2021 World Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum Banner Image © ICHCAP

The 2021 World Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum, hosted by the National Intangible Heritage Center (Director, Jong-Hee Lee) of the Cultural Heritage Administration and supervised by ICHCAP (Director-General, Gi-Hyung Keum), will be held online for three days, from September 29 to October 1.

The World for Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum, which marks its fifth anniversary this year, under the theme of “Rediscovering Intangible Heritage in the Era of Convergence and Creativity,” brings together twenty experts from ten countries to re-examine the creative value of intangible cultural heritage and present the possibilities by examining examples of innovation and value creation through intangible cultural heritage.

On the first day (29 September), former UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will give a keynote presentation on the creative value of intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development. Subsequently, Ki-dong Bae, former Director-General of the National Museum of Korea, will present “Meaning and Value of Intangible Cultural Heritage Amidst of Transformation of Era.” In first session following the keynote presentations, the present status of intangible cultural heritage in the era of creative industry, in which the role of culture and creativity is emphasized, and the challenges of society and culture will be examined. Also included will be presentations on what forms of ICH protection and transmission are changing amid the rapid development of science and technology and focus on the necessary strategies for ICH protection and transmission.

On the 30 September, the second day of the forum will open with a special lecture by Dr. Michael Fisher, professor emeritus at Kent University and vice-president of HRAF (Human Relations Area Files) foundation. The latter studies cultural diversity and homogeneity under Yale University. In the following order, we look at various examples of innovation and creating value through ICH. By including the examples of Africa’s Social Investment Models for the Sustainability of Intangible Cultural Heritage, an example of South Asia’s Social Enterprises in Creative Transmission and Value Creation of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the Innovative Technologies and Online platform, it examines the possibility of creating value and raising awareness of ICH through collaboration with the Over-the-Top (OTT) Service promoted by UNESCO World Heritage or National Geographic Partners.

Especially, On 30 September, the 2021 ICH Youth Summit will be held as a side event. Intangible heritage youth leaders from more than twenty countries, including those in the Asia-Pacific region, will gather to discuss creative protection and succession of ICH and officially launch the Intangible Cultural Heritage Youth Forum for specific and continuous activities.

On 1 October, the three-day journey will end with a vision for the future of ICH. A special session will be held to summarize the stories discussed at the ICH Youth Summit held on 30 September, and participants will share their ideas on the future of ICH envisioned by the MZ generation. In addition, market strategies for the creative future of ICH in the era of the creative economy, and the need for Local Fair Trade, and the strategies for Creative Advertisement are also examined.

This forum is hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration and ICHCAP and will be held as a non-face-to-face online meeting and broadcasted live on the Jeonju MBC YouTube channel and Metaverse. It will also be broadcast in real-time on the forum portal site (https://ICHworldforum.org). It will later be aired as a special program on Jeonju MBC.

Anyone interested in the forum topics can participate in the 2021 World Forum for Intangible Cultural Heritage. For participation, please apply online. For further information about the forum, please contact the Forum Secretariat (ichworldforumteam@gmail.com ).