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.

"To the Pacific islanders, the waters that separate them are also a factor that connects them. Bearing this in mind, the four themes in this section offer a glimpse into the need to hold mastery over the sea for survival—for the fish that sustain the people and for the creation of pathways to connect them. Through extensive interisland trade, the ocean pathways maintain and sustain relationships for political, social, educational, economic, and most of all, spiritual benefits. \nIn “Palauan Knowledge of the Sea,” for example, we see how extensive methods and nuances of fishing and oceanic knowledge are part of both the livelihood and identity of Palauans. Similarly, by examining the Yapese knowledge related to canoes and ocean voyaging, we can see the effects and importance of inherited know-how on the connected lives of Micronesians through the ages and today. In these and all the themes in this section, we see how expressions by custodians of cultural know-how and development of sophisticated navigational systems have allowed Pacific islanders to travel safely and interact with the ocean and each other. Pacific navigation is perhaps one of the most singular human achievements of humanity. "

Vernacular martial arts (VMA) occupy a special niche within the diverse phenomena classified as martial arts. Cross-culturally, “Martial arts can be defined as systematic bodies of knowledge, belief, and practice that are associated with methods of attack and defense against … adversaries” (Green and Svinth, 2010, p. 331). On close examination, we learn that the behaviors we attempt to gather under this umbrella term are quite diverse, ranging from life-and-death struggles through rule-governed sporting contests to expressive forms, from globalized combat sports to localized martial culture. The systems that fall on the latter end of this spectrum I have applied the VMA label to, and among the various martial expressions these are the ones that most clearly qualify as intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The following distinctions are useful for the current discussion.