The Teochew Puppetry tradition of Penang is a distinct and increasingly rare form of puppetry that narrates folk tales and legends through a skillful play of marionette puppets. It is a more traditional and challenging form of opera, requiring fast and fluid animation of puppets to imitate human-like gestures. Traditionally, puppetry troupes consist of nine members divided into groups of three to handle puppets, sing and play musical instruments. The orchestra comprises of gongs, drums, er hu and cymbals. Each puppet takes about two to three weeks to make and are hand-crafted from wood, clay and paper, weighing several kilograms each. Older puppets are made of tightly-packed bundles of hay. The puppets are controlled by iron-rods attached to the back and limbs. Each character would have its own newly-made costume, richly detailed, just like those of a regular Chinese opera performer.

This Promotional book is a result of researches done by researchers of the Research Institute of Culture and Information and it was published by finance assistance of the International Information and Networking Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP). The Promotional book contains of elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tajiks described in seven chapters with fresh and colorful illustrations.

Based on the ICHCAP Field Survey on Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Efforts in some South Asian countries (2010–2013), this summary provides a brief overview on the ICH situation in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka . 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. Some information on the ICH safeguarding status of Pakistan is updated, based on Periodic Report No.00794/Pakistan on the implementation of the Convention and on the status of elements inscribed on the RL submitted to UNESCO on December 2012. This survey report offers a large sample of the diverse ICH situations in South Asian countries. Each country has a different background on the issue of intangible heritage. Although all the participating countries are concerned about the threats facing ICH, most of the countries participating in the survey haven’t defined the ICH and haven’t established national ICH lists and/or ICH inventories.However, each country expresses a high degree of motivation and encouragement for safeguarding o ICH, sharing experiences, and cooperating internationally. A common point noticed among them is that they tend to pay more attention to traditional performing arts in comparison to other ICH domains. Apart from the main subject, information on the situation of intellectual property related to ICH safeguarding in each country is included. However, this issue is very briefly reflected, so it is necessary to go through the ICHCAP Field Survey on Intellectual Property Issues in the Process of ICH Information Building and Information Sharing (2011–2012) to obtain more comprehensive and concrete information on this topic.\n\n- Ratified the ICH Convention in 2006; conducted survey in 2013.\n- As of December 2014, has twelve ICH elements on the RL and ten accredited NGOs.

Present booklet was developed by experts of Uzbekistan in line with provision of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage that had been approved by the Republican Centre for Folk Art under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The publication is the output of the joint cooperation project between Uzbekistan and ICHCAP under the title of “2011-2014 Facilitating ICH Inventory Making and Using Online Tools for ICH Safeguarding in the Central Asian Region”.

Based on the ICHCAP Field Survey on Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Efforts in some South-East Asian countries (2009-2012), this summary provides a brief overview on the ICH situation in Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, and Myanmar . 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 South-East Asian countries. Each country has a different background on the issue of intangible heritage. \n\nFor instance, Indonesia is the only country participating in the field survey that has a programme in the Register of Best Practices. Viet Nam developed ICH-related definitions in its Law on Cultural Heritage; whereas the Philippines has a strong legislative background and solid network of public structures protecting cultural heritage. Cambodia recognises the link between cultural heritage and development of national economy and runs relevant activities on promoting traditional culture while maximizing its economic benefits to the country. For Laos, training local artists rather than researchers in ICH safeguarding, including IPR, is deemed to be essential, as the artists are the important resources that master their arts. Among the South-East Asian participants, Thailand and Myanmar are the newest to approach ICH safeguarding. Although all countries are concerned about the threats ICH faces, most countries participating in the survey haven’t defined ICH and haven’t established national ICH lists. Meanwhile, drawing up an inventory of traditional cultural expressions in different forms—register, cultural map, or database—is a common activity in these countries. Moreover, each country expresses a high degree of motivation and encouragement for safeguarding ICH, sharing experiences, and promoting international cooperation.\n\n- Ratified the ICH Convention in 2006; conducted survey in 2009.\n- As of June 2013, has two elements on the RL and one accredited NGO.