Stakeholders
Traditional Practices
ICH Stakeholders 10
Organization
(6)-
BITA (Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts)
Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts (BITA) is a Non Government Organisation established in 2004. The oraganisation works in the sector of performing arts, crafts and oral tradition for safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Performing arts (like theatre, Kabi Gaan, folk songs etc.) is the specialization area where the organisation works closely using diverse modalities with engagement of grassroots artists from rural and urban area entangling multiple ingredients of cultural heritage like use of traditional musical instruments, folk cultural forms. The organisation has been working with multiple communities which are mainly derived from disadvantaged and neglected section of the society including fisher folk, ethnic minorities, peasants, blacksmiths, grassroots artisans, slum dwellers, children, youth adolescents, women etc from Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Feni and Bandarban Hill District. The extensive use of performing arts have been playing significant role reviving and promoting the cultural heritage from one generation to another in order to expedite human rights promotion, social harmony and sustainable development. The ICH safeguarding activities that they undertake are: skill development- technical improvement, knowledge sharing, workshop activities, use of folk elements, etc. They have initiated cultural exchange and are working within and outside the country. BITA also has documentation and publication both in the form of audio and books. As an organisation, BITA has been successful in engaging youth to take part in ICH practices and activities related to safeguarding and promotion activities of ICH as livelihood options.
Bangladesh -
Rupayan Sansthan(Rajasthan Institute of Folklore)
In the 1960s, Late Komal Kothari ,a renowed folklorist and ethnomusicologist and his very close friend, Vijaydan Detha an eminent Rajasthani writer realized that the problem of language covered the whole way of life of people and soon set out on a goal which became larger than collecting tales and songs. They further expanded their archival and research work in the field of folklore encompassing folk songs, folk tales, folk beliefs, proverbs, folk ballads, folk epics of long plays, folk gods and goddesses, social practices, rituals, fairs and festivals, rural food, nomads and pastoral ways of life. Until 1990’s they travelled more than 29000 villages to collect the large repository of cultural heritage both intangible (oral) in the form of audio video and tangible object’s of daily life made from natural resources. During 30years of intense study by them on folklore (in ethno-geographic regions) they finally looked into the traditional ways of knowledge transmission where the practice is to “learn but not to teach” in a structured way. In the year 1995 Komal Kothari got the recognition of his work by the Government of India and has been awarded Padma-Shree in 1983 and Padma Bhusan in 2004.
India -
Kyrgyz Alliance of Midwives
The Kyrgyz Alliance of Midwives (KAM) is an independent professional association in the Kyrgyz Republic, which represents the interests and rights of midwives in the Kyrgyz Republic. KAM was created in 2011 and unites more than 2,500 midwives from all provinces of the Kyrgyz Republic. They are actively involved in strengthening the role of midwives in safeguarding traditional medicinal knowledge. In 2014, the Alliance became a Member of the International Confederation of Midwives.\n\nKAM regularly organizes activities to improve the skills and capacity of midwives, implements and monitors programs and projects such as Safe Motherhood, cooperates with the Kyrgyz State Medical Institute of Postgraduate Education to update the curriculum for midwives, etc. Moreover, the Alliance is engaged in safeguarding and promoting the traditional midwifery knowledge of Kyrgyz and supports communities and individual bearers including those from far mountainous areas. \n\nKyrgyz traditional midwifery knowledge and skills have been safeguarded and passed down through generations. From ancient times, the midwives played an important role in the communities as they possess knowledge and skills pertaining to childbirth, care for the mother and the newborn, as well as rituals and ceremonies dedicated to children. Moreover, midwives support women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the afterbirth period. They also share their knowledge about childcare and traditional remedies for mothers and their children and that is why they have been always respected by the Kyrgyz.\n\nIn 2021, the Alliance was actively taking part in preparing the multinational nomination file "Midwifery: knowledge, skills and practices", which was submitted from 8 countries (Colombia, Cyprus, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Slovakia, and Togo) for the possible inscription to the UNESCO Representative List of ICH of Humanity in 2023.\n\nThe Kyrgyz Alliance of Midwives collaborates with various stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, the National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture, etc. as well as various development partners such as WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, GIZ, AgaKhan Foundation to improve the quality of health services, strengthen the capacity of the Alliance and promote traditional medicinal knowledge.\n
Kyrgyzstan -
Khamir Craft Resource Centre
Khamir was established in 2005 as a joint initiative of Kachchh Nav Nirman Abhiyan and the Nehru Foundation for Development to strengthen and promote the rich artisanal traditions of Kachchh district. The name ‘Khamir’ means ‘intrinsic pride’ in local language and it stands for Kachchh Heritage, Art, Music, Information and Resources. The organizational aim is to provide a platform for the promotion of traditional handicrafts and allied cultural practices, the processes involved in their creation, and the preservation of culture, community and local environments. Also a common roof of a democratic and empowering space has been created, where a range of stakeholders can exchange their ideas and collaborate. The organization works on shift consumer perspectives and raises the cultural value placed on crafts to establish a vibrant, sustainable Indian craft sector in which crafts and artisans alike are highly valued by people worldwide.
India -
VANUATU CULTURAL CENTRE
The principal role of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre since its establishment in the early 1960s has been to document and record the culture and cultural history of Vanuatu. This has been done by the Centre’s staff and a network of over one hundred volunteer fieldworkers. The documentation efforts focus on details of remembered histories and traditions; details of ritual practices, classification systems, and languages; details of cultural landscapes and particularly sites of cultural significance; and records of contemporary events of historical and cultural significance. The latter, which is essentially a history-in-the-making, is recorded on video as examples of material culture collected for museological display, but almost everything else is documented on audiotape. This is because our indigenous cultures are primarily oral, and therefore, all our cultural knowledge is retained and transmitted orally. This documented knowledge is held by the Centre and has been used as source material for the revival of certain traditional cultural practices no longer being practiced.
Vanuatu -
HÅYA FOUNDATION
Since our establishment in Guam in 2004, the Håya Foundation desired to facilitate the creation of a social and cultural environment that would allow for the revitalization of traditional Chamorro culture. The cultural preservation and revitalization efforts, in the beginning, laid the necessary foundation for social re-acceptance of traditional healing practices.\nThe Håya Foundation’s primary goal is to revitalize Guam’s indigenous healing traditions at great risk given the loss with the passing of many healers. We were and may still be at great risk of losing our healing traditions of 4,000 years. During our first eight years, we reached out for help from traditional healers in the neighboring Mariana islands of Rota, Saipan, and Tinian and worked to build and earn the trust of such healers. After a decade of laying the necessary groundwork, we hosted our First Amot Conference in 2012 and brought traditional healers, educators, organizations, government agencies, and policy developers/makers to share information and to learn to improve the health and well-being of our people.\nOur community continues the process of re-establishing its belief and in reliance on its traditional healing practices. We are coming to understand and appreciate our collective responsibility to preserve and promote our traditional healing practices so that they may be practiced, enjoyed, and benefit future generations.
United States of America