Manipuri Theatre, established in 1996 at a remote village of Ghoramara in Kamalganj Upazila of the Moulvibazar district of Bangladesh, has become an example of theatre excellence. The main objective of the organization revolves around safeguarding Manipuri culture and to showcase the ICH traditions of the Manipuri community to a wider audience. Over the last twenty years, the organization has made a mark in theatre, producing around thirty plays. The journey of Manipuri Theatre is quite inspiring. In the past two decades, it has been able to attract theatre goers, create a village-based theatre studio, and present some excellent productions. Their work has been acclaimed for being instrumental in social inclusion of the marginalized Bishnupriya Manipuris and in the fight against extremism in society. The organization has also successfully connected to the Bishupriya Manipuris living in Manipur and other northeastern states of India through regular cultural exchanges.

Bhansar Village in the Tanahun District, 140 kilometers west of Kathmandu, is home to the Gandharba Community, a musician caste of Nepal. The community is made up of 26 Gandharba houses and 150 residents. Nepal has a few musician castes that use song and music as their hereditary occupation. The Gandharba’s uniqueness comes from their use of the sarangi, a four-string instrument played with a bow, and their broad repertoire of songs. For centuries, the Gandharba played the sarangi as a tradition and profession. As a consequence of relying on the instrument for their livelihood, they were able to preserve their culture, art, and heritage since ancient times. The Gandharba musicians traveled throughout the country playing their music, and through their music, they sang messages of the people and kings and about heroic deeds. The Gandharba musicians were messengers of the nation. In fact, in many ways they still are, as they are the only conveyors of news and messages from times long past.\nIn Bhansar, people have their own culture, rituals, traditions, and lifestyles, with the majority of adult men relying on making and selling sarangi. In addition to selling instrument to locals and foreigners, they also seek out opportunities to perform. The elder men still wander from place to place trying to make a living as well as spreading the news and stories of the past. Other men of the younger generation make a living by singing on highway buses to entertain the passengers. However, the most interesting aspect of this village community is the creative thought and work of the Gandharba women.

Jacob MAPARA is cu「rently the Director of the\n \n\nCatego’Y\n \nInstitute of Lifelong Learning and Development Studies of Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe. He is Professor and Chairperson for Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Living Heritage. At present he is leading\nthe “Inventorying oral traditions, expressions , local\nknowledge and practices of the Korekore of Hurungwe district in Zimbabwe” pr이ect. He holds a Dlitt et Phil (PhD)\n \nand a Maste「s’\n \ndegree in African Languages from the\n \nUniversity of South Africa. He has an Honours degree in Shona (one of the languages of Zimbabwe) as well as a Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Zimbabwe. In addition , Dr. Mapara holds a Certificate in Environmental Education (now Education for Sustainable Development) from Rhodes University, South Africa

Republican cultural institutions established on the basis of the organization, which has been operating since 1936, first in the form of the House of Folk Art, then the Republican Scientific and Methodological Center of Folk Art and Cultural Enlightenment, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 15, 2017.\nThe scientific-methodical center for the organization of activities is a state institution under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, whose main task is to comprehensively study the problems of public administration in cultural and art institutions operating in all regions of the country, as well as in the field of culture. to assist in the full implementation of state policy, to ensure active cooperation with public administration and local authorities, to preserve and develop the rich traditions and achievements of our national art, to promote theater, museums, library, creative associations, culture to raise the status of recreation and recreation parks, cultural and recreational centers and concert venues, to submit to the Ministry analytical and critical presentations on the activities of cultural and artistic institutions and to further develop and strengthen their material and technical base further development of creative work carried out by cultural institutions within the framework of its rights and obligations through the development of the necessary recommendations, the formation of a system of training and retraining in accordance with modern requirements and scientific and methodological activities.

Vietnamese Institute for Musicology, formerly the Musicology Division of the Culture and Arts Bureau, was established in 1950. Undergoing many changes in organization structure and belonged directly to such different organizations as Music and Dancing Research Division, Department of Arts, Music and Dancing Bureau, Arts Institute, it was, up to 1976, officially separated to an independent institute with the name of Vietnam Musicology Institute. Vietnamese Institute for Musicology (VIM) at present is an institution belonging to Hanoi National Conservatory of Music under the Ministry of Culture and Information. nWith only 20 staffs in 1976, Vietnamese Institute for Musicology has increasingly developed its staff with the expansion in various activities. Total staff is now up to 50 people of different professional fields at 6 Divisions. They are Collection and Research Division, Scientific Information Division, Technology Division, Showroom for Vietnamese traditional musical instruments, Material and Publication Division, and Administration Division. nWith its specialization, Vietnamese Institute for Musicology is mainly responsible for collection, preservation, research and dissemination of Vietnamese traditional music within the nation and to the World.

The Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) is a non-profit Vietnamese NGO working with disadvantaged and poor people, especially ethnic minorities, to improve their livelihood and maintain their traditional ways of life. SRD has three main areas of work: sustainable forestry, climate smart agriculture, and mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Founded in 2007 by three former employees of ‘Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité CIDSE’, a now-defunct Belgian NGO in Vietnam, SRD has inherited their experience as highly skilled practitioners who are still working for the organization.

The International Institute for the Inclusive Museum (IIIM) brings together a large number ofnclusters of research and capacity building institutions, arts, museums and heritage bodies acrossnthe world. Most of them actively engage on our social media channels. The criteria for participationninclude demonstrated commitment to the ICOM Code of Ethics and Cultural Diversity Charter;nUNESCO Charter and its suite of Soft Law and Hard Law standard setting instruments and theirnethical requirements; UN post 2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. Withnhubs all over the world, IIIM enhances constructive engagement with several knowledgencommunities and promotes state-of-the-art online research, learning and teaching systems.\nnAmaravathi Heritage Society was formed in December 2015 with Amaravathi Mahila Samiti or Women’s Society. The local Ambedkar society advocates the heritage of Dalits. The society directly started working with the poorest and most disadvantaged Chenchu and Yenadi tribal communities. Then the Dhanyakataka (Amaravathi) Buddhist Society was also included. Later on the Women’s Empowerment Development Society WEDS actively participated in their working. Amaravathi is a village and with three other villages and 19 hamlets, it constitutes a mandalam or administrative unit. The total population is about 27,600. After establishment the first challenge for the institute was to raise heritage consciousness and bring together the people to take ownership of their ‘Varasatvamu’ or heritage, especially intangible heritage. Its aim is to practice of heritage tourism, where the valuing and safeguarding of primary resources, cultural and natural, in creating products for the recreational spectrum. Amaravathi Heritage Town is a lead project designated by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Curating the town brings together all the cultural heritage values and environmental ethics into one seamless local community cultural development project.\n Amaravathi Heritage Town project facilitated by the International Institute for the Inclusive Museum has given a platform to many CBOs and NGOs to work together. Participatory cultural mapping enabled the location of the first voice of primary stakeholders in the project. The town has waited for 2000 years to be considered for development since the times of the Satavahana and Ikshvaku kingdoms when Amaravathi was the capital. It was here that Mahayana Buddhism took both and spread all over Asia, especially Korea, Japan and China. It is the civil society that is revitalising and safeguarding the intangible heritage and conserving the tangible heritage. Amaravathi Heritage Town project is the catalyst for sustainable heritage development.