An online event to commemorate the launch of the service ‘ichLinks (https://www.ichlinks.com)’, an international platform for sharing ICH information, will be held on 27 May from 2pm to 4pm (Korea Time).

ichLinks is a platform established in March by UNESCO-ICHCAP, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, to safeguard and use ICH through sharing ICH information in the Asia-Pacific region. ichLinks is the name of a platform created by combining the words “intangible cultural heritage (ich)” and “links”. The platform currently contains detailed information on a thousand ICH elements in the Asia-Pacific region with 130,000 videos and photos, audio resources, books, and experts’ information. Contents on travel and exhibitions related to the elements are also available. The platform will continue to update its data and contents in cooperation with UNESCO member states.

ICHCAP will officially announce the launch of ichLinks service and is preparing an online briefing to hear suggestions on its future development directions. This event will invite five partners in the Asia Pacific, as well as seventy related organizations and experts from forty countries, to hear reviews of other platform services and experiences in operating similar platforms in the cultural field.

At the ceremony to commemorate the launch of the ichLinks service, Hyun-Mo Kim (Chairman of ICHCAP and Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea), Jong-hwan Do (National Assembly Member), Chun-hee Lee (Mayor of Sejong City), Ernesto Ottone (Assistant Secretary-General for UNESCO Culture), Mirjatatai Zoldasbekov (Chairman of the Kazakhstan Intangible Heritage Committee), and Bui Hoai Son (Director of Vietnamese National Institute of Culture and Arts) will participate for greetings and congratulatory remarks. Next, Gi-Hyung Keum, the Director General of UNESCO-ICHCAP, will present the background and philosophy of ichLinks, and Sang-Mook Park (Programme Specialist, UNESCO-ICHCAP) will introduce the main contents of the service through demonstrating the platform’s user screen.

Moreover, there will be a session to listen to reviews of service users and suggestions on the direction of platform development from partners from Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia participating in this platform project. Furthermore, interesting presentations such as the experience of Europeana, a platform where various cultural institutions in Europe are sharing vast amounts of data, are to be presented. The objective is to seek a specific direction for ichLinks as an international ICH information platform in the future. Lastly, Min Yung Jung (Programme Specialist, UNESCO-ICHCAP) will explain the operation method of ichLinks, guidance on recruitment of partner organizations, and future plans.

Today, when digital cultural heritage and information sharing became more important in this 4th Industrial Revolution and Covid-19 era, the ichLinks online briefing will provide insights into the evolution of cooperation methods in the field of international culture and the use of ICH platforms as public goods.

Those interested in this event can register at https://www.ichlinks.events for participation.