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.

Newars, the indigenous people of Kathmandu Valley, have a unique and sustainable way of safeguarding tangible and intangible cultural heritage through an association of people known as guthi. This ancient practice can be traced back to the fifth century CE, and it continues to have an organic link with the society and cultural heritage today. Guthi responsibilities range from simple everyday rituals to take care of temples; organize big events like chariot processions and traditional mask dances; and teach music. They also support social functions by integrating young people into a caste-based society.

Mirrakhim Oposh is the founder of the “Sherden” brand, a member of the intellectual and creative union "7 Heaven", a designer and a researcher of traditional knowledge.\n\nCurrently, he is developing his clothing brand and a creative studio, at the same time he participates in and organizes creative exhibitions, festivals, and fashion shows. The base for each of his new collections is philosophical ideas, concepts, and traditional knowledge of the Kyrgyz people. He got into art through philosophy and studying the traditional worldview of the Kyrgyz people. \n\nAs a student, and later a researcher at the Department of "Philosophy and Methodology of Science" of the Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn, he was very interested in the creative manifestation of certain ideas, phenomena, and concepts through applied art. After graduating from the university, for about 5 years he taught philosophy in the universities in the capital. He has higher education in philosophy, as well as in art management.\n\nHe has participated in the UNESCO training on strengthening the capacity of the active youth of Kyrgyzstan to safeguard and promote intangible cultural heritage. Since then, he started promoting the ICH in his artworks and collections. \n

Dr. Aijarkyn Kojobekova has been participating in a series of Training of Trainers on different aspects of ICH organized by the UNESCO in Central Asian region since 2016 which helped her to step forward in this field. Since then, she has been conducting a series of workshops on safeguarding ICH and implementing of the 2003 UNESCO Convention in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). \n\nIn 2018 she was actively involved in a regional research project on ICH in the TVET system and also coordinated the research project on ICH in TVET in Central Asia. In 2020 Dr. Aijarkyn Kojobekova worked on the national manual on safeguarding sacred sites, rituals and practices related to sacred sites in Kyrgyzstan. During the work, she has explored the challenges and opportunities local communities and individuals face in practicing worship on sacred sites and what safeguarding measures need to be taken by the communities themselves, local authorities and state bodies. \n\nShe has facilitated an online meeting and conducted face-to-face training on intangible cultural heritage (ICH) community-based inventorying along the Tian Shan Corridor of the Silk Roads in Kyrgyzstan. She has been also involved in research on the Inventory of ICH elements in Kyrgyzstan in the framework of the community-based inventorying along the Tian Shan Corridor of the Silk Roads in Kyrgyzstan within the framework of the EU/UNESCO Project: “Silk Road Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Iran – International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage”. In 2022 she developed a manual for school teachers on ICH in Kyrgyzstan. \n\nDr. Aijarkyn Kojobekova has: \n- 10-year collaboration experience with different local and international organizations: Open Society Institute, UNDP, UNESCO, IFES, SaferWorld, IWPR, Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation, Aigine Cultural Research Center and others.\n- 15-year expertise in revealing the content of different types of reading materials by the means of critical discourse analysis, narrative analysis, in expert interviewing, working with massive of literature, processing collected data by MAXQDA programme, conceptualizing complicated processes and sociocultural phenomena.\n- 19-year teaching of social sciences (sociology, political science). Courses: Qualitative Social Research Methodology, Past in Present: Memory, Culture and Politics, Nation-building in Central Asia, Social Stratification.\n\nPublications: 5 manuals, 1 monograph in co-authorship, more than 70 articles (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Russia, Turkey, USA)

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

Aigine1 CRC is a non-profit NGO established in May 2004 with the mission of expanding research and education into lesser-known aspects of the cultural and natural heritage of Kyrgyzstan, integrating local and scholarly epistemologies relating to cultural, biological, and ethnic diversities.\nFor the last ten years, Aigine has been studying, documenting, safeguarding, and promoting the vibrant cultural heritage of the Kyrgyz people in the following domains—sacred sites, including their natural, spiritual, and social components; the Kyrgyz heroic epic trilogy (Manas, Semetey, and Seitek)and Kyrgyz folk music. These domains accumulate key ICH elements requiring safeguarding and promotion among younger generations in present-day Kyrgyzstan.\nOur center has been engaged in a profound and systematic study of sacred sites in Kyrgyzstan since 2005. Today, we have an inventory of 1,075 sacred sites with detailed locations, descriptions, and pictures. This cluster of sites enabled us to define and outline the Sacred Geography of Kyrgyzstan. The study also investigated and unveiled such ICH elements as historical and contemporary dimensions of sacred sites, as well as belief systems, rituals and pilgrimage practices. This data has been published in fourteen books available in English, Kyrgyz, and Russian.

Art Council of Mongolia, Culture Naadam Project

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2008\nCultural space of Boysun was proclaimed a Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2001 and inscribed onto the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.This film contains information about the Boysun district’s nature and the cultural processes related to craftsmanship, folk performance, traditional medicine, and others.Strong aspiration to preserve traditional lifestyles of the local people was observed during filming process in 2016 and 2017. An example of this is the increasing number of followers of the folk-ethnographic ensemble called Boysun.

Kin Pang Then is a traditional ritual of the Tai ethnic group in the northwest region of Vietnam to welcome and thank the deity known as Then. In the ritual, Then comes down to grant blessings on villagers and heal those whose souls are sick. The beneficiaries of the ritual are obliged to participate in the next Kin Pang Then ritual. The whole process of greeting and sending off the deity is intended to bring harmony and unity to all community members who participate in and enjoy the ritual. \nThis video shows the spiritual life of the Tai people and a master performing the ritual to bring good luck and wellbeing to the local people.

Nepalese communities express their emotions through the rhythms of various folk dances. Folk dances, in fact, are an inseparable part of rural life. On the other hand, the religious influence can easily be observed in the songs and dances, which are often performed to please deities responsible for the well-being of humans and cattle, favorable climate, and good harvest. As the country has widely differing topographical features, so does it have vast variances in cultural aspects. Folk songs and dances depend on cultures, cas-tes, seasons, and geographical features. For example, a sherpa living in the Himalayan region sings and dances differently from a Tharu living in the Terai region. Similarly, songs and dances performed in the spring season express joyous emotions, whereas those performed in the winter season express sadness. This collection includes the most famous folk dances of the different indigenous communities of Nepal dwelling in various environments. These dances are a part of their daily life.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture.\n\nIn 2015, ICHCAP supported the NCCA in digitizing around five hundred hours of analogue content through the Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials. Some of materials representative of traditions of Philippine ethnic groups were chosen and reproduced as Pagdaloy, flow of life in eight DVDs and two CDs, so they can be enjoyed by more people.\n\nThe videos contained in the collection come from Travel Time, a weekly travelogue that aired from 1986 to 2015 in the Philippines. The TV travel show provided detailed information about minority groups in the country. The NCCA, the project operator, was not only engaged in the digitization of analogue materials but also provided support throughout the production process, contributing to giving more people the opportunity to access valuable ICH materials.\n\nICHCAP Collection IV includes stories of eight Philippine ethnic groups in the Philippines. The story collection comes in a book format, with the DVDs depicting each of the stories. The two CDs feature music used for rituals, feasts, and farming. The collection also features music played by Uwang Ahadas and his family ensemble; Ahadas was named a National Living Treasure of the Philippines. The last page of the collection features a map indicating the areas the ethnic groups inhabit, to help audiences better understand the ethnic groups.\n\nICHCAP hopes that this collection will enable not just researchers in the relevant fields but also the general public to learn more about and become familiar with Philippine ICH.

According to statistics data in 2009, the Cao Lan people (known as Sán Chay) in Vietnam had a population of 169,410 people, residing mostly in Tuyên Quang province. The Cao Lan ethnic minority has a treasure of poetry, folk music, and dance such as sình ca (unique folk singing), múa trống (drum dancing), múa xúc tép (small shrimp catching dancing), múa chim gâu (cuckoo bird dancing), etc. The musical instruments of Cao Lan people are various, including thanh la (small knobless gong), não bạt (small cymbals), drums, bells, and wind instruments. Kèn is a wind instrument performed in festivals and ritual forms. Kèn consists of four parts: the body, the bell, reed stake, and the reed. The body is a cylindrical hollow tube made of hard wood about thirty centimeters in length. On the body, there are seven pressing holes on the front and one hole on back near the stake. The instrument bell is made of a frustum-shaped thin wooden piece. The smaller of the bell is attached to the big end of the tube. The stake is attached to the small end of the tube. The reed is made of a reed pipe or worn nest attached to the stake. Its sound is strong, a little discordant at high pitches and a little cracked at the low end. The register of the instrument is two octaves. Kèn is played by men only. This track is a medley of extractions that are often played in the rituals, such as hành quân (army operation), kèn Khắp, and đưa Phật (Buddha greeting).

The chaudike is a string instrument. Chaudike songs are most popular in the northern part of Karnataka, especially near Dharwad, where goddess Yellamma is worshipped by millions of people. The songs are built around the story of Jamadagni and his wife Renuka. In Saundatti (Dharwad, Karnataka), Renuka is known as Yellamma. The rise of Renuka as a mother goddess was perhaps the result of a complex merging of numerous personalities and myths. Renuka is most popular among the lower castes, such as the Pariahs, who are the performers in this recording. The community of Devadasis performs rituals that include Chaudike songs at Renuka shrines. These songs tell the story of Jamadagni, Renuka, and their son Parashurama.

CD1_BHAJANS OF NEPALI FOLK CULTURE\n\nA bhajan is a spiritual chant in traditional Nepalese culture that is performed mainly in temples. The lyrics typically recount the good deeds of various gods and goddesses. It is believed that the performance of a bhajan brings about peace and prosperity and an improved quality of life for all living beings. Bhajans of Nepali Folk Culture This CD includes examples from four distinct categories of bhajan, namely Devi Bhajan, Dafa Bhajan, Khainjadi Bhajan, and Usha Charitra Bhajan.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

Pagdaloy, Flow of Life \n(2015 NCCA-ICHCAP Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials)\n\nThe National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture.\n\nIn 2015, ICHCAP supported the NCCA in digitizing around five hundred hours of analogue content through the Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials. Some of materials representative of traditions of Philippine ethnic groups were chosen and reproduced as Pagdaloy, flow of life in eight DVDs and two CDs, so they can be enjoyed by more people.\n\nThe videos contained in the collection come from Travel Time, a weekly travelogue that aired from 1986 to 2015 in the Philippines. The TV travel show provided detailed information about minority groups in the country. The NCCA, the project operator, was not only engaged in the digitization of analogue materials but also provided support throughout the production process, contributing to giving more people the opportunity to access valuable ICH materials.\n\nICHCAP Collection IV includes stories of eight Philippine ethnic groups in the Philippines. The story collection comes in a book format, with the DVDs depicting each of the stories. The two CDs feature music used for rituals, feasts, and farming. The collection also features music played by Uwang Ahadas and his family ensemble; Ahadas was named a National Living Treasure of the Philippines. The last page of the collection features a map indicating the areas the ethnic groups inhabit, to help audiences better understand the ethnic groups.\n\nICHCAP hopes that this collection will enable not just researchers in the relevant fields but also the general public to learn more about and become familiar with Philippine ICH.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

The sixth sub-regional networking meeting took place in Pacific Harbor, Fiji, in April 2015. The meeting was organized by ICHCAP and the Department of Heritage and Arts of Fiji in collaboration with the UNESCO Office in Apia.\nThis meeting report includes presentation materials from the sub-regional meeting as well as summaries of the meeting with the intent of providing information to promote international cooperation among experts and institutions in the ICH safeguarding field in the Pacific region.

This short brochure gives an overview of ICHCAP, providing a brief history of the organization as well as an overview of its functions and activities related to safeguarding ICH in the Asia-Pacific region as a UNESCO category 2 center.\n\n