Stakeholders
oral traditions
ICH Stakeholders 7
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Antoine Gauthier
Antoine Gauthier acts as director of the umbrella organization for the intangible heritage and cultural traditions of Quebec (Canada), recognized by the Ministry of Culture and accredited by UNESCO under the 2003 Convention. He carried out on behalf of this NGO several projects, consultations, conferences and training. As an expert in intangible heritage, he is regularly invited to speak at conferences around the world. Many of his writings deal with oral and living traditions, in particular a series of studies entitled "The cultural traditions of Quebec in figures". He is co-founder of the ICH NGO Forum.
Canada -
Jacob Mapara
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
Zimbabwe -
Qubumo Bamo
Born in the Great Cold Mountains, Sichuan, Dr Qubumo Bamo originates from the Nuosu, a subgroup of the Yi people. She obtained her Ph. D. in Folkloristics at Beijing Normal University in 2003. She is Senior Fellow and Director of the Oral Traditions Research Center at the Institute of Ethnic Literature (IEL), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). She also acts as Vice President of the China Folklore Society (CFS), an accredited NGO and a member of the Evaluation Body of the Committee. \n\nConcentrating on the links between the written and oral traditions of the Yi, she has conducted long-term targeted field study on various aspects of Bimo (ritualists) scripture culture and Yi oral narratives. She is the author of The Golden-Eagle Spirit and Poetic Soul: A Study of Archaic Poetics in the Yi's Scriptures (2000), Spirit Picture and Ghost Board: A Survey of Incantation Epos and Ritualized Paintings in Nuosu Yi Area (2004), and more than 130 articles. Her translation of Gregory Nagy’s Homeric Questions was published in 2008. Her newest book, entitled Verbal Dueling and Epic Performance, is in press, and is a revised edition of her dissertation, based on a targeted field study carried out in her hometown. She has recently been working as a principal expert on the National Key Project for Developing Metadata Standards for Documentation of China Ethnic Minority Oral Traditions. \n\nDr Bamo teaches courses on oral tradition, folkloristics, and ICH studies at University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS) for the PHD and MA graduate students. Topics of current research include epic tradition, oral poetics, ICH safeguarding and cultural policy. Her essays on ICH is in print (Beijing: Culture and Art Publishing House, 2021).\nSince 2004, she has been extensively engaged in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage at local, national, and international levels, possessing competence and consulting expertise in policy-making, training design, lecture delivering, as well as programme evaluation for governmental organs, professional institutions, centers of communities, and universities. Since 2007, she has been active in the China Delegation to statutory meetings and events under the 2003 Convention. As one of the ICH Team (CFS4ICH) leaders in the China Folklore Society, she plays a central role in annual tasks.
China
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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 -
THE INSTITUTE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA STUDIES
The Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies (IPNGS) was established under the Cultural Development Act, passed by the Papua New Guinea House of Assembly on 14 October 1974. Papua New Guinea had become self-governing from Australia almost a year earlier, but independence was still about another year in the future. Today IPNGS is a national cultural institution under the National Cultural Commission Act. It moved to its present location towards the end of 1976. The distinctive welded sculptures on the outside walls and gates depict the Orokolo story of Aru Aru and his journey to the moon, as told by Sir Albert Maori Kiki.\nAlthough laws, governments, ministries, and even the location of the Institute have changed over the past four decades, the main focus has remained constant: the documentation, archiving, and promotion of Papua New Guinea cultures. Overseen by the Director, IPNGS is divided into departments for its present three main functions: Music (5 staff), Ethnology (3), Literature (1). There are also two staff in administration, and five casual workers. nResearch staff members under take research in villages and towns, or at festivals. Such research might be on specific topics, such as clan origin stories or the variety of dances performed at a particular festival, or more general survey work, such as documenting musical traditions in a particular village. While the primary focus is on traditional expressions, attention is also given to more recently developed expressions of culture, such as those performed in church or as part of widespread popular forms.\nThe Ethnology Department is responsible for documenting the many myths, legends, and other oral traditions found in the country. Publications have been produced in English as well as local languages, both to promote the maintenance of this important body of knowledge and to encourage vernacular literacy.\nFor many years, the Literature section was responsible for promoting creative writing, especially through the running of the annual National Literature Competition. Many submissions were made for categories such as novels, short stories, poetry, radio plays, essays, etc. The results appeared in our journals such as Gigibori, Bikmaus, and Sope, or as separate publications. We hope to revive the National Literature Competition in the near future.\nIPNGS Music Department has strived to develop its music archive to reflect all music-related research that has been done in the country. Although the collection can always be expanded, to a large extent this goal has been achieved.\nThe Music Archive presently contains about 12,000 hours of recordings on reels of tape, cassettes, discs, films, videos, CDs, and DVDs, with over 10,000 photos and 4,000 books, articles, and theses. These materials are a mixture of things collected by IPNGS staff, other researchers, commercially produced items, and historical recordings of PNG music from other archives around the world.\nAs with the other sections of the IPNGS, the Music Department has issued numerous publications. Presently, there is a series of cassette and disc recordings, a monograph series (Apwitihire), and a journal (Kulele). Our publications are widely used in the school system and have been well received overseas.\nIn total, IPNGS has produced about 250 publications, printed, audio, and films/videos. It has also played an important role in making materials published in languages such as German, Japanese, and local languages accessible through translations in to English or Tok Pisin.
Papua New Guinea -
Folkland
Folkland, an international centre for folklore and culture, is an NGO devoted for the promotion ofnfolklore and culture established in 1989. Folkland is based in the south-western province of Indianand has branches in several regions of India and other countries, too. Main domains of Folkland fallnunder performing arts, oral traditions and expressions, social practices, rituals and festivals,ntraditional crafts, and so on. Folkland stands for the promotion of folklore with an objective tonprotect the intangible cultural heritage. lt strives hard to conserve intangible cultural heritage fornthe future generation. It aims for sustainable development through intangible cultural heritage.
India -
Shejun Agency
The Shejun Agency was established with the aim of preserving and passing on the rich cultural heritage of Bhutan to future generations. Shejun means “knowledge transmission” in Classical Tibetan and Dzongkha. Active since 2004, Shejun presently focuses on the documentation and study of Bhutan’s written heritage and oral traditions. The organization is located in Bhutan's capital, Thimphu, and made up of a group of committed national and international scholars, field researchers, and support staff.
Bhutan