Malaysia is a developing nation of Southeast Asia. A few of their famous slogans reflect the diversity of its present ethnic groups in terms of language, customs and traditions inherited from past generations, ‘One Malaysia‘ and ‘Malaysia Truly Asia‘. Malaysia’s cultural fusion is the result of immigration, trade and cultural exchanges over many centuries with Arab nations, China, and India, where the arrival of the first foreigners brought along with them their wealth as well as their cultural heritage and religion. Presently, these ethnic groups still maintain their cultural traditions, but managed to come together to develop Malaysia’s unique and contemporary diverse heritage.

The mountain terraces in the cordilleras of northern Luzon, Philippines, were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1995. Propitiously, there was no mention of the word rice in the citation of the inclusion. It well may be because, when the Spanish explorers went up the cordilleras in the 16th-17th centuries, they made mention of the existence of terracing. However, no mention of rice was made.

While the circle is a quantifiable and concrete geometrical shape, the abstract idea of the circle has many different meanings, interpretations, and symbolic significance in Indian philosophical systems. These ideas have also culminated in varied manifestations of the concept into intangible cultural heritage. Garba is a ritual dance form where the knowledge and belief systems regarding the circle find choreographic expression. It is a social-community dance performed primarily by women in the Gujarat region in India. Performed during the nine-day Hindu festival of Navrātrī, the dance is primarily a celebration of feminine energy and an offering to the feminine divinity. It is also performed during the celebration of Sivaratri and weddings and in certain pregnancy rites.

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.

The Cambodian teanh prot (“pulling the rope”), which is generally rendered in English as “tug-of-war,” is one of the most important ritual games played nationwide during certain times of year, especially around the three-day New Year holiday in mid-April. Although the game can be played at any time for entertainment, it is ritually played in the afternoon on the last day of the New Year and/or in the afternoon of chlong chet, a rice-associated ceremony observed shortly after the New Year. The event takes place in an open space of the village or Buddhist monastery.

A great challenge for sustaining intangible cultural heritage is in finding appropriate forms and methods to document and communicate its inherently ephemeral aspects. Globalization in tandem with rapid political, social, and environmental change around the world is placing both cultural and material heritage at risk in ways that societies, governments, and global institutions could not anticipate nor prevent. Recently, however, digital recording and display technologies have opened up powerful new possibilities for the representation, preservation, transmission, and exhibition of immaterial experiences, including the reconstruction of lost places, vanished objects, and embodied and ephemeral practices, signaling a new way to imagine and transmit the memory of the world.

In Palau, the healing process after birth is an essential part of a woman’s reproduction and life cycle. Great emphasis on and development of rituals have persisted to ensure women’s childbearing and rearing capabilities. Processes and details in carrying out this ceremony establish connections among family and clan members for the new mother and her husband. It is a celebration of the success and joy of the first child, the family, and relatives.

The traditions of the Silk Roads go back many thousands of years, more than fifteen centuries, and holds a permanent place in the history of humanity and considerable monuments along the way. Bypassing political influences, Turkmenistan grew as a cultural hub for various traditions. Turkmenistan was at the crossroads of the Eurasian routes, a meeting point of various cultures and civilizations, passing along traditions. The major routes hold an historic and philosophical significance and display a strong sense of harmony among neighboring cultures. Through many centuries Turkmenistan played its part as a conduit for travelers along the Eurasian routes. One of the major issues in relation to the 2030 agenda is our cooperation with UNESCO and the UNESCO structures and experts to produce visible outcomes. Turkmenistan plans to continue its role of cooperation and looks forward to nominating more elements to the UNESCO lists. Akhal-Teke horses and Alabay dogs are loyal friends and faithful companions to Turkmens and are an integral part of the ICH along the Silk Roads.

There have been various cooperative activities for safe-guarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH) at the domestic, regional, and international level since the Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference in 2003. ICHCAP, a UNESCO Category 2 Centre in the ICH field, has been working to share information, build networks, and raise visibility of ICH in the Asia-Pacific region, which shows the cultural iden-tities of relevant communities who can be a driving force of sustainable development of the societies. \nTug-of-war has also been an ICH theme ICHCAP has worked to safe-guard and raise awareness. Among a number of diverse ICH elements, tug-of-war is a cultural phenomenon found worldwide. In Asia, espe-cially, tug-of-war has been a custom deeply embedded in rice cultivation and is therefore found largely in agricultural societies. Tug-of-war was generally performed as a prayer for rain or to predict the bounty of the upcoming harvest. It has common features worldwide based on climate and environment. However, differences arise according to the distinct characteristic and the creativity of the region, which makes tug-of-war a worthwhile research subject as an Asian joint heritage.

Moderator to Participants: The participants commonly addressed intangible cultural heritage festivals’ influence and effects on local communities. Safeguarding local intangible cultural heritage is very important, and ICH festivals are key cultural events for celebrating world ICH and have had a positive effect on economic tourism as well as the social and cultural sectors of the governments hosting them. Today, for all speakers, why is community participation is important in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage? You answered that communities play an important role in production and safeguarding as well as the maintenance and recreation of the ICH. Then you also raised the question, how to strengthen the role of communities? You have answered that groups and individuals concerned should be encouraged to help them safeguard intangible cultural heritage. I would like to suggest a small question to all of you. Local community engagement is very important; however, to encourage local communities to engage in cultural heritage, there may be tasks and challenges, for example how to raise awareness of those issues and how to set priorities and draw attention. As far as the central government we need to consider how to get over dependency for financial support and how to build strategic relationships and partnerships with international institutions and communities. In sum, I am asking to facilitate local communities’ engagement in intangible cultural heritage. What would be the major challenges?

Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh are two coastal provinces in the north - central part of Viet Nam. This region is known for its mixed terrain including moutain terrain, flat terrain, delta terrain and coast terrain. Its climate is hasrsh especially in summer, thusbarren land. However, the two riversnamely Lam and La contribute to the creation of ancient alluvial soil shelves that are favorable for wet rice cultivation. The region, therefore, has become a residential area for a long time.

국내 무형문화유산은 기존의 지식재산권법이 규정하는 범위 내에 있어서 보호를 받을 수 있으며, 또 무형문화유산이 새로운 분야와도 결합을 하고 있기 때문에 신지식재산권법의 테두리 내에 있기도 하다. 본 연구에서는, 무형문화유산을 둘러싼 지식재산권의 쟁점을 포괄적으로 정리해 본 후, 디지털 인벤토리와 아카이브즈로 초점을 좁혀서 신지식재산권의 영역인 디지털아카이브즈를 구축할 때 발생하는 문제를 중심으로 논의를 전개해 보고자 한다. 그리고 간략하나마, 스코틀랜드의 무형문화유산 온라인 백과사전(Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland)과 인도의 사하피디아(Sahapedia)를 비교한 후 국내의 사례인 이치피디아(ICHPEDIA)와 유사점과 차이점을 살펴본다.