This paper deals with traditional boat building in our country Traditional boat building refers to boats and other watercraft mostly using wood and other locally-available raw materials in our archipelago. The fabrication and construction methods as well as their operation draw largely from long term indigenous experience in traversing the inland seas in Southeast Asia, the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) and the vaster Pacific and Indian Oceans. Boat building technology is part of the broader Malayo-Polynesian culture. The major components of this broad culture include the use of Austronesian languages, bilateral family structure, mutually-supportive clans and kinship groups that include maternal and patriarchal affines led by the most able chief. Most important feature of Malayo-Polynesian culture is boat building and sea faring that enabled them to disperse by 1,500 BCE from the core area in Southeast China, Taiwan, Malaya, Indonesia and the Philippines as far as the Madagascar to the west, east to Pacific Island Groups across the Pacific up to the offshore islands of Argentina in South America.

Jeju Island, the largest island located south of the Korean Peninsula, is famous for striking natural features created by volcanic activity. Jeju has gained international recognition as \na treasure trove of environmental assets through achievement of UNESCO’s coveted triple crown “Biosphere Reserve,” “World Natural Heritage,” and “Global Geopark.” Among the various natural assets in Jeju, groundwater is the most valuable resource due to the distinctive hydrogeological features of the island. Even though Jeju Island receives the highest quantity of rainfall in Korea, there is no ephemeral stream that flows all year long on the island because of the highly permeable volcanic rock and soil. Due to the lack of surface water, Jeju is highly dependent upon groundwater. Owing to the hydrogeology of Jeju Island, which differs from the mainland, groundwater recharge and sustainable \nyield is of supreme importance. This is why groundwater is recognized as the “Water of Life” on Jeju.

Dongjo Yoo, a renowned installation artist, focuses primarily on environmental projects, specifically projects related to water. His most notable work is the Water Performance Installation Project, an eleven-year project starting from 2014, involving eleven lakes and rivers in ten countries. Under the motto of “there is no ‘water’ in the presence of water, and there is ‘water’ in the absence of water,” the project has been a large success. To highlight the importance of the environment, Mr. Yoo is looking forward to expanding his project to areas along the Silk Roads where water is a scarce and valuable resource.

"Fiji perceives the 2003 Convention as an important tool to enhance the national pursuit to protect, promote, and revitalise traditional knowledge systems and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of not only the indigenous iTaukei but also the many other ethnic groups that have made Fiji their home. It is these migratory ethnic cultures that are creating a challenge to the survival the indigenous culture, but at the same time, they are also a blessing in disguise because the influx of different cultures creates a multi-ethnic cultural society, one that is open to dialogue, national identity, and greater understanding, which then promotes pluralism in creativity and innovation. \nHowever, one of the most promising features of migratory cultures is that their dancers, spoken language, and forms of worship have to some extent become accustomed to the new environment that has engulfed their new social structure. And this is the most fascinating thing about ICH—it is evolving, so it is a form of living heritage. The migratory groups whilst practicing their heritage have also adopted elements of the local culture. The same also applies to the indigenous culture, which has adopted aspects of the migratory culture over time. For example, garlanding (veivakasalusalutaki) during traditional welcoming ceremonies and other events was not originally a part of iTaukei ICH, but through time, it has been adopted from other Pacific Island cultures, such as the Rotuman, Indo-Fijian, and Chinese cultures. So we are continually faced with questions and challenges as to that which the community perceives as their true ICH and that which is borrowed, and in respect of those that are a blend of both, where do they fit? Or to whom does it belong? What if the community collectively feels that it is not their own, what do we do? Do we still enter this into our national inventories? The contemporary ICH (art)—how are we to embrace it? These are issues we hope to explore further in the "

"In a region as geographically immense and culturally diverse as the Pacific, intangible cultural heritage must be seen in terms of diverse worldviews, each with its own knowledge system and philosophy of life that structures and informs. This section addresses how intangible cultural heritage is reflected through specific cultural worldviews. As specific and unique as they are, however, each Pacific worldview can be seen as having a commonality structured by three dimensions: the spiritual, the physical, and the afterlife or ancestral realm. \nDespite their commonalities, the themes in this section still represent Pacific elements of knowing, philosophy, governance, and wisdom that sculpt life from vastly unique perspectives. The Tongan concept of heliaki, for instance, is not just a knowledge of language and prose, but rather a construct through which the Tongans build views about themselves and their interactions as well as the hierarchy within their society. In a similar way, Palauan place names are much more than words to mark locations; they are capsules of knowledge, events, and history that help the Palauan people identify themselves and their connections to one another. In these and the other themes in this section, the included values incorporate how the Pacific peoples perceive reality and interconnectedness and how their knowledge has shaped their worlds."

In ancient times, China in the East Asian continent, along with the Islamic world which spanned the South Mediterranean Sea, West Asia and Central Asia, were the world’s most developed regions in oceanography. It was only after the renaissance that this leadership was only taken away by the Portuguese explorers. This paper aims to provide an overview of the names used in ancient Chinese texts to refer to the seas of Asia, as well as the ancient Chinese understanding of world oceanography. China is situated in the East Asian continent, which is not in direct contact with the vast Pacific Ocean, but rather, within several seas of the Pacific, nestled between the West Pacific island arc and the East Asian continent. These seas are, going from North to South, the East Sea of Korea, Yellow Sea, East Sea and Southern Sea. The structure of this paper begins from the East Asian seas, going from North to South, and then continues westward to Southeast Asia and the North Indian Ocean.

Since the organizers of this international academic conference sent the four essays to be featured in Session 1 in advance, I will present my opinions and questions regarding the said four essays and end by opening shared agendas for discussion based on the aim of this international academic conference, which was organized as a way to contribute to the transmission and growth of traditional maritime culture in the Asia-Pacific region.