Facilitator teaches classes.

This training workshop is highly valued by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines. In his speech at the opening session, Mr. Virgilio S. Almario, President of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines, highly appreciated the capacity-building training for safeguarding of ICH held by CRIHAP in the Philippines. He said he believes that the training was of great significance to the country and expressed his sincere thanks to CRIHAP. Since the Philippines became a member state to the Convention, it urgently needs to improve its ability to safeguard ICH and implement the Convention and to raise its awareness of the importance of ICH. The Philippines requested training of a number of ICH trainers at the national level. Therefore, CRIHAP organized this training workshop to respond to the country’s need.

The workshop is the first of a series of three-year capacity-building trainings on intangible cultural heritage for the Philippines. It is said that CRIHAP will continue to provide professional capacity-building training for intangible cultural heritage safeguarding according to the actual needs of the Philippines next year.

As a UNESCO category 2 centre in the field of intangible cultural heritage in the Asian-Pacific region, CRIHAP has been deeply involved in implementing the UNESCO global capacity-building strategy for the safeguarding of ICH and promoting the Convention. It also has been committed to providing capacity-building training services in ICH to 48 member states in the region. Up to now, the centre has held 45 training workshops on intangible cultural heritage capacity building for the region, with 1,461 direct beneficiaries.