“Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” — Elie Wiesel.\nAs a living heritage, intangible cultural heritage means that memories you hold and memories I hold represent shared and penetrating history. Contemporary society has experienced a loss of intimacy among people and has seen the environment of transmission changed beyond recognition. However, intangible cultural heritage reveals its presence, quietly saying, “I am still here next to you.” Let’s visit Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, Laos, and Samoa to see what kind of voice they give us.

This publication is prepared by the experts of Kazakhstani National Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) with support of the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO and with organizational and financial assistance of the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP). Its main purpose is to introduce a wide range of readers to the ICH of our country.