The Committee meeting screen © ICHACP The 2nd ichLinks Executive Committee was held online on December 9, 2021 (Thursday), from 2 pm to 5 pm (KST). Twelve Partner Organizations (Malaysia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Bhutan, Singapore, Uzbekistan, India, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Fiji) participated and had a fruitful discussion. The Committee was chaired by Dr. Rustam Muzafarov, Deputy Chairman of Kazakhstan National Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, who was elected at the first Committee meeting in June. The agenda discussed were as follows. [Agenda 1] Share ichLinks Project Guidelines [Agenda 2] Reports on 2020-2021 ichLinks support projects’ results and suggestions to improve ichLinks [Agenda 3] Reports on 2021-2022 ichLinks support projects’ plans and suggestions to improve ichLinks [Agenda 4] ichLinks’ mission, vision, roadmap and suggestions for future programmes (ICHCAP) [Agenda 5] Adopt Operational Rules on ichLinks Executive Committee Dr. Rustam Muzafarov, Chairperson of the ichLinks Executive Committee © ICHCAP ICHCAP, the Secretariat of the ichLinks platform, shared ichLinks’ mission, vision and the 1st phase roadmap (2020-2025), and also explained each stage’s goals and activities. In addition, cooperative projects that all Partner Organizations can participate in was proposed. In particular, the programme for artisans’ networking to share good practices of sustainable development through modernization and commercialization of traditional crafts was supported by many Partner Organizations. Proposed programme for exchange of traditional artisans © ICHCAP Partner Organizations also proposed several cooperative projects such as joint research on shared ICH elements, multilingual translation of ichLinks content, and establishment of a common archive on the theme of traditional music and musical instruments. Furthermore, the Partner Organizations expressed great interest in the archive management package that is being developed by ICHCAP this year.   The Chairperson, Dr. Muzafarov expressed his special thanks to ICHCAP for initiating the ichLinks project. He mentioned that ichLinks opened a new chapter in the safeguarding of ICH. He also pointed out that the general public in Kazakhstan is starting to take an interest in ICH and understand the need to safeguard ICH through ichLinks. ICHCAP plans to share the results of the 2nd Executive Committee with all Partner Organizations and hold a working-level meeting early next year as soon as the archive package development is completed. Also, the cooperative projects proposed during the meeting will be further elaborated and be implemented in collaboration with Partner Organizations next year.

ICHCAP is planning to hold ichLinks Open archive contest from October 25 to November 25. ichLinks Open archive aims to be performed as a channel for discovering and sharing the ICH stories around our daily lives. Safeguarding ICH needs our interest and attention rather than special people or devices. Through diverse viewpoints from the public, ichLinks Open Archive would like to meet various ICH stories with various aspects and the value of cultural diversity. ICHCAP will select a total of 51 winners and give them prizes. The awards to be offered in each category are; First Prize for 1 person, The second Prize (10 people), The third Prize (40 people). The contest is open for everyone. Applicants can join the ichLinks platform through SNS and register their submissions. ICHCAP expects that the contest will help raise public awareness of ICH in their daily lives, which leading ICH safeguarding.

The 1st ichLinks Executive Committee Meeting was held on June 29, 2021, online. Representatives of the current partner organizations from five countries (Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam) and future partners from four countries (Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, and Singapore) were present. During this 1st meeting, the Committee discussed draft Project Guidelines and the Operational Rules of ichLinks Executive Committee, elected the first Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, and shared the progress reports on the status of the first ichLinks supported projects of Mongolia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam. The Committee also discussed the provisional agenda for the 2nd Committee meeting as well as the working-level meeting. Mr. Rustam Muzafarov (Deputy Chairman, National Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Kazakhstan) and Mr. Bui Hoai Son (Director, Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies) were elected as the first Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson respectively. Their term of office is one year, which is until June 28, 2022. ICHCAP will additionally collect opinions from partner organizations on the Project Guidelines and Operational Rules of the Executive Committee and will discuss them at the 2nd Committee meeting at the end of this year. In addition, by holding a working-level meeting in August, ICHCAP plans to conduct technical training and provide manuals to partner organizations so they can directly upload their ICH data to the ichLinks platform. The current ICH data of partner organizations uploaded to date can be found in the archives of the ichLinks.

ichLinks Official Launching Ceremony was successfully held on 27 May 2021 with participation of 120 audiences from 29 countries around the world including five partner organizations and speakers.  ICHCAP will continue to expand ichLinks' partner organizations and provide more opportunities to communicate one another. Detailed information about the event will be distributed through ICHCAP’s e-newsletter and ICH Courier in the near future. You may also watch the recorded video of the entire event on ICHCAP’s YouTube channel.

ICHCAP invites the new partner organizations for the ichLinks, an Integrated ICH Information-Sharing Platform in the Asia-Pacific Region (www.ichlinks.com). The partner organizations are key actors who collect and share the ICH information in their respective countries and utilize the shared information to enhance the visibility of ICH and cultural diversity. Last year, ICHACP designated five partner organizations in Malaysia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. The selected partner organizations shared their ICH data through the ichLinks, and ICHCAP supported them to build their own ICH database as well as to develop digital content. This year, ICHCAP will designate the 2nd group of partner organizations. The selected organizations are supposed to share their ICH information and may get the financial and/or technical support upon their requests. Those who wish to be the ichLinks’ partner organization, please send us your application (attachment 3) with the recommendation letter from the related government authorities by 15 June 2021. Among the applied partner organizations, those who need financial and/or technical support, please send us your project proposal (attachment 5) by the same date as above. For any inquiries on the project, please contact the ichLinks secretariat at ichlinks.secretariat@gmail.com.

ICHCAP is recruiting the second group of partners for the Asia-Pacific ICH Information Sharing Platform ‘ichLinks.’ IchLinks is a digital sharing platform that cooperates with UNESCO member states in the Asia-Pacific region to collect and service ICH related data and contents. IchLinks’ partner organizations are the core operating entities of this platform that shares, accumulates and utilizes ICH related data and contents with ICHCAP. Organizations interested in participating in ichLinks can contact ichlinks.secretariat@gmail.com. More information on this project is available here (https://www.unesco-ichcap.org/ichlinks/.) Last year, ICHCAP selected the first group of cooperative institutions, centering on institutions that possess a significant number of ICH information in the Asia-Pacific region. The partners are 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. After selecting the first cooperative organizations, ICHCAP received sample data from them, uploaded it on ichLinks, and used it for archive service and planning future projects. In addition, ICHCAP provides financial and technical support to promote participation of partner organizations. An official from the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies said, “There were restrictions related to information and communication technology and equipment in the safeguarding and use of cultural heritage resources. 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.” The ichLinks digital platform will begin its service on March 15, after completion of building the prototype. The website will contain specialized search archives and map-based services related to international ICH, and thematic contents such as travel, exhibitions, stories, and events. ICHCAP plans to hold an online event in May to commemorate the launch of the ichLinks service, to promote domestic and international public relations and to expand partner organizations.

2021 Tugging Rituals and Games Poster Image © ICHCAP The 2021 International Symposium on Tugging Rituals and Games for Its Sustainability, “Living with ICH: Tugging Rituals and Games” will be held for two days from 9 to 10 April with on/offline hybrid format. In last year, celebrating 5th anniversary of its inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the UNESCO, diverse events had been planned. Though, because of the global pandemic, all were postponed and only December event was held via online. Therefore, the expectation of this symposium is pretty high, particularly among four countries where done multi-nomination. This symposium aims to understand better the value of the element and its sustainability in present. Notably, the 2003 Convention acknowledges ICH’s re-creativity, as a mainspring of cultural diversity, by communities and groups. The emphasis of the event lies here. It is crucial to share each country’s activities and build a network for vitalizing their ICH safeguarding activities for the sustainable development of humanity. Not only experts’ multi-angle analysis, two in-depth discussion sessions are prepared. In accordance with Gijisi Juldarigi Festival, the rituals with commentary will be live streamed via ICHCAP YouTube channel on 8 April, too. You can find more information from here.

Author: The National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO A webinar on “Youth and the Safeguarding of Nowruz traditions” will be held on March 26 2021 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. The City of Shymkent celebrates its 2200th anniversary. It has been included in the List of anniversaries which UNESCO is associated in 2020-2021. The Mayor of Shymkent and the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO invite representatives of the National Commissions from the countries which have celebrated Nowruz holidays for centuries. This will provide a unique possibility to share the experience of transition of traditional knowledge and ritual practices from its ancient origin to the global contacts and modern IT technologies. The main topic for discussion will be the youth involvement to learn, study and safeguard the rich cultural heritage of the predecessors and historical memory, and resume of the cultural interaction at the Great Silk Road. More detail on this webinar and the information for registration are available at https://webwebinar.online/en/youth-and-nauryz-traditions-safeguarding/