broad sense. To date, out of the eight Pacific countries participating in the survey, five countries (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Palau, and Vanuatu) are drafting laws on the protection of traditional knowledge and expressions of culture. Furthermore, in terms of technical terminology, the Pacific countries tend to use “traditional knowledge” and “expressions of culture” as equivalent terms to “intangible cultural heritage”. Pacific countries are also conducting cultural mapping projects, which is another common point that they share. Finally, the Pacific region has the highest rate of indigenous populations of any other region of the world and the highest rate of customary or traditional land ownership.\n\n- Ratified the ICH Convention in 2010; conducted survey in 2009 and updated in 2015.\n- As of March 2018, has no elements on the ICH Lists of UNESCO and no accredited NGOs.

In 2011 and 2012, field surveys were conducted to examine the intellectual property issues that could arise in the process of ICH information building and sharing. The survey was conducted in eleven countries—Cook Islands, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam. The purpose of the surveys was to highlight the IP-related problems that ICH-related organisations may encounter while conducting ICH information–related activities, such as identification, documentation, digitisation, etc., and promoting the groundwork for a guide to protect IP-related aspects of ICH in the process of information building and sharing.

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 18 is 'TRADITIONAL FERMENTED FOOD'.

The sixth sub-regional networking meeting took place in Pacific Harbor, Fiji, in April 2015. The meeting was organized by ICHCAP and the Department of Heritage and Arts of Fiji in collaboration with the UNESCO Office in Apia.\nThis meeting report includes presentation materials from the sub-regional meeting as well as summaries of the meeting with the intent of providing information to promote international cooperation among experts and institutions in the ICH safeguarding field in the Pacific region.

Recently, in early September, Hurricane Ida struck the Caribbean, and the Southern and Northeastern states of the U.S. caused catastrophic flooding, even the death of the people. Even Australian Bushfires, Cyclone Amphan hit Bangladesh and India, Volcano eruption in the Philippines in 2020 scratched the people all over the world. Mother nature makes human beings humble; however, we get the power from nature to overcome hardships at the same time. This volume mainly introduces traditional knowledge and oral traditions by focusing on who, what, and how with the Pacific Islands, Japan, India, and Thailand cases.

When we were young, we were told a lot of stories. Everyone hated the big, vicious, evil, and cunning animals. However, seen through grown-up eyes, there are no bad animals in the world. Animals personified in stories convey a message to the human world-that of peace and harmony. At a time when a message of peace is desperately needed, let’s enjoy some stories featuring various animals, from tigers to birds, rabbits, monkeys, and more.