Ali Haleyalur of Lamotrek Island, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia, is one of the few remaining people with the knowledge and skills to journey long distances on the open ocean in traditional voyaging canoes without using modern instruments. He and the small community of palu (Carolinian master navigators) alive today learned this wayfinding knowledge through years of apprenticeship with the master navigators throughout the Caroline Islands of Micronesia. Customarily, the knowledge and practices required to navigate over what can be treacherous waters have been passed along to only a few select descendants of ancestral lineages that have protected the valuable practice for thousands of years.\nNavigation between the small inhabited islands continues to be a valuable practice that helps islanders sustain clan ties and obtain resources for survival. Traditional navigation is also seen as a vital form of intangible cultural heritage since it is a distinct facet of many Pacific Islander cultures and identities. Unfortunately, however, the knowledge and practices associated with traditional navigation are disappearing rapidly mainly because modern technologies and lifestyles make it much more difficult for palu to find young apprentices. With only a handful of master navigators still alive today, it is crucial to find new ways to safeguard this precious cultural practice.

The Ban Narasilp (or Narasilp House) community in Wat Suntorn Thammatarn (or Wat Kae Nang Lerng) on Larn Luang Street is a descendant of the Khon-lakorn troupe called the Narasilp troupe. The Narasilp troupe has been transmitting Khon performing arts and craftsmanship for many generations. This area has been home to many classical Thai dance and drama troupes since the early Rattanakosin period of the late-eighteenth century.\nOn 14 June 2018, the Department of Cultural Promotion, Ministry of Culture, awarded the Ban Narasilp descendants and officially opened the Ban Narasilp on Larn Luang Street as a community learning center for learning to make and embroider Khon costumes to maintain continuity and the significance of Khon as a national intangible cultural heritage. In addition, the descendants have been supported with a budget for the training workshop to train a new generation of young artisans in classical Khon and Thai drama costume to safeguard this fine art for humanity.

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

Aidai Asangulova is one of the famous craftswomen in Kyrgyzstan and the head of the “Kiyiz Duino” Public Foundation. \n\nThe goal of PF “Kiyiz Duino” is to revive and safeguard traditional knowledge and skills related to crafts and the cultural space around it. “Kiyiz Duino” aims to draw general public attention to Kyrgyz traditions and customs; show people how a person can coexist with the surrounding nature in harmony, use its gifts without causing it harm; explain how important it is to take care of nature and preserve its purity for future generations.\n\nThe Foundation holds various community-based events, such as workshops on making Kyrgyz traditional clothing, or festivals to popularize traditional rituals and practices from local to national levels. They also actively cooperate in the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage with governmental and nongovernmental institutions, participate in field trips, conduct research, and document ICH elements. \n\n“Kiyiz Duino” has contributed greatly to the preparation of nomination files as “Ak-kalpak craftsmanship, traditional knowledge and skills in making and wearing Kyrgyz men’s headwear” and “Elechek, Kyrgyz female headwear: traditional knowledge and rituals”.\n

At The Kishkinda Trust (TKT) in Anegundi, conservation empowers communities and creates a way of life that considers culture as an intangible element permeating all activities in life- ranging from functional to ideational-  ecology, cuisine, crafts, design, agriculture, technology, education, markets and festivals. Founded in the year 1997 by Shama Pawar, The Kishkinda Trust (TKT) assists the villagers of Anegundi at a grassroots level to build capacity in order to maintain business incubators and to conserve their historical heritage. TKT runs several unique programs, which are seamlessly integrated with the lives of the local people and that empower them economically.

The Children are Painting the World Social Fund was opened in January 2016 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The main activities of the Fund are to support the creativity and innovation of children and youth; support community involvement in social, cultural, and creative activities; and popularize the achievements of art, culture, intangible, and tangible heritage.

Indonesian batik is a traditional handcrafted textile rich in intangible cultural values, passed down for generations in Java and elsewhere since the early 19th century, and even more widely since the mid-1980s. The earliest reference to batik is found in the text of Siksa Kanda, 1517AD. Batik is made by applying dots and lines of hot wax to cloth using a copper pen-like instrument (canthing tulis), or copper stamps (canthing cap), to resist hand-dyeing. The wax is later removed by boiling and/or scraping, repeating the process for each colour. The entire process is carried out by hand, mostly as a cottage industry. Batik patterns and motifs possess deep symbolism related to social status, local community, nature, history and cultural heritage. Batik culture clearly promotes cultural diversity, culture-based industry and human creativity, keeping in mind symbolic and cultural values.

Indonesian batik is a traditional handcrafted textile rich in intangible cultural values, passed down for generations in Java and elsewhere since the early 19th century, and even more widely since the mid-1980s. The earliest reference to batik is found in the text of Siksa Kanda, 1517AD. Batik is made by applying dots and lines of hot wax to cloth using a copper pen-like instrument (canthing tulis), or copper stamps (canthing cap), to resist hand-dyeing. The wax is later removed by boiling and/or scraping, repeating the process for each colour. The entire process is carried out by hand, mostly as a cottage industry. Batik patterns and motifs possess deep symbolism related to social status, local community, nature, history and cultural heritage. Batik culture clearly promotes cultural diversity, culture-based industry and human creativity, keeping in mind symbolic and cultural values.

"Kazakhstan is home to many major local festivals, and the vibrant communities that help these festivals come to fruition are part networks that help promote the festivals. As a result, the local festivals have turned into multinational events. As an example, the World Nomadic Games (WNG) is held biennially and has grown considerably, in 2018, 3,000 athletes from 77 countries. The WNG has contributed to science in cultural heritage and transmission of the ICH in general. Traditional game federations have established networks in a number of counties- Salbuurun Federation (seventeen countries), Kök Börü Federation (ten countries), Alysh Federation (sixty-three countries), Kyrgyz Kürösh Federation (twenty-eight countries), Toguz Korgool Federation (thirty-three countries), Er Engish Federation (thirteen countries) and Ordo Federation (six countries). As a result, ICH festivals became one of the main attractions for international tourists in Kyrgyzstan that contribute to the local economy and to the livelihoods and well-being of concerned communities as well."

Overview of Bangkok's unseen routes over its long history of inhabitation , the area was home to many local communities. Hence, multicultural traditions and the coexistence of multiple ethnicities are one of Bangkok’s outstanding characteristics. To this day, many tangible and intangible art forms and systems of beliefs remain intact among the people in Bangkok area. Thus, presenting Living cultural heritage elements within the routes through the lens of The Roots Routes on "Redefining Cultural Heritage Aspect"

DVD2_NEPAL'S HEREDITARY MUSICIAN CASTES\n\nThe four hereditary musician castes of Nepal are Damai, Gandharba, Kapali, and Badi. The most visible of these are the Damai and the Gandharba musicians. The Kapali are temple musicians and the Badi are drum makers. Damai are required to play for the goddess of the ruling class and also to play at all types of ceremonies and rites of passage, such as weddings and Bratabhandha. They perform in a group known as a panchai baajaa, which is composed of nine musicians playing seven different musical instruments representing the five universal elements of earth, water, fire, air, and sky, of which all matter and living things are composed. The tyamko represents earth, the damaha represents water, the jhurma represents fire, the dholaki represents air, and the narasingaa, sahane, and karnal represent the sky. Panchai baajaa music is believed to keep the elements in balance and harmony and to result in therapeutic musical healing. The Gandharba or Gaine caste musicians traditionally travel from village to village and door to door singing bhajan (hymns), songs from the great Hindu epics, and karkha (historical songs of heroes and bravery), but also bring news. They accompany themselves by playing saarangi.

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.

This song literally relates to Roko Savirewa awaiting his meal, the day’s catch from the sea. The “meal” referred to is a fish locally known as Nuqa. (It is unknown whether Roko Savirewa is the name of a child or elder or Chief. Roko, in some parts of Fiji, refers to a chiefly title preceding the chiefdom they rule, e.g., Duke of Norwich England, but in this case “Duke of Savirewa.”) In olden days, with no formal schooling, children learned the language, cultural practices, and survival techniques through chants and stories and other means of oral transmission of intangible cultural heritage such as this song.

Paglami-lamihan Soundscapes 2: Music by National Living Treasure Uwang Ahadas and the Ahadas Family Ensemble  Traditionally played solo in the rice fields after planting the palay and until the flowering stage. The kwintangan kayu is made of five graduated logs of manakayan tree (Shorea almon Foxw) and one piece of bamboo. These are arranged on top of a tree or set up on the ground and played continuously by different musicians day and night. Recording Credits Producer NCCA-Intangible Cultural Heritage Unit Audio Engineer Froilan Malimban Studio Fastgen Media Productions Year Recorded 2011

Meke, a type of traditional Fijian dance, is the repository of Fijian oral culture and served as a unifying factor in Fijian society before the arrival of Christianity. The musical form of meke is a Fijian polyphony composed around tonal center. It has short intervals and comprises seconds (major and minor), thirds (major), fourths, and occasionally fifths. The melodic movement is small and mostly stepwise with the laga (principal line) in the middle. The laga is the lead singer of the meke and sets the tempo and pitch. \n\nAbove the laga is the tagica (meaning “to chime in”) and below is the druku (bass). There are duet riffs involving the laga and tagica sung in a close polyphony of seconds, thirds, occasionally fourths, and unison. The chorus involves all the singers and is usually in a block chordal pattern. There may be two more parts: vakasalavoavoa (a descant), the highest part, sung above the tagica; and the vaqiqivatu (tenor part), weaving a polyphonic line between the bass and the laga and providing harmonic interest without being integral to the whole. \n\nThere are meke for every occasion. Some are regional (i.e., a collaboration of villages and districts) and some are collective: from those sung within the family and extended groups to the very large and impressive dance meke involving hundreds of participants. All of them form the Fijian musical canon together with instruments such as lali (large slit drums), lali ni meke (small lali for meke), derua (bamboo stamping tubes), and cobo (clapping with cupped hands). \n\nThere are other instruments such as the davui (end-blown triton shell) and the dulali (nose flute), but these instruments are not included in meke performance. The actual singing of meke involves a number of performers: men, women, and children in any combination, sitting in a tight circle around the leaders. Texts of meke are arranged in stanzas and composed in an indigenous, oral poetic style. There are no limits to the number or the length of the stanzas; rhythm and rhyme are paramount.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Following the recommendation of the Committee, the seventh session of the General Assembly of State Parties to the Convention approved the overall results framework (Resolution 7.GA.9) and the Secretariat spread the guidance note in 2019 for better understanding of the framework. ICHCAP therefore translated the notes into various languages in Asia.