Yohor, a singing round dance of the Buryat ethnic group in Mongolia, the Buryat Republic of the Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of China (Shineheen Buryats), is a complex synchronized expression of poetry, melody, and movement. Yohor is performed in the traditional manner with vocal singing and the modern way with playback music. Elders generally opt for the traditional way and have rich repertoire on Yohor songs. They say that the old way of singing is very important in the traditional way of dancing Yohor and that song can also affect the way of dancing.\nthe Yohor dance reflects a cultural uniqueness and a unity of Buryat people in three countries. Separated because of a long history and complicated political situations, Buryat people’s culture, tradition, and language changed. The Buryat language, an official dialect of Mongolian, has already been included in the category of severely endangered languages by the 2010 UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. With this language loss, the number of elders who know the song narratives and old Yohor song repertoire are decreasing, and this brings the Yohor dance under the risk of disappearance as its complexity of song and movements but also of language. The annual and biennial cultural festivals, such as Altargana, Yohor, Night Yohor, and Global Yohor, show how Buryats have been trying to revive the traditional culture and art for long time. Even though, the collective memory and living experience of Buryat people is under the risk of disappearance due to rapid modernization and globalization with language loss.

Dr. Urtnasa Norov received his tertiary education at the State Pedagogical University in Moscow (1972-1977) and later graduated with a doctoral degree from the Academy of Social Science in Moscow (1984-1987). He served as Director General of the Culture and Art Department in the Ministry of Culture of Mongolia (1993-1997), served in the Department of External Cooperation (1997-2001), and held the title of Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO (2001-2011). His research fields include culture, cultural heritage, civilization, and so on. He is currently serving as President of the Mongolian National Committee for the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

The public foundation "CACSARC-kg" was created on the basis of the Central Asian Association for the Support of Crafts (CACSA) - one of the leading non-governmental organizations in the region with an open membership, working in the field of development of the handicraft sector, whose head office was in Bishkek from 2000 to 2008.\nAt its creation, CACSA consisted of several enthusiasts of the region's craft movement, and by 2009, over eight years, CACSA had created a regional network of 76 organizations (from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia) and implemented more than 50 projects in the field the development and support of crafts, where more than 5,000 artisans across the region have directly and indirectly benefited. During these eight years, CACSA has gained significant experience in the development of the artisan sector of the region, providing artisans with training, marketing and international promotion services.\nAt the end of 2008, the head office of CACSA, according to its Charter, moved to Almaty (Kazakhstan), and in March 2009 “CACSARC-kg” was registered as an independent public fund to continue activities in Kyrgyzstan for the development of crafts and traditional culture.

The Institute of Language and Literature (ILL) at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences is a scientific organization that manages academic researches on philology, literature, and folklore in Mongolia. The ILL was founded as the Institute of Sutra and Script in 1921. The name subsequently institute changed to the Cabinet of Philology in 1930, to the Centre for the Study of Philology and Literature in 1957, and finally to the Institute of Language and Literature in 1961 when the Mongolian Academy of Sciences was established. nSince 1962, the ILL at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences has been implementing fieldwork on folk heritage and local dialects one to three times per year. Sometimes folk tellers and singers have been invited to make audio and video recordings. As a result of these activities, the ILL has built a treasury of audio recordings and manuscripts of Mongolian cultural heritage. For instance, this treasury contains tales, heroic epics, long and short songs, and wise and metaphoric words. Also our researchers have recorded ethnic legends and stories about rituals and customs and festivals. About 1100 hours of audio recordings have been preserved in this fund. We are also preserving 451 units of handwritten books and manuscripts.

Mongols believe that each mountain has its own life and deity. In order to worship and serve the deities they create sacred Ovoo (Pile of stones) on the top of the mountains. Sacred Mountain has its own sutras (writings) for reciting during rituals.

Bii Biilgee is performed in a very small space of Ger and expresses the different symbolic signs by movements of hands, shoulders, waist and head. It is regarded as origin of Mongolian national dances and their source of creativity.

Traditional Art of Khuumei (Throat Singing) (Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2010)\nKhuumei is a wonder of culture created by nomads, a unique phenomenon of traditional Mongolian music, an ancient art form, and the highest form of art produced by the vocal organs. Khuumei is considered one of the most significant and unique musical cultures, passed down from generation to generation through home training for hundreds of thousands of years, among nomads. The wonder of “whistling khuumei” as it is called lies in producing two or more pitches simultaneously, one of which is a fundamental pitch from the chest and the other a higher pitch resonating to the hard palate.

Traditional Technique of Making Airag\nThe occasion of fermenting a mare’s milk is celebrated with a feast that is held within three days of tethering foals. The ceremony is held to summon prosperity, to encourage horse herds to multiply, to wish for an abundance of airag (fermented mare’s milk) and other dairy products, and to bless newborn animals. During the ceremony, the proceedings (tethering foals, milking mares, holding a milk libation ritual, reciting milk libation and anointment, and sharing the ceremonial mutton and mare milking feast) are carried out alternately.

Youth Meets ICH is video clips on ICH produced by six Asia-Pacific institutions with youth participation.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is transnational in nature. It is necessary to spread the perception that ICH transcends geographical spaces and national borders, creating dynamic relations, connectedness, and continuity, which is why it is a timeless bearer of cultural diversity, the foundation of the heritage of humanity. However, as the modern structure of nation-state determines the boundaries of culture with national borders, forming the concept of “culture within the country”, subsequently led to the perception that the ownership of culture belongs to the state.\n\nThe concept of exclusive ownership of culture is often controversial in the UNESCO listing process, particularly in instances where cultural heritage and cultural domains have been shared for a long time by two or more nation-states. Such conflicts lead to excessive competition for nomination, overshadowing UNESCO’s fundamental purpose of contributing to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations, as well as the very spirit of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that promotes international cooperation and assistance in the safeguarding of ICH as a matter of general interest to humanity.\n\nConsequently, UNESCO encourages multinational inscriptions of shared intangible cultural heritage to promote regional cooperation and international safeguarding activities, preventing conflicts among countries and coping with already existing ones. By emphasizing joint nominations of shared ICH, UNESCO revised its implementation guidelines three times to deal with conflicts between countries due to the cultural property rights. In addition, States Parties are encouraged to develop networks among relevant communities, experts, professional centres, and research institutes, particularly with regard to their ICH, to cooperate at the sub-regional and regional levels.\n\nAt the 13th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in the Republic of Mauritius in November 2018, Traditional Korean Wrestling was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as the first joint designation by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea. This milestone in the life of the Convention demonstrates that ICH contributes to the peace-building, reconciliation, mutual understanding, and solidarity among peoples. Indeed, only when acknowledging that shared cultural values are empowering characteristics of ICH, the true perspective of the unifying agent of the cultural diversity can be achieved, and that it is the cornerstone of reaching peace among nations.\n\nCountries in the Asia Pacific region are deeply connected by a long history of interactions, exchanges, flows of people, goods, and ideas that have shaped shared values, practices, and traditions. Having a balanced view, advocating for cultural diversity, and recognizing the commonalities among individuals, communities, and countries as a strength are virtuous tenets in the present time.\n\nIn this regard, APHEN-ICH Secretariat, ICHCAP, and UNESCO Bangkok Office are inviting the APHEN-ICH member institutes and public to this seminar under the theme of Diversity and Distinctiveness: Looking into the Shared ICH in the Asia-Pacific, to re-assess that while fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity, connecting bounds, and enhancing international dialogue and peace.

There were more than fifty epics performed by renowned epic tellers, including S. Choisuren, B. Avirmed, Sh. Buyan, M. Yadmaa, G. Khainzan, Ts. Zodov, G. Od, T. Purev, R. Lkhagva, Ch. Khartsaga, Dugersuren, Kh. Zambal, R. Duvchinsambuu, D. Bat-Ulzii, E. Namilan, B. Gombojav, B. Gurragchaa, and U. Bataa that cover over 136 hours of the restored and digitised recordings.

There were more than fifty epics performed by renowned epic tellers, including S. Choisuren, B. Avirmed, Sh. Buyan, M. Yadmaa, G. Khainzan, Ts. Zodov, G. Od, T. Purev, R. Lkhagva, Ch. Khartsaga, Dugersuren, Kh. Zambal, R. Duvchinsambuu, D. Bat-Ulzii, E. Namilan, B. Gombojav, B. Gurragchaa, and U. Bataa that cover over 136 hours of the restored and digitised recordings.

Benedictions\n\nMongolian well-wishing is a powerful expression of the miraculous capacity of words. It is one of the genres of Mongolian oral poetry that uses melodies. Briefly, benedictions (well-wishing) propitiate people’s future happiness and well-being through skilfully composed and recited poems. There are thousands of benedictions on various subjects. For instance there are benedictions recited while beating the sweat cloth of a saddle, while distilling milk vodka, while celebrating a birth, and while cutting an infant’s hair for the first time. Besides ancient benedictions, many contemporary benedictions are being kept at the ILL. These include benedictions for a new ger, weddings, a child’s first haircut, endowment practices, mare-milking ceremonies, foal-branding ceremonies, the People’s Revolution, and others for the military.

Folk Short Songs\n\nMongolian folk songs are divided in three different categories, such as long songs, short songs and the authors’ songs. Folk songs are shorter than other forms of expressions with average durations of one to five minutes, but there is a high volume of them. Thus, restoring, categorising, and digitising folk songs were the most time-consuming tasks compared to others. Within the framework of the project, just under forty-eight hours of songs were restored and digitised.

Sounds that Run in the Vast Grasslands of Mongolia_Oral Traditions and Performing Arts in Mongolia\n\nSince the early 1950s, the Institute of Language and Literature at the Academy of Science (ILL) has been sending survey teams one to three times a year to research and gather data on oral literature and local dialectics. These activities set the groundwork for officially establishing a new archive with written documents and magnetic audio tapes that could be used for research purposes and be maintained. Preserved on magnetic tapes are languages and dialects that have gone extinct, have lost their distinctiveness, or have been adsorbed into other languages or dialects.\n\nHowever, most of the magnetic tapes being kept at the ILL are more than sixty years old, and the expiration date on many tapes has already lapsed. Also, improper storage conditions have caused some tapes to dry out, cling to one another, or fracture. For these reason, it would be hard to transmit to the next generation. Accordingly, since 2008, efforts have been made towards restoring and digitizing superannuated magnetic tapes within the internal capability and capacity of the ILL. The lack of training, finance, and proper tools and technical equipment has, nevertheless, created several obstacles and the digitizing results have not been very successful.\n\nAt this crucial state, the ILL introduced a cooperative request to the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage (FPNCH), and the FPNCH proposed that ICHCAP continue the joint project and take measures for restoring and digitizing superannuated magnetic tapes and distributing and disseminating the data among the general public. According to the above decision, the FPNCH and ICHCAP implemented the Joint Cooperation Project of Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage by Using Information Technology from October 2011 to April 2012.\n\nAs the first stage of the project, the Expert Meeting for Safeguarding ICH by Using Information Technology was held in the Republic of Korea to exchange information with experts for digitizing and restoring the analogue data. The experts of Mongolian National Public Radio, the ILL, and the FPNCH started the project after sharing restoration and digitization knowledge with the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) of Korea, the National Archives of Korea, and the Korea Film Council.\n\nAs the main outcome of the project, a total of 715 hours of superannuated magnetic tapes including epics, folk tales, tales accompanied by the morin khuur, traditional arts, khuumei, chor, long and short folksongs, and traditional customs were restored, digitized, and categorized. Among them, 128 audio clips were selected and reproduced in a ten-CD collection called Sounds from the Mongolian Grasslands. The collection also includes a twenty-page handbook in English or Korean. Through this project, the general public’s, involved organizations’, and domestic and international experts’ awareness about Mongolian ICH increased, and the archive and music contents of regional ICH were strengthened.

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 11 is 'ICH AND WEAVING WITH BARK AND PLANTS'.

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 28 is 'ICH and Sacred Cultural Spaces.'