Mr. Penisimani ‘Epenisa Fifita expressed his thankfulness to the support and fund given to this training workshop from CRIHAP, and also praised UNESCO‘s continuous effort and great contribution to building greater capacity of state party in safeguarding global intangible cultural heritage (ICH). He said since the ratification in 2010, Tonga government has paid great attention to the capacity building of ICH safeguarding in the light of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the training workshop will efficiently enhance the local trainee’s capability in safeguarding ICH and inventorying. It will also encourage communities to engage more in safeguarding ICH.

Now, facing the problem of decreasing number of ICH transmission, the Tonga government set a ten-year plan starting in 2015 to fully engage in culture promotion. This will be in line with the spirit of the Tonga people, namely, “Respect, Loyalty, Modesty and Mutuality”. After the opening ceremony, Mr. Niu Genfu gave participants a lecture focus on the safeguarding of ICH in China.