Prabartana is a social enterprise, working since 1986 with the artisans related to handloom for market linkage and revival of Tangail Taant shaari. The organisation provides training to the weavers with improved technical enhancement like documentation of pattern in computer instead of manual style of Jacquard patter design. As a safeguarding action they are involved in artisans’ exhibition and workshop for cultural exchange, audio-visual documentations and publications of books, social media based promotions and audience development with the use of website, webpage, newspaper articles and festival relevant brochures. Resource mobilisation is done through individual investments and collaborations with Government organisations for tourism and craft. The initiatives have helped ICH practitioners to acquire skills and enhance livelihood opportunities. Most of the beneficiaries are women from the marginalized communities living in the remote villages. They are now working for the revival several near lost performing folk art forms like Banbibir Pot (Sundarban), Chunaibibir Gaan (Chittagong), Song Jatra (Tangail), Meyeli Geet (Tangail, Kishorganj & Mymensingh) and Alkap (Chapai). They are also working on the crafts and musical instruments of Monipuri community.

Colloquially, a mask often used in artistic mask dance performances to disguise or hide the original appearance is called “Baab” in Dzongkha (Bhutanese language) and in many local dialects. Baab is not only used for masquerade, but represents the appearance and expression of enlightened beings, celestial beings, guardian deities, and some extraordinary human beings who have helped to shape meaningful human life and promote harmonious living, which is why it is also referred to by the honorific title Zhal baab (face mask). Baab comes in many forms, appearances, complexions and with exceptional features that represent transcendent religious meanings and significance. Baab is the product of an art that requires several skills such as religious knowledge including proper proportions, biodiversity as the basic raw materials are woods, craftsmanship, blacksmithing in making tools and finally painting to give the mask the final structure.\n\nAccording to historical texts, the Baab tradition and the performance of the mask dance, usually called Gar-cham, was introduced to Bhutan by Guru Padmasambava in the early 8 th century. Later, it was further developed by eminent Buddhist masters, especially Terton (discoverer of the hidden treasure) Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), who introduced many sacred mask dances and passed on the art of Baab making, which is still recognized and known today for his contribution to the enrichment of Bhutan’s indigenous art and culture. His exceptional art of Baab making and mask dances was later recognized by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651), the head of the state government, and included as one of the of Bhutan’s intangible cultural heritage domain of arts and crafts. Thereafter, the Baab tradition was maintained and enjoyed increasing popularity after the heads of the state government, chief abbots and successive monarchs introduced and authorized other private religious institutions to organize Tshe-chu, Drub-chen, Chod-pa, Rab-ne, Me-wang, Ma-ni, Due-chod (mask dance festivals), etc. throughout the country.\n\nIn general, the manifestations of Baab can be summarized as; Baab of deities and gods, animals and extraordinary human beings. It is firmly believed that the masks of the deities and gods manifest themselves in various emotional appearances such as; graceful, heroic, abominable, wrathful, compassionate, comical, wondrous, terrifying and petrifying. These expressions can also be divided into four categories: peaceful, inspiring, empowering and angry. There are three types of masks made by Bhutanese artisans: Re baab (paper and cloth mask), Shing baab (wooden mask) and Sing-phye baab (mask made of a mixture of sawdust). However, the former two are ancient technical craft, while the latter is a newer product used mainly for commercial or decorative purposes. Traditionally, Baab are used only for the actual performance or kept as relics after the consecration ceremony has been performed by spiritual masters. It is believed that if these items are not blessed, they are as good as toys and are haunted by the spirits, causing harm to society.

Colloquially, a mask often used in artistic mask dance performances to disguise or hide the original appearance is called “Baab” in Dzongkha (Bhutanese language) and in many local dialects. Baab is not only used for masquerade, but represents the appearance and expression of enlightened beings, celestial beings, guardian deities, and some extraordinary human beings who have helped to shape meaningful human life and promote harmonious living, which is why it is also referred to by the honorific title Zhal baab (face mask). Baab comes in many forms, appearances, complexions and with exceptional features that represent transcendent religious meanings and significance. Baab is the product of an art that requires several skills such as religious knowledge including proper proportions, biodiversity as the basic raw materials are woods, craftsmanship, blacksmithing in making tools and finally painting to give the mask the final structure.\n\nAccording to historical texts, the Baab tradition and the performance of the mask dance, usually called Gar-cham, was introduced to Bhutan by Guru Padmasambava in the early 8 th century. Later, it was further developed by eminent Buddhist masters, especially Terton (discoverer of the hidden treasure) Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), who introduced many sacred mask dances and passed on the art of Baab making, which is still recognized and known today for his contribution to the enrichment of Bhutan’s indigenous art and culture. His exceptional art of Baab making and mask dances was later recognized by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651), the head of the state government, and included as one of the of Bhutan’s intangible cultural heritage domain of arts and crafts. Thereafter, the Baab tradition was maintained and enjoyed increasing popularity after the heads of the state government, chief abbots and successive monarchs introduced and authorized other private religious institutions to organize Tshe-chu, Drub-chen, Chod-pa, Rab-ne, Me-wang, Ma-ni, Due-chod (mask dance festivals), etc. throughout the country.\n\nIn general, the manifestations of Baab can be summarized as; Baab of deities and gods, animals and extraordinary human beings. It is firmly believed that the masks of the deities and gods manifest themselves in various emotional appearances such as; graceful, heroic, abominable, wrathful, compassionate, comical, wondrous, terrifying and petrifying. These expressions can also be divided into four categories: peaceful, inspiring, empowering and angry. There are three types of masks made by Bhutanese artisans: Re baab (paper and cloth mask), Shing baab (wooden mask) and Sing-phye baab (mask made of a mixture of sawdust). However, the former two are ancient technical craft, while the latter is a newer product used mainly for commercial or decorative purposes. Traditionally, Baab are used only for the actual performance or kept as relics after the consecration ceremony has been performed by spiritual masters. It is believed that if these items are not blessed, they are as good as toys and are haunted by the spirits, causing harm to society.

Zhanakorgan district in Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda region is a land steeped in history and spiritual heritage. Home to the ancient city of Syganak—once the capital of the Kipchaks and a key hub on the Great Silk Road—this sacred region carries the legacy of great thinkers, warriors, and artists. Among them is Korkyt-ata, the legendary 10th-century poet, philosopher, and creator of the kobyz, whose ideas about life, mortality, and moral integrity continue to shape Kazakh identity.\n\nInspired by Korkyt’s worldview, modern-day master craftsman Pakhriddin Sadykov brings the spirit of Kazakh heritage to life through woodcarving, sculpture, and musical instrument making. Born in Zhanakorgan, Sadykov overcame a difficult start and lack of formal training to become one of the most respected artisans in the Aral Sea region. His works—shaped by a deep reverence for Kazakh symbols such as the shanyrak, kobyz, and hearth—are not only artistic expressions but philosophical reflections on culture, life, and legacy.\n\nIn his bustling workshop, Pakhriddin mentors a new generation of craftsmen, including his own children, passing down traditional knowledge and skills. His approach goes beyond technical mastery—he teaches the soul of Kazakh art. For him, students who honor the craft with dedication are “living,” while those who pursue it only for profit are “dead.”\n\nDespite financial hardships and an unfinished dream of building a national arts center, Sadykov remains hopeful. He envisions a future where traditional Kazakh crafts flourish, not only as cultural treasures but also as sustainable livelihoods. This is a story of resilience, revival, and the timeless value of creativity rooted in heritage.

ICH Video Production in the Asia-Pacific Region : Central Asia\n\nRapid urbanization and westernization are changing the environments in which intangible cultural heritage is rooted. The importance of documentation that traces the effect of social changes on intangible cultural heritage is being emphasized as a safeguarding measure. Quality video documentation is an important resource that enables the conservation and transmission of existing intangible cultural heritage and raises its visibility.\n\nVideo documentation is the best medium to record intangible cultural heritage in the most lifelike manner, using the latest technologies. It is also an effective tool for communicating with the public. However, conditions for video production in the Asia-Pacific remain poor, requiring extensive support for quality video documentation.\n\nICHCAP has been working to build the safeguarding capabilities of Member States and raise the visibility of intangible cultural heritage in the Asia-Pacific by supporting the true-to-life documentation of intangible cultural heritage as this heritage is practiced and cooperating with experts, communities, and NGOs in related fields.\n\nSince 2010, ICHCAP has hosted annual Central Asian sub-regional network meetings with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Mongolia to support the ICH safeguarding activities of Central Asia. Through their collaboration, ICHCAP has supported projects involving collecting ICH information, producing ICH websites, and constructing ICH video archives.\n\nAt the Sixth Central Asia Sub-regional Network Meeting in Jeonju in 2015, ICHCAP, four Central Asian countries, and Mongolia adopted a second three-year cooperation project plan on producing ICH videos to enhance the visibility of ICH in Central Asia.\n\nICHCAP developed guidelines and training programs for the project and invited video and ICH experts from the participating countries, and held a workshop in November 2015. After the workshop, focal points for the project were designated in each country, and each focal point organization formed an expert meeting and a video production team to produce ICH videos.\n\nInterim reports were submitted to ICHCAP in February 2016, and the first preview screening was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, during the Seventh Central Asia Sub-regional Network Meeting in May 2016. Since then, each country has carried out the project according to the project plan. ICHCAP met with each country between October 2016 to February 2017 to check on the project progress.\n\nAfter the final preview screening during the Eighth Central Asia Sub-regional Network Meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in 2017, final editing process took place in each country, and fifty ICH videos were completed by October 2017.\n\nAll photos introduced on this page along with fifty ICH videos are from the exhibition 'Living Heritage: Wisdom of Life' held in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and the Republic of Korea. Designed for introducing various ICH in the five countries, this exhibition shows photos on representative twenty elements in each country collected during the process of on-site survey and documentation for ICH Video Production Project in Central Asia by experts participated in the ICH video production project.\n\nICHCAP will continue its ICH documentation projects in the Asia-Pacific region for the next ten years by expanding the scope from Central Asia and Mongolia to Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and the Pacific.\n\n\nPartners\nMongolian National Commission for UNESCO • National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO • National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO • National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO • National Commission of the Republic of Tajikistan for UNESCO • Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage Mongolia • National Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage under the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO • School of Fine Art and Technical Design named after Abylkhan Kasteyev • State Institute of Arts and Culture of Uzbekistan • Tajik film • Tajikistan Research Institute of Culture Information • Korea Educational Broadcasting System • Asia Culture Center\n\nSupporters\nUNESCO Almaty and Tashkent Cluster Offices • Cultural Heritage Administration • Panasonic Korea • Turkish Airlines

On 12 and 13 November 2020, ICHCAP and the ICH NGO Forum virtually held the 2020 ICH NGO Conference entitled “ICH and Resilience in Crisis.” The fifteen participants, including eleven selected presenters from ten countries around the world, discussed various cases and activities of each country applied under the Corona-era, and proposed solidarity for the resilience of ICH for a ‘New Normal.’\n\nSession 1: In the Vortex: COVID-19 Era, Roles of NGOs to Safeguard ICH\n\nSpecial Lecture 1: 'Resilience System Analysis' by Roberto Martinez Yllescas, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Mexico\n1. 'Uncovering the veil of immaterial cultural heritage towards and autonomous management of well-being as well as cultural and territorial preservation' by Carolina Bermúdez, Fundación Etnollano\n2. 'Holistic Development Model of Community-Based Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yuen Long District in Hong Kong of China' by Kai-kwong Choi, Life Encouraging Fund \n3. 'Indigenous Knowledge System as a vector in combating COVID-19' by Allington Ndlovu, Amagugu International Heritage Centre\n4. 'Enlivening Dyeing Tradition and ICH: The initiative of ARHI in North East of India' by Dibya Jyoti Borah, President, ARHI\n\nSession 2: Homo Ludens vs. Home Ludens: Changed Features COVID-19 Brought\n\n1. 'The Popular Reaction to COVID-19 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage among Member Cities of the ICCN' by Julio Nacher, ICCN Secretariat, Algemesi, Spain\n2. 'Innovation for Arts and Cultural Education Amid a Pandemic' by Jeff M. Poulin, Creative Generation\n3. 'Promoting Heritage Education through Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Kalasha Valleys of Pakistan' by Ghiasuddin Pir & Meeza Ubaid, THAAP\n4. 'Shifting to Online Activities: Digital Divide among the NGOs and ICH Communities in Korea' by Hanhee Hahm CICS\n\nSession 3: Consilience: Prototype vs. Archetype for Educational Source\n\nSpecial Lecture 2: 'Geographical imbalance: the challenge of getting a more balanced representation of accredited non-governmental organizations under the 2003 Convention' by Matti Hakamäki, Finnish Folk Music Institute\n1. 'Crafting a Post Covid-19 World: Building Greater Resilience in the Crafts Sector through Strengthening Ties with its Community’s Cultural System' by Joseph Lo, World Crafts Council International\n2. 'Arts and Influence: Untangling Corporate Engagement in the Cultural Sector' by Nicholas Pozek, Asian Legal Programs, Columbia University\n3. 'ICH in the South-Western Alps: Empowering Communities through Youth Education on Nature and Cultural Practices' by Alessio Re & Giulia Avanza, Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture\n\n

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.

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.

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.

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 24 is 'Wedding Ceremonies.'

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 6 is 'ICH AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS'.