Funded with the UNESCO-Republic of Korea Funds-in-Trust, a capacity building workshop on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention at the National Level was organized in partnership with the Heritage Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism from 11-15 June 2012 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Besides government officials, intangible cultural heritage practitioners also participated in this workshop co-facilitated by UNESCO certified trainers, Ms Paritta Chalermpow Koanantakool and Ms Shubha Chaudhuri. Lao PDR is a country with 160 ethnic groups, each of which has preserved much of its own language, customs, culture and traditions. The rich cultural heritage of Lao is also rooted in immense spirituality, as Buddhism has influences extending from lifestyle to arts. The country has adopted a Law on National Heritage in 2005 which provides the legal basis for safeguarding ICH even befort its ratification of the 2003 Convention in 2009. And a Section on ICH was created within the Heritage Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism. UNESCO Bangkok Office has been working closely with the concerned authorities to have identified their need to enhance their ICH safeguarding strategy, reinforce their institutional and policy frameworks and develop their inventorying skills. Following this first capacity building effort, further training workshops on community-based inventory ( planned in 2012) and on preparation of nomination files ( in 2014) will be organized in Lao PDR to sustain the long-term effect of this project implemented within UNESCO strategy of global capacity building.

Structured around case studies from the region, the meeting aimed to provide a platform for experts and practitioners to discuss how best to strengthen communities’ capacities to control and manage their own Intangible Cultural Heritage in the face of increased tourism. The key themes under which the case studies were organized include:

• Handicrafts in the context of sustainable cultural tourism
• Performing arts in the context of sustainable cultural tourism
• ICH in the context of environmental, agricultural and eco tourism

The meeting has been organized by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center (HMCC), the Department of National Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Viet Nam, the Korean Establishment Initiative for the Intangible Heritage Centre for Asia-Pacific (EIIHCAP) and the Office of the UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific.

• Meeting page on UNESCO Bangkok website
• Final report: English

Many elements of Cambodia’s rich living heritage are in danger of disappearing mainly due to long-lasting conflicts, the declining number of performers and the clear tendency among the younger generation to cultural influences from outside the country. In this context, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Cambodia launched, in collaboration with UNESCO, a project for the establishment of a national system of Living Human Treasures.

This project aimed at ensuring and supporting the continuous transmission of traditional knowledge and skills from one generation to another within communities and within education institutions.

A National Working Group, created for this purpose, first developed detailed procedures including the definition of the Living Human Treasures and criteria for their selection. Field research was conducted in various provinces in order to identify masters of prioritised performing arts of Cambodia. A Commission of Experts was created, whose task is to examine the information collected on masters and to provide recommendations to the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts regarding the selection of Living Human Treasures. Once the Living Human Treasures are nominated, an official nomination ceremony takes place, and the Living Human Treasures is involved in transmission activities at the community and national levels, such as holding regular classes for young students in pagodas and organizing workshops at University.

This is a project to establish in Fiji a national Living Human Treasures system so as to provide support to bearers of traditional knowledge and skills in danger of disappearing, and to ensure their effective transmission to young people.

The objectives of the project are to:

• Establish the Living Human Treasures system in Fiji in a sustainable way and with a culturally sensitive approach;
• Formulate mechanisms to identify Living Human Treasures using a systematic approach;
• Formulate and implement a system to ensure the transmission from the Living Human Treasures to younger generations.

The main activities include:

• Develop detailed procedures for the identification of target domains of intangible cultural heritage, the definition of the Living Human Treasures, and criteria for their selection;
• Conduct field research in each province in Fiji to collect and examine information on masters;
• Organize provincial workshops to raise awareness about the system among practitioners and other stakeholders.