News
2024 Sub-regional Network Meeting for Safeguarding ICH
- NameMin Jung Kim
- Date29 Mar 2024
![](/upload/board/A111/thumb/20240329154411632.png)
ICHCAP held a Sub-regional
Network Meeting for the safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Pacific
and SouthAsia at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on March 3, 2024.
Since 2010, ICHCAP has
organized sub-regional network meetings aimed at safeguarding intangible
cultural heritage, serving as the foundation for various projects undertaken by
the organization. These meetings gather key stakeholders from each country to
exchange insights into the latest policies and trends in the field of ICH.
Participants discuss the challenges and opportunities related to safeguarding
ICH, considering the unique characteristics of each sub-region and fostering
cooperative relationships.
The Asia-Pacific region
boasts the largest number of representative list and urgent safeguarding list
under the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural
Heritage, with 234 representative lists and 31 urgent safeguarding lists.
Despite being a treasure house of diverse living heritages, the region faces
numerous challenges due to its vulnerable environments. Additionally, there are
shared heritages that transcend national borders within the region,
necessitating collaborative efforts across multiple countries. Consequently,
sub-regional meetings are convened to devise strategies and policy initiatives
for safeguarding ICH, addressing various regional-level agendas.
Therefore, the
Sub-regional Network Meetings for Safeguarding ICH in the Pacific and South
Asia were held in Korea this year.
Firstly, The Sub-regional
Network Meeting for Safeguarding ICH in the Pacific marked the first
face-to-face meeting in six years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme,
"Integration of Intangible Cultural Heritage into Education," brought
together government officials from ten Pacific countries, along with culture
programme specialists from UNESCO Regional Offices. The meeting began with a
keynote presentation by Dr. Duong Bich Hanh, a programme specialist at the
UNESCO Beijing Office, focusing on the ICH and Education project in the
Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Han emphasized the role of education using living heritage
in promoting sustainable development (particularly 4.7 Quality Education) and
fostering cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.
Moreover, Ms. Angharad Toma-Saga from the UNESCO Regional Office in the Pacific provided an overview
and future plans for integrated education projects concerning intangible
cultural heritage and disaster risk reduction (DRR). These projects will be
piloted in Fiji, Vanuatu, and Tonga, countries recently affected by natural
disasters. The subsequent national presentations highlighted policy trends and
challenges regarding ICH and education in each Pacific country, revealing a
willingness to engage in integrated ICH education jointly conducted by ICHCAP
and UNESCO in the future.
The Sub-regional Meeting
for Safeguarding ICH in South Asia convened national ICH focal points and
culture programme specialists from UNESCO regional offices in New Delhi and
Kathmandu. Discussions centered on institutional changes and challenges in each
country`s ICH, considering evolving cultural policies. Ms. Nipuna Shrestha from
the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu highlighted historical changes and emphasized
linking cultural policy shifts at the international level with the 2003
Convention and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The participants discussed
the need for overhauling the ICH safeguarding system in South Asian countries,
emphasizing the necessity of domestic and international cooperation.
Furthermore, cultural
institutions dealing with South Asian content, such as EBS and the National
Asian Cultural Center (ACC), introduced their cooperation projects, and
networking sessions were conducted to strengthen continuous cooperation
partnerships.
Given the evolving
landscape of cultural policies internationally, including recent declarations
and frameworks such as Mondiacult Declaration adopted by the 2022 World Conference
on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, the Seoul Vision for ‘the
Future of Safeguarding Living Heritage for sustainable Development and Peace’
adopted by the 2023 Global Meeting, and the 2024 UNESCO Framework for Culture
and Arts Education, ICHCAP will explore policy responses and regional tasks for
safeguarding ICH in collaboration with our partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
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