As a UNESCO category 2 center, ICHCAP organized the youth ICH storytelling contest with the aim to support ICH safeguarding activities of young practitioners. Youth practitioners play an essential role, as ICH relies on direct transmission among community members. Their activities and involvement will hopefully contribute to raising awareness of ICH worth protecting. The story below won the Grand Prize of the 2019 Asia-Pacific Youth ICH Storytelling Contest. \n\n---------------------------------\nThe Hát Bội is Vietnamese intangible traditional performing art which has taken shape, developed during Vietnam history and is still preserved. The Hát Bội is form of traditonal opera which has a 500 old year long history of development in Vietnam. It contains features close to the culture in many other countries in Asia. My name is Anh Quan, I am sophomore of The Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture in Vietnam. \n\nWhen I started in junior high school, I had opportunity to study and enjoy The Hát Bội. These images, stage, eyes, gestures of The Hát Bội are so excited. But I strongly impress by artists’ face. This emotion is always with me in my thoughts. When I have been a student. Immediately, I go to The Ho Chi Minh city Hát Bội Theater to learn more about this art. Hát Bội relies on the principles of symbolization and stylization. These principles prodoundly influence Hát Bội typical dance/ gesture and makeup by which Hát Bội in distinguished from other traditional performing arts. Being the essences of Hát Bội, gesture and dance are perfomrmed based on several rules of symbolization and stylization with the aim of sophisticatedly expressing the feeling and emotion of characters and other implications of plays. These artists of Hát Bội have to understand very well about principles of symbolization and stylization and when they makeup and. Makeup is definitely the outward essence Hát Bội indicate the specific and personality of every character. The articial materials for making-up a disguise includes as followings: Multi-colours-lipsitcks, powder in multi-colors, the balckening-wax or the ash-like-black powder, the zinc-powder in golden-red– a mixture of the deep-red and golden powder, powder in blue, in green, and in yellow. With many special kinds of professional tools, such as: Tooth sticks, fingernail like kinife flat which look like a spoon – flat and made of wood.\n\nI observe artists makeup , I dream that i can makeup like them. I want to pursue my dream of being one of characters of Hát Bội. With the help of Thanh Bình Artist, I have fulfilled my dream. I feel virtuosity, sophistication and passion of Thanh Binh Artist when he makeup for me.\nThe face painting in an original feature in Hát Bội as well as in some forms of opera in Southeast Asia .The make-up in Hát Bội ( chiefly for male personages , rarely for female ones) includes three main parts : painting the complexion, drawing lines on the face and pasting false beards. There is nothing called the realistic things to identify but absolutely living - symbols in the art of the Hát Bội with its speical ways of disguiting for whole characters at all.\n \nLooking at the face makeup, the audiences can understand wether a character is good or bad, loyal or disloyal, etc. Below are some basic colour used in Hát Bội makeupnRed: Loyal, unyielding personnWhite: artful flatterernGreen: intelligent person or person with venturesome spirit or short lifenYellow: gentle and virtuous personnBlack: Furious and vigorous personnThat is the dialectics of the art of theatrical masks attained by masterly (mask makers, makeup, artist). nThe above special things may be generally get a common concept for us all to comprehend some intersted – things in many kinds of the characters and characteristics in traditional culture and art of the Hát Bội. \n\nThe Hát Bội has any characters. Currently, plays of Hát Bội are mainly performed at the temple (or shrine). The young generation do not strongly like the traditional art include The Hát Bội. Few young people are passionate about traditional art, this situation make the training for young people quite so difficult. For make youth generation learn more about The Hát Bội. Over the past years, The Ho Chi Minh city Hát Bội Theater has organized program called “The school stage” to introduce The Hát Bội to pupils and students.\n\nThis program around the content: history of formation and development of The Hát Bội, dance, and makeup art. Besides that, performance of historical topics, excerpts about children to raise patriotism, hope students have the opportunity to learn more about The Hát Bội. I think this working is very well for young people. That thing will make me and young people will love and have positive emotion with the traditonal stage. I hope The Ho Chi Minh city Hát Bội Theater always create other program to performance for community. To get deeply understanding about Hát Bội, warmly welcome to The Ho Chi Minh city Hát Bội Theater – Vietnam. I am so happy when I have chance to get experience and share excited valid content of The Hát Bội for every body. Vietnam also has so many traditonal arts. The Hát Bội is one of them. For protecting and delivering The Hát Bội, I think the young generation have to focus on studing intangible culture of country. I aslo contribute a little working for do that. I hope other young person will do that like me. I am going to keep my passion to learn more about traditonal of Vietnam also the other coutries over the world. Vietnam - a friendly destinaton always warmly welcome all of you, we have so many stories to talk with you. When you meet me together, I am going to “play” the Hát Bội for you. Because I really become “an actor” of The Hát Bội by my heart in my dream.

▶ Play 3. A Pact for Peace A Journey to Kalinga\nThis episode was first aired on Filipino television on April 18, 1996. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nAn animal was offered in the context of the Kalinga cultural ritual.\nHistorically, the Kalinga is a mixed group (Calinga, Kalingga, Kalina’), but it is now considered as a more or less homogenous group in the province of Kalinga. Subgroups of the Kalinga may also be found in the adjoining provinces of Apayao, Abra, Ilocos Sur, and Cagayan. There is a small group of people in the province of Ifugao also called Kalinga but who are not related to the central Kalinga population. The core area of the group is in the drainage areas of the Chico River and its tributaries in northern Cordillera. One of the ways in which this culture has been subgrouped is as follows: Balbalan (northern), Lubuagan (southern), and Maducayan (eastern). Another suggested subgrouping is: (1) Giad’an Balbalasang, (2) Sumadel, (3) Lubuagan, (4) Nabayugan, (5) Ablig Saligsig, (6) Kalagua, and (7) Mangali Lubo. In addition, there is a little-known highly mobile group in the Kalakad-Tupac area in east Tanudan.\n\nThe members form a mixed group of people thought to be descendants of migrants into the area from the Cagayan Valley to the east and the province of Abra to the west. There is a marked difference between the northern and southern populations due to the introduction of wet rice terracing in the south from Bontoc. An eastern grouping caused by eographic circumscription is also recognized. The society is organized into endogamous groups stemming from budong (peace pact) alliances. Because of their dress and personal ornamentations, the Kalinga have been dubbed the “Peacocks of the North.” Two distinctive features are the octagonal house in southern Kalinga, and the peace pacts that they enter into to preserve relationships between neighboring groups. Settlement areas are denser in the south.\n\nAgriculture is also carried on in terraces, though on a smaller scale than the Ifugao and Bontoc, and field preparation is done with the use of draft animals. Rice is the principal crop. Swidden crops include beans, sweet potato, corn, sugar cane, and taro. Coffee is a popular cash crop. The Kalinga are also known for their pottery, baskets, and metal craft.\n\nAlthough in the past, peace pacts had been common among the numerous ethno-linguistic groups, the budong of the Kalinga has caught the country’s imagination. Warring groups enter peace-enhancing arrangements through an elaborate procedure and the holders of each party keep token symbols from the other holders. These symbols ensure that the communities adhere to the terms of the pagta, the rules dictated by the pact.

Muqarama Kayumova doesn’t speak about herself much, but she appears knowledgeable and understanding. As head of the Foundation of Craftsmen of Tajikistan, she is known as a designer and a participant of the festival movement of folk craftsmen. Her father, a Tajik originally from Samarqand, moved to Dushanbe when the republic of Tajikistan was formed. The family practiced golden embroidery, and the knowledge and skills were passed to children. Golden embroidery was a domestic hobby and the opportunity for Muqarama to create something to decorate an interior or a dress.\n\nIn her workshop are awards, diplomas, and certificates recognizing her for her accomplishments and talents. Her finest pieces are in galleries and collections outside of Tajikistan. And whatever work is currently exhibited in her workshop will eventually leave as well. One of her rules is to create something necessary for people, something to decorate their lives. Knowing Muqarama means being introduced to the craftsman, the artist, the designer, the art-manager, the historian, and a person who is in love with her country.

Takraw is a traditional Thai volleyball that has been a beloved pastime among Thai people since the Ayutthaya era. Teams consisting of six or seven players use various body parts to serve and return a rattan ball. In an evolution in the 1920s, a configuration of three hoops with attached nets was hung at a height of 4–5 m, into which players try to propel the ball. Around the 1950s, Hoop Takraw gained widespread popularity and was formalized, with a tournament held each year during the Thai sports festival season. This video explains the rules of Takraw and demonstrates the acrobatic kicking techniques players use to score points.

The people of Thailand enjoy flying kites in March each year. Each region boasts its own type of kite, crafted in various shapes. The tradition of kite-flying began as a key ritual to pray for luck during the Sukhothai Kingdom and became popular among people of all social backgrounds. Although in more recent times it has become somewhat commercialized, it remains a popular traditional game in Thailand. \n\nThis video describes the method of crafting a kite and the rules and techniques of kite-fighting using Pakpao and Chula kites.

The most important celebration for Mongolian people since ancient times is the traditional three manly sports (naadam). During this important celebration there is wrestling among men, which tests men’s strength and wit. Archery tests the skills of marksmanship. The horse race tests the racers’ swiftness and hardiness. They are performed according to the customary rules. The wrestlers are garbed in sporting uniform. The archers are garbed in specific dress. The manes and tails of racing horses are fastened together with strips as decorations. There are certain numbers of ceremonial movements. Every sportive feat is eulogized. These are rooted in very ancient traditions. Every winner in wrestling, archery, and horse-racing has titles and epithets.\n

Mongols move from place to place throughout four seasons in search for new pastures. In order to use the grass-land properly Mongols move from place to place and this has been an important part of their life and traditions associated with animal husbandry for hundreds of years. There are strict rules to follow for the practices of moving. Mongols have a tradition to move on a clear and cloudless day by observing the sky and weather. The head of the family decides where to encamp. After the loading of the camels or oxen is completed, the old sites of the ger and corral are cleaned. Ashes and rubbish are taken away. The old sites and holes where the tethering line was get leveled. The load leading horse’s main is cut. There is a custom that the lady of the house dressed in her best garment to lead the load on a horseback with fully decorated saddle.

The dombra, a two-stringed plucked instrument, has played an integral part of Kazakh culture since ancient times. By performing kuy (a short solo composition) on the dombra, the nomad expressed his feelings. The only harmonic material for dombra that fully meets the traditions and rules is the tree. The tradition of hollowing out the instrument from a single piece of wood relates to mythological ideas about the sacredness and inviolability of the tree. The entire process of manufacturing dombra in ancient times took four years, and each instrument was custom made based on the player’s physique, voice, repertoire, gender, and was endowed with a special spiritual content.

With the 2003 UNESCO Convention adopted as a normative tool and essentially a basis to build ICH international cooperation, further attention was driven to a question of building functioning and sustainable ICH networks. In most cases networks do have more or less defined rules of the game, to which all the members agree when joining and acting as members. In this regard, the purpose a network was created for, its mission and the objectives set are the primary considerations. We will see that some networks tend to have more clearly identified obligations and duties for the members while others are more flexible and offer higher degree of freedom. Joining a network on the other had offer certain benefits that differ depending on the nature of a network, and its objectives. Researchers identify three types of networking: operational, personal, and strategic. While operational networks are normally employed to have the job done efficiently, personal networks aim at personal and professional development through external contacts and are oriented to future potential interests. Strategic networks in turn are both external and internal and are needed to identify future priorities and challenges and making stakeholders support them. Although operational, personal, and strategic networks are not mutually exclusive, to maximize efficiency effective leaders learn employing networks for strategic purposes.

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2008\nMaqom is a complicated musical composition of many parts and governed by certain rules that developed over centuries. Uzbek maqoms have two parts: mushkilot (instrumental part) and nasr (song part).\n\nMaqom development in Uzbekistan is associated with state centers—Bukhara in Bukhara Emirates, Khiva in Khorezm Khanet, and Kokand in Kokand Khanet.\n\nThese centers resulted in the formation of three maqom types, “Shashmaqom” (Bukhara), which includes six maqoms and “Khorezm maqoms” (Khorezm), which includes six-and-a-half maqoms. In Ferghana-Tashkent (Kokand), maqom cycles that contain four maqoms were edited by professional musicians of the palace.\n\nIn this film, skilled musicians and students perform all three maqom cycles. Recording was conducted in Tashkent, Ferghana, Khorezm, and Bukhara and was enriched with interviews from maqom researchers and masters.

Tara-Bandu is one of Timor-Leste’s most enduring systems of customary law—an ancestral method for maintaining harmony between humans, nature, and the spirit world. Practiced across many municipalities, this tradition involves the collective setting of social and environmental rules by the community, enforced not by police or government, but by deep-rooted respect for customary authority and ancestral belief.\n\nThe term “tara-bandu” itself means “to suspend” or “to declare a prohibition.” At its core, it is a communal agreement to protect certain aspects of life—be it sacred forests, clean water sources, agricultural land, or interpersonal relationships. Violating a tara-bandu is believed to bring not just social disapproval, but also spiritual misfortune, such as illness, crop failure, or even death.\n\nThe process of establishing a tara-bandu involves an elaborate ceremonial act led by lia-nain (customary custodians), elders, spiritual leaders, and village chiefs. At the heart of the ritual is the symbolic installation of the prohibition. This may take the form of hanging a tree branch, an animal skull, or even a bound bundle of leaves at the boundary of a protected area. These symbols serve as visible markers that the space or behavior they refer to is off-limits.\n\nEach tara-bandu is tailored to local needs. In some communities, it may prohibit cutting down trees from a specific forest. In others, it may regulate marriage customs, resolve conflicts, or prevent theft and violence. The process is highly participatory: villagers gather in large open-air meetings to discuss the rules, agree on penalties, and publicly reaffirm their commitment to uphold the communal values.\n\nThe ceremony itself often includes the sacrifice of an animal—commonly a pig, goat, or chicken—as an offering to the ancestral spirits. A traditional oath is spoken, and traditional liquor (tua sabu) is sometimes poured on the earth as a gesture of sealing the agreement. These rituals symbolize not only human consensus but a spiritual pact between the living and the unseen world.\n\nBeyond its legal implications, tara-bandu has an environmental and ethical function. It teaches respect for natural resources, encourages collective responsibility, and reinforces peaceful coexistence. It also represents an indigenous system of governance, reminding the Timorese people that long before modern institutions, their ancestors had mechanisms to resolve disputes and protect what mattered most.\n\nIn the years following independence, tara-bandu experienced a significant revival. Communities, NGOs, and government bodies alike have recognized its value—not as a relic of the past, but as a living, adaptable tool for building resilient societies. It is now being integrated into conservation projects, natural resource management plans, and even civic education programs in schools.\n\nStill, its continued vitality depends on intergenerational transmission. Elders must be supported in sharing their knowledge, and younger generations must be empowered to see the relevance of tara-bandu in today’s context. As both law and ritual, tara-bandu is a shining example of how intangible cultural heritage can guide communities in shaping a sustainable, respectful, and united future.