ICHCAP

2022 Committee Bureau Meeting of the Silk Roads Living Heritage Network (SRLHN) took place on 23 October 2022 within the framework of the BOSPHORUS International Folk Dance and Music Festival (22-25 October) in Istanbul, Turkiye.

The meeting was organised by the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP) with the support of the European Association of Folklore Festivals (EAFF), Traditional Arts Association in Turkiye, and in close cooperation with the International Institute for Central Asia Studies (IICAS)
The meeting was attended by the coordinating bureau members from 9 countries (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkiye, and Uzbekistan), and representatives from the partner organisations.

Director-General of the ICHCAP (Mr. Jisung Kim), Director of the UNESCO Beijing Cluster Office (Dr. Shahbaz Khan), and the Chairman of the Traditional Arts Association (Mr. Ahmet Akcan) delivered the opening remarks to the participants pointing out the importance of the initiatives to strengthen cooperation and networking among ICH-related institutions to promote cultural diversity and contribute to sustaining the viability of intangible cultural heritage.

The meeting had 3 sections with 9 agendas that included the adoption of the amendments to the SRLHN Statutes and Rules of Procedure for CB meetings, as well as reports on the annual activities, considerations of the 2023 activities, and discussions on the mid-long-term strategy for the operation of the Network. Coordinating Bureau members have also approved 16 additional ICH festival members and new partner organisations (International Centre for Documentary Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO and Busan Foundation for International Cooperation).

All suggestions on the mid-long-term strategy, 2023 activities, and the venue for the next Coordinating Bureau meeting have been taken into consideration and will be elaborated jointly with all CB members by the first quarter of 2023.
Along with the official part of the meeting, the European Association of Folklore Festivals organised the visit to the Bosphorus festival opening and closing ceremonies for all participants, and the co-host organisation (Traditional Arts Association) prepared a meaningful culture trip to the Grand Çamlıca Mosque, Museum of Islamic Civilizations, Mustafa Celebi Art Workshop, Kapalıçarşı and Sultanahmet.