Boysun district, in southern Uzbekistan, has a beautiful natural landscape and is surrounded by a mountain range. The local environment and geographic isolation created favorable conditions for unique local intangible cultural heritage forms and expressions to form and be preserved over time. The same conditions also led to the existence of various types of labor activities, such as agriculture, cattle breeding, and handicrafts.

At altitudes of 3,525 and 2,973 meters, the Merak and Sakteng communities, respectively, are two separate settlements, yet because of their identical culture and traditions, people tend to refer to these communities as a single entity, as one village. The two settlements are separated by a high pass called Nyak-cung La, and traversing this land involves a strenuous day-long trek between these two settlements. The people of these settlements are believed to have migrated from Tshona to Tibet in the fourteenth century, led by ’Lama Jarepa. Ever since their arrival, they have been wearing distinct dress and speaking a unique language, and they have become accustomed to the lifestyle associated with inhabiting the higher altitudes of eastern Bhutan and living as nomads.

The Azerbaijani Carpet Makers Union (ACMU), founded in January 2010, is a voluntary self-governmental public association of citizens rallied to support Azerbaijani carpet weaving.The ACMU seeks to promote a revival of the powerful spiritual heritage of carpets, the national traditions of the Azerbaijani people, a consolidation of the creative potential of seen figures of society and culture, support for talented children and youth, and creative carpet dynasties. The purpose of the ACMU is also to convey objective information about the unique national culture, rich historical heritage, and diversity of the carpet art of Azerbaijan to the international community.

A small crowd is standing on a bridge across the canal that brings water to the village. The canal diverts some water from the Syr Darya River, the only source of irrigation water in the region. There are several cars parked on the banks of the canal and a medium-size truck with a two-year old bull is parked right on top of the bridge. A group of young men take the bull on the bridge and tie him up. The crowd gathers around and the people present lifts their palms up at the chest level. The most respected elder loudly starts making a wish: “May there be plenty of water this year for our crops and livestock; may there be peace and prosperity in our lands; may there be accord and respect in our community….” The wish, which is also a blessing, goes on for several minutes. After every sentence, the crowd univocally utters “amen” to show that every person seconds that wish. Then, bull is solemnly sacrificed on the river bank, and its blood flows into the current turning it red for a little while.

he upheaval and extinction faced by traditional culture is a core issue in today’s world. It has brought us to the realization that we are living in an important transition period where the future of humanity will be determined. In particular, the advent of digital platforms has provided a communication channel to link people together; the importance of these platforms seems poised to become much greater. In this era, in which means of communication are facing remarkable qualitative changes, oral tradition is under considerable threat. In past eras where humankind created languages and memories to resolve all kinds of issues and share information, speech was a way to achieve totality. Through speech, people delivered their thoughts and opinions, created new things, and embraced differences to become one. As such, spoken language became an absolute means and solution to maximize the immense capacity of humankind. People discovered interests and meanings through conversations; they combined work and enjoyment by singing; they wore masks and gave movement-based performances accompanied by amusing anecdotes. By reciting and dedicating bonpuri, a ritual song to pray to deities and receive oracles, their creations became content passed down through oral culture.

At present, there are 23 nationally designated urushi lacquerware production sites4) in Japan. Most of these regions are known for making everyday household items such as dishware. Urushi production sites exist all across the country, and have developed region-specific techniques that are adapted to the local environment and lifestyles. These techniques have been passed down by artisans.\nOn the other hand, urushi is also used in many traditional buildings. The urushi production sites involved in architectural applications are not limited to the abovementioned 23 areas. In recent years, there have been many instances of urushi reapplication during repair and restoration of buildings that are over 100 years old and nationally recognized as important cultural properties. This paper will summarize the current state of urushi application in repairing important cultural properties, and offer context to the issues raised in Japan’s domestic lacquer industry and supporting systems of production.

Based on a common geographical environment, the people of East Asia share a similar sense of the seasons and have been sharing the seasonal festival traditions for many years, which to a certain degree has brought commonality to their experience of heritage. The seasonal festival traditions in East Asia have a localized form of expression and common features.2) They all attach importance to seasonal nodes such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, Half of July, April Eight, and the Twenty-four Solar Terms. They value family ethics in the practice of festivals and share Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist cultural traditions, with emphasis on “red-hot sociality.” As they collectively enjoy seasonal festivities, they continue creating arts-related activities around these festivals and transmitting their heritage values to the younger generation. East Asia's practices of seasonal festival traditions are both a manifestation of cultural diversity and cultural sharing. This presentation will discuss the sharing, sustaining, and collaborative safeguarding f East Asian Seasonal Festivals as ICH.

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.

Intangible cultural heritage is one of the most unprotected forms of artistic heritage. Nowadays, in the globalization environment where different cultures exist and interact, intangible cultural heritage requires our special attention. For Tajikistan, the first victory of efforts put forth toward safeguarding ICH was the acknowledgement of Shashmaqom as a masterpiece of human intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Ali Haleyalur of Lamotrek Island, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia, is one of the few remaining people with the knowledge and skills to journey long distances on the open ocean in traditional voyaging canoes without using modern instruments. He and the small community of palu (Carolinian master navigators) alive today learned this wayfinding knowledge through years of apprenticeship with the master navigators throughout the Caroline Islands of Micronesia. Customarily, the knowledge and practices required to navigate over what can be treacherous waters have been passed along to only a few select descendants of ancestral lineages that have protected the valuable practice for thousands of years.

Folkland, International Centre for Folklore and Culture is an institution that was first registered on December 20, 1989 under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, vide No. 406/89. Over the last 16 years, it has passed through various stages of growth, especially in the fields of performance, production, documentation, and research, besides the preservation of folk art and culture.Since its inception in 1989, Folkland has passed through various phases of growth into a cultural organization with a global presence. As stated above, Folkland has delved deep into the fields of stage performance, production, documentation, and research, besides the preservation of folk art and culture. It has strived hard and treads the untrodden path with a clear motto of preservation and inculcation of old folk and cultural values in our society. Folkland has a veritable collection of folk songs, folk art forms, riddles, fables, myths, etc. that are on the verge of extinction. This collection has been recorded and archived well for scholastic endeavors and posterity. As such, Folkland defines itself as follows

In Turkey, it is mostly traditional female cooks who prepare wedding dishes in most villages, although their numbers have declined. Traditional female cooks have almost always been at the center of my culinary eld research. I carried out an important part of this research in the villages and small towns of the Aegean (Izmir, Aydın, Manisa), Mediterranean (Adana), Marmara (Balıkesir, Çanakkale), and Central Anatolia (Çorum) regions between 1998 and 2018. e data I obtained by interviewing and observing techniques in groups that describe themselves as immigrants, natives, Alawis, Yoruks, or Turkomans in these settlements showed that traditional female cooks who prepare ceremonial dishes, especially for weddings, have some common equipment and knowledge. is equipment included the ability to control the material, cooking and presentation techniques of ceremonial food and to transfer the traditional knowledge, skills, and experience of food to future generations.