Group photo of participants.

A Capacity-Building workshop on Multinational Nomination of Intangible Cultural Heritage targeting Southeast Asian countries was held online from July 26-29, 2021.

Co-organized by CRIHAP as well as the UNESCO offices in Jakarta, Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Hanoi, the four-day online workshop drew 38 trainees from 11 Southeast Asian countries, mainly members of national commissions for UNESCO, cultural officials and ICH safeguarding experts.

The opening of the workshop was attended by Chiba Moe, chief and program specialist for culture of the UNESCO Office in Jakarta, Duong Bich Hanh, chief and program specialist for culture of the UNESCO Office in Bangkok, Masanori Nagaoka, program specialist for culture of the UNESCO Office in Phnom Penh, and CRIHAP’s director-general Liang Bin.

During the opening ceremony for the workshop, Chiba Moe, chief and program specialist for culture at the UNESCO Office in Jakarta, said culture is the best way for people to enhance dialogue, mutual understanding and respect, and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is a platform to exhibit and boost cultural diversity and promote mutual appreciation among peoples.

UNESCO encourages state parties to the Convention to carry out multinational nominations, and to take the opportunity to bolter international cooperation and exchange at different levels, Moe noted.