DUSHANBE, May 16, 2016, Asia-Plus – The 7th international conference of experts on intangible cultural heritage from the countries of Central Asia and the Pacific kicked off in Dushanbe today, according to the Ministry of Culture (MoC).
An official source at a MoC says representatives from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Korea, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan are participating in the event that will run until May 18.
An international symposium entitled “Cultural Space of Silk Road and Central Asia” is expected to take place on the sidelines of the forum, according to the source.
He further added that such events take place annually in one of member nations of the forum. The third forum reportedly took place in Dushanbe in 2011.
The missions of the International Research Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) include to: instigate and coordinate research into practices and methodologies of safeguarding endangered intangible cultural heritage elements present in the Asia-Pacific Region, while cooperating with universities, research institutions, community representatives and other governmental and non-governmental organizations in Japan and elsewhere in the Region; assist, in terms of research, countries in the Asia-Pacific Region in implementing such measures as referred to in Articles 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the 2003 Convention, while paying special attention to developing countries; organize workshops and seminars focusing on the role of research as a useful component for safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage and related practices and methodologies, involving experts, community representatives and administrators from the Asia-Pacific Region; encourage and assist young researchers in the Asia-Pacific Region engaging in research activities related to safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage; cooperate with other category 2 centers and institutions active in the domain of safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage, in the Asia-Pacific Region and beyond; and initiate cooperation among all other interested institutions active in the domain of safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage, while furthering technical assistance vis-à-vis developing countries, in the Asia-Pacific Region.
