A workshop titled "Training-of-Trainers for Periodic Reporting in the Asia-Pacific Region" was conducted smoothly online from September 25 to 27 and again from October 10 to 11, 2023. The event was jointly organized by the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) and UNESCO Headquarters. Susanne Schnüttgen, the Head of UNESCO’s Living Heritage Entity, attended the opening ceremony and stressed UNESCO's strong commitment to the effective implementation of the Convention by all state parties. She expressed the hope that this training workshop would enable participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms and content of periodic reporting, helping them better carry out training activities to guide relevant personnel from each state party to address practical issues during the periodic reporting writing process. Zhang Jing, Deputy Director-General of CRIHAP, stated that the centre is dedicated to aligning with UNESCO's capacity-building strategy to help state parties strengthen their abilities in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, ultimately facilitating their implementation of the Convention.

Beginning in 2018, UNESCO initiated a reform mechanism for periodic reporting, with the submission of periodic reports rotating based on geographical distribution. According to the new regulations, the Asia-Pacific region is scheduled to submit its periodic report by the end of 2024. In order to assist state parties in establishing mechanisms for regular review and summarization, improving the quality of periodic reports, and increasing the number of submissions, UNESCO has gradually initiated training activities worldwide to enhance the capacity for writing periodic reports.

The current training workshop invited senior UNESCO facilitator, Janet Blake and Gamini Wijesuriya, to provide instruction. It had participation from more than ten countries in the Asia-Pacific region, with 12 UNESCO trainers and experts in the field of intangible heritage safeguarding.

During the training sessions, the facilitators introduced the newly revised periodic reporting mechanisms and the Overall Results Framework of the 2003 Convention. They used online demonstrations to help trainees become familiar with and proficient in using the online periodic reporting forms. Considering that the participating trainees will be responsible for providing guidance on the writing of periodic reports for state parties in the Asia-Pacific region in the future, the training emphasized the importance of collaboration and information sharing with relevant stakeholders during data collection. It also prepared the trainees for a mentoring role in future training for state parties and in the process of report writing.

This training is part of a thematic series specifically designed for the Asia-Pacific region by UNESCO , following UNESCO's previous efforts to conduct periodic report training activities in the Latin America and Caribbean region and the European region. According to the plan, the Asia-Pacific region's periodic report training will be divided into three stages. The current training represents the first stage, aimed at promoting knowledge exchange among trainers in the Asia-Pacific region and establishing a collaborative network as a foundation. Participants will be deeply involved in the subsequent two stages of periodic report liaison officer training.