Dr. Jyldyz Doolbekova is an anthropologist, researcher, and consultant with a background in traditional ecological knowledge, place-based education, and local development to support and preserve the biocultural diversity and the well-being of mountain local communities in Kyrgyzstan. \n\nShe participated in the research within the project "Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Contribution to SDGs - Community Education and Development" initiated and supported by International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia-Pacific (IRCI, https://www.irci.jp/). The results of the study entitled "Visionary Local Communities in Promoting Intangible Cultural Heritage in Kyrgyzstan" (2020), and "The Evolving Role of Community Museums in Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation: A Case Study from Kyrgyzstan" (2021) were presented at the International Symposium in Tokyo (online).\n\nShe has 15 years of experience with the Christensen Fund Central Asia Program (California, San Francisco) as a Special Advisor, Program Manager, and Regional Coordinator. Before joining The Christensen Fund, she was the University Projects Officer for the Aga Khan Humanities Project (AKHP), based at project headquarters in Dushanbe (Tajikistan), where she developed and implemented programs in conjunction with Central Asian universities to promote pluralism in ideas, cultures, and people through innovative humanities curricula rooted in traditional arts and knowledge. \n\nShe received a Ph.D. in anthropology, ethnology, and ethnography with a thesis on "Traditional ecological culture of the Kyrgyz (on the example of the Murghab Kyrgyz in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries)" at the Institute of Cultural Heritage of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic; received the equivalent of her MA from Kyrgyz National University Department of History and also earned a Master’s in International Relations from the International University of Kyrgyzstan. \n\n

Chairperson of Maldives Authentic Crafts Cooperate Society (MACCS) and an advisory board member of Homenet South Asia, Aminath has been dedicating her work to the revival of traditional handicraft in the Maldives and empowering homebased workers, especially women. With Aminath’s leadership, MACCS has facilitated the market for buying and selling some traditional handicrafts while creating and establishing a network of homebased workers and crafters across the country. The women led corporative, MACCS has also completed projects on restoration and regeneration for natural vegetation, strengthening the livelihood initiative of homebased workers in the SAARC region, strengthening of market links for sustainable hau cultivation in Fiyori, livelihood support program for wetland management-climate change adaptation and piloting alternatives to single use plastic bags in Male’ amongst others. Aminath, has documented various traditional crafts emphasizing the need for supporting sustainable livelihood activities

Shrabana Datta is a social anthropologist by training and development professional by practice. Currently working at UN Women on Gender Based Violence Against Women and Girls (GBVG) and Gender Equality, she earlier worked on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, resilience, social inclusion, and sustainable development in South Asia. With her experience in multi-sectoral approaches for sustainable development, she used responsible tourism as a tool to safeguard intangible cultural heritages and social inclusion within her realm of work while working as a consultant for AJIYER Fair Trade Ltd. Besides, she is passionate about bio-cultural conservation in the Himalayas. She studied Social Anthropology and Geography at Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany and has dual M.A. degree on Global Studies from Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany and University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.