The Koryo Saram living in Uzbekistan are descendants of Koreans who resettled from Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in Russia to Central Asia around 1937. However, unlike the majority of Korean diaspora communities that were formed through voluntary migration, the Koryo Saram of Central Asia were forcibly resettled as a consequence of political decisions. And as a result the Koryo Saram who settled in Central Asia faced huge challenges adapting to their new geographical and sociocultural environment, and as ethnic minorities these challenges were intensified. The establishment and growth of the Korean diaspora community of Uzbekistan took place within this context. nOf the post-Soviet activities to safeguard and transmit intangible cultural heritage, the efforts of the Koryo Saram dance troupes deserve special mention, especially with the somewhat recently established Samjiyeon Dance Troupe, Asadal Dance Troupe, and Koryo Dance Troupe under the Central Koryo Saram Culture Association of Uzbekistan (Koryo Association). Established in 1998, Koryo Dance Troupe is the oldest of the three while the Samjiyeon Dance Troupe and Asadal Dance Troupe were established in 2014 and 2015, respectively. With the exception of Koryo Dance Troupe, young people (in their twenties and thirties) head up these troupes and the dancers are in their teens and twenties. Key activities of all the troupes include both dance education and performance.\nThese Koryo Saram dance troupes perform at various events, including the traditional Koryo Saram festivals of Chuseok (a harvest holiday) and Seolnal (Lunar New Year), and thus play a central role in the continued transmission of intangible cultural heritage. The dance troupes also perform at events alongside various other ethnic groups, promoting the Koryo Saram community’s place within Uzbek society as an ethnic group with a unique and honorable heritage, living harmoniously with its neighbors.y of Uzbekistan took place within this context.

Master Nurak Abdrakhmanov (1947-2014) remained in the memory of modern Kyrgyz as a great composer, performer, and master of making the instrument. He began searching for his komuz teaching system back in the Soviet period when he worked as a music teacher in Ak-Talaa Village in the Naryn region. He was not satisfied with the formal education programs used in the schools. Master Nurak learned early on that that the European twelve-note system did not cover the musical subtleties and possibilities of komuz, saying that the system reduces what is possible with komuz in thirty ways. Master Nurak believed that learning komuz in a traditional and cultural way helps with learning how to play komuz more quickly and easily.

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

Ms. Leena Marsio works in the Finnish Heritage Agency as a Senior Adviser. The Agency is a Governmental organisation with over 200 staff members, responsible for implementing the Government’s policies on heritage. Marsio has been coordinating the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Finland since 2014. She is also the National coordinator of European Heritage Label. She holds a Master’s degree in Arts management from the Sibelius Academy and a BA from the University of Helsinki in Arts research. Before working for the Government, she worked ten years as a free-lance researcher and producer in several organizations in the field of arts and culture both in Governmental level, NGOs and companies. As a researcher her interests have been in cultural diversity, cultural rights and arts education. Marsio has worked as a producer in arts and development projects in Finland, in the Balkan region and in South Africa.

The Center for Research and Promotion of Cultural Heritage (CCH), an affiliate institution of thenCultural Heritage Association of Việt Nam, a non-governmental organization (NGO) accredited bynUNESCO in 2011, has been officially operating since 2010. In pursuance of study objectives basednon the community within the framework of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the safeguarding ofnthe intangible cultural heritage, CCH has carried out dozens of ICH projects and study themes fornthe past 8 years. One of the principles of CCH is to be chiefly connected to the study of communities. This has helpednin bringing about good achievements and sustainable development in study projects of CCH.\nLeaders of the Center are specialists in the field of intangible cultural heritage involving in thenimplementation of the 2003 Convention for the past 15 years. The number of projects and programsnimplemented by CCH each year constantly increased with new ones. CCH has become a truly usefulnbridge, linking state management bodies with communities; an organization that always assistncommunities in the safeguarding and promotion of their intangible cultural heritage. CCH isncurrently the leading organization under the Vietnam Association for Cultural Heritage in thensafeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. It has closely collaborated with a wide range ofnorganizations and institutions, especially local communities, in safeguarding projects that involveninventorying, heritage education, preparation of nominations, and exhibition.

The Asia Dance Culture Institute, under the Department of Ethnic Dance at Gyeongsang National University, staged a Korean traditional dance performance on November 11, 2019, which consisted of taepyeongmu (dance of great peace; Korean National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 92), salpurichum (exorcism dance; Korean National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 46), Dongnae hallyangchum (playboy dance of Dongnae; Busan Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 14) and Jindo bukchum (drum dance of Jindo; Jeollanam-do Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 18). The conceptual theme of the performance was to envisage the prestige of Korean traditional dance and facilitate its encounter with artificial intelligence (AI) robots in the coming era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.\nIt was regarded in dance circles as the first experimental performance of a traditional dance involving an AI robot in Korea. nSince its launch in 2007, the Asia Dance Culture Institute has identified, inherited and developed Asian dance, and furthermore, disseminated it widely in Korea and abroad with the aim to promote the greatness of Asian choreographed arts. It also endeavors to develop cultural contents for Asian dance through academic conferences and education projects. This year, we ventured to perform “Dialogue Between Dance and Robots” as a regular performance of the Asian Traditional Dance Company. Our time-honored dance that has been inherited from the distant past through the lasting accumulation of time is said to be a product into which the past and the present have been condensed and converged. The moment such traditional dance encounters engineering science, we can cautiously begin to anticipate the upcoming future. In the not-so-distant future, perhaps we will feel that AI and robots are our close companions in life, as opposed to simple tools, as we enter into the era of the fourth industrial revolution. It would not be an exaggeration to speculate that this work of collaboration between humans and robots on stage represents a new world that awaits us. The Asia Dance Culture Institute will continue its efforts to create new content that will be born from the convergence of intangible cultural heritage and artificial intelligence.

One of the Mongolian traditional games is the disentangling game. Without doubt, this must have been originated from a nomadic livestock breeder's livelihood as a demand to untie and disentangle difficult knots, ties, and entangled things. Consequently, parents took much care to train their kids to learn how to disentangling things and created a variety of disentangling games. First-hand materials were rope, thread, and whip-cord which were used for making diverse knots and used for children to untie the knots. For instance, "Khonih kholboo" (Chain stitch), "Bogtsnii uya” (Saddle bag tie), "Argamjaanaas biye salgakh" (Untie oneself from a tether), "Yeson nukh" (Nine holes), "Bogj niiliilekh" (Link the rings) and "Chodriin zangilaa" (Hobble knot) can be mentioned. There are stories that Mongolians would challenge the groom's smartness by a game Uurgiin huivnaas bogj salgakh" (Separating a ring from a sting) and challenge the bride's intelligence by games like "Link the rings” and "Run colts".

One of the Mongolian traditional games is the disentangling game. Without doubt, this must have been originated from a nomadic livestock breeder's livelihood as a demand to untie and disentangle difficult knots, ties, and entangled things. Consequently, parents took much care to train their kids to learn how to disentangling things and created a variety of disentangling games. First-hand materials were rope, thread, and whip-cord which were used for making diverse knots and used for children to untie the knots. For instance, "Khonih kholboo" (Chain stitch), "Bogtsnii uya” (Saddle bag tie), "Argamjaanaas biye salgakh" (Untie oneself from a tether), "Yeson nukh" (Nine holes), "Bogj niiliilekh" (Link the rings) and "Chodriin zangilaa" (Hobble knot) can be mentioned. There are stories that Mongolians would challenge the groom's smartness by a game Uurgiin huivnaas bogj salgakh" (Separating a ring from a sting) and challenge the bride's intelligence by games like "Link the rings” and "Run colts".

The one and main principle for upbringing and educating children and youth is to direct them to have respect towards their elders and to follow and venerate their teachings. It is accustomed to employ the combination of variety folk upbringing and educating methods such as approving and supporting, encouraging and praising, disapproving and prohibiting, reproving and criticizing, serving as an example and causing to follow. Folk aphorisms, proverbs, folk oral literature, traditional games and toys are commonly used as well. Mongol herders have been educating and nurturing their children and youths from very young age by engaging in the labor activities which appropriate to their age, and working together with their parents and siblings; playing traditional games, engaging with nature and to make a disciple of well-educated person.

In a small lakeside village in central Kazakhstan, a former history teacher and journalist, Togaybay Nurmuratuly, has dedicated his life to reviving the lost traditions of Kazakh craftsmanship. Disturbed by the decline of authentic handmade wooden goods and the disappearance of ancestral knowledge, he left a successful career in the capital to found a free school of traditional crafts in the village of Ozernoye.\n\nWorking primarily with birch, Togaybay carves dishes, trays, and cultural items adorned with ancient Kazakh ornaments like qoshqar muyuz (ram’s horns), a symbol of vitality and prosperity. Despite having no formal training, he taught himself the techniques of woodworking and has since passed on his knowledge to over a hundred students across Kazakhstan.\n\nAlongside him, his wife Gulbarshyn Zaitzhankyzy—an ethno-designer and expert in felting—teaches women to sew traditional Kazakh clothing and accessories using ancient materials and motifs. Together, they have created a community that reconnects Kazakhs to their cultural roots while helping learners build sustainable livelihoods.\n\nTheir school offers not only craft training but also guidance on entrepreneurship, production, and promotion—helping modern artisans blend tradition with technology. With ambitions to expand into blacksmithing, build an ethnographic village, and establish a Kazakh national brand of handmade products, the couple’s vision is reshaping cultural preservation in Kazakhstan.\n\nThis is more than a story about wood and wool—it's about identity, resilience, and the belief that tradition, when nurtured with passion, can forge a future as strong as its past.

As a UNESCO category 2 center, ICHCAP organized the youth ICH storytelling contest with the aim to support ICH safeguarding activities of young practitioners. Youth practitioners play an essential role, as ICH relies on direct transmission among community members. Their activities and involvement will hopefully contribute to raising awareness of ICH worth protecting.\n\nThis exhibition displays the twenty-nine winning works of the contest organized by ICHCAP. The winners came from ten countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including India, Vietnam, Nepal, China, and Bangladesh. The contest was held in two categories (Young Practitioners and General Youth) for Asia-Pacific youth aged between 18 and 35. The winners shared their own stories as young practitioners in the form of an interview or essay or told stories about ICH they met in their everyday lives or on their travels. The entries were submitted in the form of photo essays or videos, and the descriptions are available both in Korean and English. Videos are provided with English subtitles.\n\nThis online exhibition covers various ICH elements, including traditional dance, crafts, art, music, martial arts, medical practices, and native languages. And instead of simply explaining such heritage, the youth reflected their insights, voices and passion in their stories about the history and culture of the people and communities they met and the safeguarding and transmission of ICH.\n\nMoushumi Choudhury, the Grand Prize winner in the Young Practitioners category, shared her story of becoming the first female Chau dancer by breaking the glass ceiling in the predominantly male dance genre in India. Saurabh Narang, the Excellence Prize winner in the General Youth category, was fascinated by the Siddis in India, which is an ethnic group of African origin, after he first heard of their existence from a man he came across while travelling. Maya Rai (Nepal), who learned about crafts and education from her two mothers, is now working at the Nepal Knotcraft Centre. Tiancheng Xu (China), who learned acupuncture from his father who was an acupuncturist, is currently studying how to introduce robotics and digital technology to acupuncture at university. Their stories will help the viewers have bright expectations about the roles and possibilities of the future generation for ICH safeguarding and sustainable development.\n

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.

For eight months, a group of men worked under harsh conditions to make money for a common cause. The money would be utilized in establishing an education fund for their community. This song is composed to celebrate their success.

In the iTaukei Fijian culture, raising children is everyone’s responsibility. It is therefore everyone’s business to learn, memorize and recite the chant correctly.\nEach chant, or meke, is unique to the families, clans, and communities. Chants for children often take the form of poems that proclaim the identity of the clan and their origins.\nFor example, a chant composed for children who are from inland of the two main islands in Fiji would be different from those created for children from maritime and coastal tribes.\n\nChildren’s chants are composed to suit different stages of childhood development and their activities. Vakamoce gone, or bedtime chants, are sung to put children to sleep and would therefore be recited with a soft, soothing monotone. This is an early introduction of language to the subconscious being of a child. Meanwhile, Vakawele gone are chants sung to draw full attention of a child when they are awake, and, therefore, are performed at fast tempo with a playful tone. Vakaqito gone are chants sung to engage a child in a game. They are participatory in nature and contribute to development of child’s sensory movements and social skills.

In the iTaukei Fijian culture, raising children is everyone’s responsibility. It is therefore everyone’s business to learn, memorize, and recite the chant correctly. Each chant, or make, is unique to the families, clans, and communities. Chants for children often take the form of poems that proclaim the identity of the clan and their origins. For example, a chant composed for children who are from inland of the two main islands in Fiji would be different from those created for children from maritime and coastal tribes. Children’s chants are composed to suit different stages of childhood development and their activities. Vakamoce gone, or bedtime chants, are sung to put children to sleep and would therefore be recited with a soft, soothing monotone. This is an early introduction of language to the subconscious being of a child. \n\nMeanwhile, Vakawele gone are chants sung to draw full attention of a child when they are awake, and, therefore, are performed at fast tempo with a playful tone. Vakaqito gone are chants sung to engage a child in a game. They are participatory in nature and contribute to development of a child’s sensory movements and social skills.

Our Cultural Expressions: Indigenous Sounds of Fiji home\n(2017 Fiji-ICHCAP Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials)\n\nSince its foundation in 1904 as a national museum, the Fiji Museum has safeguarded and promoted various cultures and heritage of Pacific islands. The Fiji population consists mostly of iTaukei (native Fijians), Fijians of Indian descent, and Rotumans. The Fiji Museum has collected and shared tangible and intangible cultural heritage of such various ethnic groups through various methods to widely promote Fiji’s cultural heritage.\n\nIn 2017, ICHCAP carried out the Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Materials in cooperation with the Fiji Museum, which resulted in the digitization of five hundred hours of analogue materials. Based on this, ICHCAP has published an audiovisual collection, titled “Our Cultural Expressions: Indigenous Sounds of Fiji”, which contains selected digitized materials that well represent Fiji’s traditions. The Fiji Museum not just contributed to the digitization of analogue materials, but also supported the production of the collection to help more people discover the precious materials.\n\nThe Fijian collection consists of nine CDs and one DVD. The collection lists eighty tracks of chants, children’s songs, dance music, hymns, and folk songs of everyday life of Fijians that were recorded in the 1970s. The collection also features a video on mat weaving that was recorded in 1997. The video introduces mat weaving, which is considered an important element in the culture and life of Fijians, and its social and cultural significance. The collection is expected to be widely utilized in ICH-related research and also in education and transmission of the knowledge at schools.\n\nThe digitization project is meaningful in that it has restored analogue materials in Fiji, which were at risk of severe damage, to enhance academic values and raise public awareness of the materials. ICHCAP will continue its efforts to identify valuable materials in the Asia-Pacific region and provide a better access to ICH information through related projects.

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 sub-regional online meeting for ICH Safeguarding in South Asia was organized by ICHCAP in collaboration with banglanatak dot com and UNESCO New Delhi (Cluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka) during 14th to 16th September 2021. The theme of the meeting was Strengthening Creative Economy through Sustainable Development of ICH. National experts from South Asian Member States, academicians, representative from World Bank, WIPO, representatives from UNESCO New Delhi Office, UNESCO Dhaka Office, UNESCO Kathmandu Office, and UNESCO Pakistan Office, UNESCO National Commission Sri Lanka, ICHCAP, banglanatak dot com, and international experts joined the meeting. \n\nThe primary purpose of the project was to better understand the interlinkage between ICH and economy in South Asia and simultaneously promote sustainable cooperation networks on regional and international levels. UNCTAD recotnized the event as part of the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.

Lialiaci is a publication of the iTaukei Institute of Language and Culture, Ministry of iTaukei Affairs. \nLialiaci means to ponder or reflect upon deeply. \nThat is the intent of these articles and perspectives on culture. \n\nThe publication has 3 articles:\n1. Bulu, The Spirit World by Anasa Tawake\n\nThis brief research will try to explain Bulu or the iTaukei concept of the spirit world.\nIt is important to define Bulu or the spirit world because it can be a foundation to which our beliefs are derived from. It is understood that our culture is ‘fixated on Bulu’ (Sekove Bigitibau). If this is so, then our culture, customs and ethos are focused towards the spirit world known as Bulu. Prior to Christianity, who’s to say that the beliefs of our ancestors were inaccurate? It is a common belief that Christianity was the best thing to happen to our vanua. On the contrary, Christianity brought about the demonization of iTaukei belief system. At the offset, the missionaries knew that there was an existing belief system unfortunately they chose to disregard this and not use it as a foundation for Christian faith.\n\n2.The Sunken island by Inoki Kaloumaira:\nA few islands in Fiji and the Pacific are said to have submerged in the last hundred to thousand years ago. The island of Vuniivilevu is believed to have submerged in the year AD1200 in the Motoriki waters, Lomaiviti (2005). It is one of the islands that is regarded to have been inhabited first before other settlers arrived. Early migrants were said to be tall, muscular and tough and this could be proven with the skeleton that was found in Naturuku, Motoriki in 2002. What was also remarkable about this skeleton was the excellent state of preservation of the skull. It was of a female who would’ve been tall, muscular and tough and was believed to have lived in Motoriki around 800BC (2007). \n\n3. Ancient Sounds in Fiji by Ulaiasi Taoi:\nAncient sounds in Fiji is still echoed in traditional chant, traditional dances, polyphony, and sacred psalms. It is found to be unique from western sounds and sounds in many parts of the world. Most current Fijian music has adopted western sounds, this includes church hymns, folk songs, serenades, and also Tongan sounds which is practiced in serevakalau known as Polotu and also pesi (Lauan folksongs). Aporosa a traditional cartographer form Beqa stated that there was no Fijian alphabet, but instead was the practice of oral transmission through traditional dances. Lyrics, cartographer and sound were transmitted through vision (Bulivou, 1985). Once ancient sounds were not composed, it was inherently transmitted through the vanua as a gift, and intrinsically maintained its mana in the vanua livelihood. \n\n\n\n \n