The “Training of Trainers Capacity Building Workshop on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage for Mongolia (Second Session)” jointly organized by the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (hereinafter referred to as “CRIHAP”) and National Center for Cultural Heritage of Mongolia was successfully launched in the Tuv province of Mongolia from June 3 to 7, 2024 with robust support from the UNESCO Regional Office in East Asia.

Mr. Zhang Jing, Director-General of CRIHAP, and Mr. B. Davaatseren, Head of the Cultural Heritage Policy Implementation Coordination Department of the Ministry of Culture of Mongolia attended the opening ceremony of the training workshop virtually and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was presided over by Mr. G. Enkbaatar, Director of the National Center for Cultural Heritage of Mongolia.

At the opening ceremony, Director-General Zhang Jing expressed his gratitude to all the participants for their support and efforts. He hoped that the trainees would benefit from this training and contribute to the overall safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Mongolia. Mr. B. Davaatseren expressed his gratitude to CRIHAP and UNESCO for providing various international training workshops and other opportunities for Mongolia over the years, which have brought international vision and rich practical experience to Mongolia. By acquiring information from all these activities, Mongolia has also been constantly updating and enhancing its cultural policies. He hoped that through this training, the gap between policy and practice could be further reduced within the country.

The workshop lasted for 5 days. UNESCO facilitators Ms. Saruul Arslan and Ms. Tsolmon Tserendorj further introduced the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, especially contents related to Community-based Inventorying (“CBI”), along with global examples. Key concepts including the role of communities in CBI, principles and ethics on working with communities were highlighted by the facilitators throughout the workshop. Filed work, group discussions and presentations are also involved in the workshop to aid the understanding and communication.

The three-year ToT programme is an important part of the “National Cultural Education Trainer” strategy in Mongolia. CRIHAP strives to contribute to the development of faculty training in the field of intangible cultural heritage in Mongolia through international training activities, and contributes to the country's overall capacity in the field of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding.