The Rom Dance is a prominent cultural heritage originating from Ambrym Island in the Vanuatu archipelago. Ole in the Ambrym vernacular language refers to dance performances in which participants wear a rom mask. The rom, which is the mask itself, is a simpler version of the Banks Islands’ tamate mask, but it looks more similar to South Malekula masks.

Culture is chiefly perceived as a driving force for sustainable development in the UN’s action plan for people, planet, and prosperity entitled “Transforming Our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. In this context, there is a foreseeable strength in ICH to generate means for sustainable development. The following issues are considered as starting points of discussion: (1) the methods of aligning commercial activities with ICH safeguarding activities, (2) the possible risks to ICH viability and the ways in which they can be mitigated, and (3) the prospect of moving toward and maintaining a mutual relationship between ICH Safeguarding and development policies.\nKeeping the grassroots level highly pertinent in Session 3, we intend to put various NGOs activities at the center of the discussion, particularly in light of our pursuit to assess their presence in sustainable tourism development and eco‐tourism, looking into the possibility of expanding the role of NGOs in areas such as cultural mapping and gender equality. To end, a plenary discussion will be held. The outcome document will be circulated to share the discussion points of and lessons learned from the meeting.

Traditional navigators are trained to recognize physical signals in, “sea, skies, and stars, memory signals from knowledge of star, swell, and wind compasses… and cultural knowledge recorded in chants, dances, and stories”.

The tug-of-war is one of the most well-known intangible cultural heritage elements that represent the Republic of Korea. Tug-of-war games were widely enjoyed by people across the country before the 1930s and 1940s. During the 1960s, the tug-of-war came under the protection of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Policy and has been appointed and is being managed by local and national governments. Locally, eight tug-of-war traditions have been inscribed on the national inventory list. Moreover, compared to other ICH element studies, of the element has been significantly researched.\n\nTug-of-war is a cultural heritage element of many East Asian nations, and these nations are preparing to nominate the element to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In this context, the goal of this paper is to discover universal traits in tug-of-war traditions in East Asia. However, besides the Republic of Korea and Japan, there is insufficient research on tug-of-war traditions in the region, which limits the scope of this presentation. In case of China, despite the existence of various records on tug-of-war in literature, the tradition as it exists in China today seems to be more of a sports match than a ritual event. I would also like to mention that this paper is a draft based on document records, the Internet, and the academic symposium hosted by Gijisi Tug-of-War Conservation Institute.

This paper explores how intangible cultural heritage is being adapted and accredited in an autonomous Higher Academic Institution. Kathmandu University Department of Music has been taken as a case study. \n\nThis Department offers Bachelors (B.Mus.), Masters (M.Mus.) and PhD in Ethnomusicology. As part of this study, information has been collected in order to understand the factors that were perceived as the main considerations for quality assurance of the programs in the department. These challenges were explored with accreditation framework following evidence based self-assessed perception methods of the faculties, staffs and the students. The parameters for accreditation were identified after study of documented information of the Department and in-depth interviews with the concerned stakeholders. The results show that there are obvious challenges that exist while accrediting the programs such as standardized reference books, appropriate location, adequate number of youths in the program, and providing support to attract foreign students and mobilizing students in national and international concerts, etc. It is noted that these challenges, however, have minor implications and can be solved at the time being addressing the problems with the structural adjustment and collaborative efforts with the community assuring quality of ICH related courses in ethnomusicology programs.

Based on the notion of culture as a complex multi-layered phenomenon, we admit that some cultural elements or expressions may fluidly migrate and adapt to different local settings, not necessarily or exclusively serving as a marker of an ethnic identity. Moreover, an emerging concept of shared cultural heritage allows us to disclose positive potential for joining efforts in safeguarding and enlivening the cultural heritage of the people. Connecting various national and local cultures along the Silk Roads aims exactly at gaining the joy of sharing the values, wisdom, creativity; at nurturing mutual interests and empathy among cultures and people; and at searching for common threads across the rich multitude of manifestations of cultural heritage of a vast region. The joint initiative by ICHCAP and IICAS to launch the Silk Roads ICH Networking Program needs support and actions by the wide range of stakeholder organizations and groups. Two options might be considered for a Silk Roads ICH Festivals network—either establish its own training program, capitalizing on the European Festivals Association’s experience or—cooperate with EFA on arranging a special edition of their Festival Academy focused on ICH and open for young managers from within the new network.

“ICH and Gender” introduces the mutual relationship between gender norms and ICH and emphasizes that understanding the intimacy between ICH and gender is important for effective ICH safeguarding and gender equality.

In 1995, pangalay dance guru Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa stopped teaching. The lack of diligence among students of traditional dance had caused her to lose her enthusiasm. Hopeful dancers requesting lessons at first failed to convince her to change her mind. But in January 1999 she decided to teach again, having collected a long list of applicants in the intervening years. Thus began a weekly community dance workshop in her suburban home in Antipolo City, Mega Manila. For those who joined the weekly sessions, learning from a dance master was exhilarating, especially on the eve of a new millennium. In 2000 the excitement over pangalay and other traditional dances of the Sulu Archipelago inspired the motley group of dance students under teacher Ligaya to formally establish the AlunAlun Dance Circle (ADC), with their mentor as company artistic director. ADC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, conserving, and propagating pangalay, which, according to teacher Ligaya, has “the richest movement vocabulary among all Philippine dances, and the living link to the dance cultures in Asia.”

"1. Introduction: Safeguarding ICH through a Designation System\nSimilar to other countries, the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of Korea, which embodies Korean cultural identity, is now facing the threat of transformation and disappearance as a result of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation over the last several decades. In light of this threat, Korea enacted institutional safeguarding measures for intangible cultural heritage beginning with the establishment of the Cultural Properties Protection Act in 1962. \nThe Cultural Properties Protection Act defines ICH as cultural manifestations of intangible nature with high historical and artistic significance, such as theatrical and musical performing arts as well as crafts and skills. The act, furthermore, distinguishes ICH into two different groups: Important Intangible Cultural Property, designated by the state, and Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage, designated by local or regional governments. The number of items listed as Important Intangible Cultural Properties was 7 in 1964, and by 2011, this amount expanded to 114, and the number of Provincial Intangible Cultural Properties is 446. \nThe overriding principle for all activities involved in protecting and managing cultural properties and reviving them as living culture is preserving these heritage elements in their original forms. \nHowever, in the case of ICH, due to their very nature of existing and being transmitted orally, they are especially vulnerable and endangered in today’s quickly evolving, industrialised and urbanised society. Ensuring their continuity over time is accordingly more challenging and requires active intervention. \nTherefore, state and local governments select and designate categories of ICH more severely threatened than others by the changing environment, and provide support for transmission activities by Holders and transmitters of skills and the arts to guarantee the continuity of traditions and the cultural identity of the nation. "

Dibya Jyoti Borah, President of ARHI introduces the role of ARHI in safeguarding of ICH. Established in 2008, ARHI is collaboration of individuals belonging to the indigenous tribe, activist working for the cultural-educational rights of native people. It is a wider platform for all indigenous communities to discuss and reflect upon challenges and problems faced by indigenous communities as well as finding the best means to address those concerns. It is a grassroots organization comprising all small & big indigenous communities.

AJIYER Fair Trade Ltd. began working as a social business enterprise for the betterment of Bangladesh communities in 2002. It aims to strengthen the livelihood of rural agricultural practitioners, craftsmen, and artisans; empower women and children; revive cultural heritage; and ensure food and nutritional security.