ICHCAP

ICHCAP (Director-General Gi Hyung Keum) led the launching of ichLinks, an international intangible cultural heritage information-sharing digital platform, supported by the Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea (CHA, Administrator Hyun-Mo Kim) on 15 March 2021.

ichLinks (https://www.ichlinks.com), which combines the words 'Intangible Cultural Heritage' and 'Links', is a venue where ICHCAP, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, works with UNESCO Asia-Pacific Member States to share data and contents on living heritage.

ichLinks contains information on more than 1,000 intangible cultural heritage items from the countries in the region, as well as extensive data on intangible cultural heritage videos, photos, sound materials, books, related institutions, and expert information. In addition, it offers map-based services related to international ICH, and thematic contents such as travel, exhibitions, stories, and events.

IchLinks’ partner organizations are the core operating entities of this platform. The first group of partners joining this platform project are including Malaysia Arts & Cultural Practitioners Association (MACPA), Mongolian National Center for Cultural Heritage (NCCH), Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS), Uzbekistan Republican Scientific-Methodical Center for Organization of Culture Institutions Activity under the Ministry of Culture, and Kazakhstan National Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. ICHCAP is now recruiting the second group of partners for the platform.

An official from VICAS, one of the first group of partners, said, “Through participation and support in the ichLinks project, while widely promoting Vietnamese ICH, it is expected that the profit will be able to be diverted and more cooperation and partnerships will be established in the cultural creation industry.”

CHA and ICHCAP expect that the ichLinks platform will provide the latest international ICH information and contents, and in the process it will create various synergy effects such as expansion of knowledge base through international cooperation, enhancement of cultural diversity, international promotion of ICH, archiving of ICH information, and strengthening its connection to related industries.

Meanwhile, ICHCAP plans to hold an online event in the coming May to commemorate the launch of the ichLinks platform.