The Eighth Session of the Advisory Committee of CRIHAP was held online on Dec 22, 2021.

The Eighth Session of the Advisory Committee of the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO was held online on Dec 22, 2021.

Committee chairperson Zhang Aiping, former Director-General of the Bureau for External Cultural Relations at China’s Ministry of Culture, presided over the event.

This is the first time CRIHAP has convened an Advisory Committee session online. Issues discussed at the session include the mid-term development plan which runs from 2022 to 2026, the implementation of ICH-related training workshops amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the supplementation and replacement of committee members.

Committee chairperson Zhang Aiping chaired the session.

All committee members agreed the goals and principles CRIHAP set in the mid-term development plan are achievable and in keeping with the objectives and principles of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. They agreed CRIHAP has striven to accomplish its tasks in an active and innovative way despite the outbreak in 2020 and 2021. They praised CRIHAP for having fulfilled the tasks in accordance with its function since its inception 10 years ago.

Committee members pose for a group photo.

During the session, many committee members offered viable advice about the content, theme and mode of future training workshops. For instance, some suggested the establishment of a meeting mechanism for experts by bringing together experts, ICH inheritors and other stakeholders to discuss how training should be carried out, and to share their experiences and successes in ICH safeguarding.

(Original Chinese story by Chen Xiaoxi; translated by Zhu Linyong)