From Aug 11 to 14, 2020, the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia-Pacific Region under the Auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP), and the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (APHEN-ICH), co-organized a workshop on "Linking 2003 Convention and University ICH Programs" (online).The workshop was strongly supported by the UNESCO Bangkok Office.

During the four-day workshop, 21 college and university lecturers, professors and project leaders from 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific Region participated in the workshop as trainees. UNESCO-accredited ICH facilitators Amareswar Galla and Marc Jacobs were invited to give lectures. The online workshop progressed in the forms of lectures, short speeches, discussions and collaborative learning. Centered on the theme of intangible cultural heritage and higher education, the workshop helped the trainees gain a deeper understanding of the basic concepts of The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003. The trainees held discussions focusing on curriculum development in heritage studies and the importance of participatory practice in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The internet and online education was a hot topic among the trainees. In response to the ongoing pandemic, they actively spoke of the needs of various colleges and universities in the Asia-Pacific region, made in-depth discussions about the necessity of constructing an intangible cultural heritage education framework for the region, and talked about other common questions and challenges.

This was the second capacity-building training workshop, jointly held by CRIHAP and ICHCAP for colleges and universities in the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage. For three-fourths of the trainees, it was the second time that they received training under the framework of the 2003 Convention. They agreed that the training is conducive to advancing ICH curriculum development in colleges and universities in the Asia-Pacific Region, to enhancing ICH teaching capacities in these institutions, to cultivating personnel specializing in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, and to strengthening the overall capacity in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region. The head of the APHEN-ICH gave affirmation to the training, saying the capacity-building training on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage serves as a platform for the colleges and universities in the Asia-Pacific Region to acquire knowledge about the 2003 Convention and to exchange their ICH education experiences, thus strengthening the contacts between them and allowing them to learn from each other and to seek further cooperation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has kept most countries from holding onsite training, UNESCO has encouraged and advocated the use of online platforms for its member states to carry on their work. Responding to the call of the UNESCO, CRIHAP has endeavored to push forward online capacity-building training, seeking to construct a mobile platform for countries in the Asia-Pacific Region to receive training, to promote exchanges and to learn from each other, thus uplifting their overall capacities in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.

Up to now, CRIHAP has organized a total of 47 intangible cultural heritage capacity-building workshops, covering 40 countries and regions, with 1,514 direct beneficiaries.