2019 Asia-Pacific Youth ICH Storytelling Contest Winners Announced

ICHCAP has announced the winners of the 2019 Asia-Pacific Youth ICH Storytelling Contest, which was held by the centre for three months from July 2019. Applicants from 19 countries submitted their photo essays and videos for the contest which had two categories (Young Practitioners and General Youth). ICHCAP selected winners for Grand Prize (1 person), Excellence Prize (1 person), Distinction Prize (2 persons), Special Award (3 persons), and Participation Prize in each category.

The Young Practitioners category received entries from young people directly engaging in ICH transmission. Moushumi Choudhury, a female Chau dancer, won Grand Prize. Through her photos, she shared the challenges and possibilities she went through when she was striving to learn traditional Chau dance, a predominantly male dance in India. Alina Tamrakar received Excellence Prize. The Nepali architect recorded a story about traditional Nepali devotional music through a personal experience of participating in the Gunla festival, a month-long Buddhist procession, as a traditional instrumentalist. Distinction Prize went to Xiaobo Liu (China), who talked about the legacy of Chinese bamboo artistry, and Maya Rai (Nepal), who told a story of women empowerment through weaving. Special Award was given to Khin Myat Noe Naing (Myanmar’s traditional food), Hwadam Kwon (Korean Taekkyeon), and Le Zhang (Chinese paper-cut art). Other six entries received Participation Prize.

In the General Youth category for youths interested in ICH, Nguyen Anh Quan won Grand Prize. As a university student aspiring to become a Hat Boi practitioner, Anh Quan poetically described the philosophy of the traditional opera and especially its masks and makeup. Excellence Prize was offered to Saurabh Narang, a photographer who dealt with the origin of a traditional dance of the Siddis in India. Distinction Prize went to Abdullah Al Durrani Sony, who covered the New Year’s festival in Bangladesh, and Munipalli Goutham, whose photos tell a story of the Bonalu festival, a major ICH element in India, and the festive mood of families. Special Award was given to Touhidul Islam (Rickshaw paintings in Bangladesh), Deepak Tolange (Kusunda language facing threat of extinction in Nepal), and Lynn Wong (Wui Chiu traditional food for Qing Ming Festival). Other nine entries received Participation Prize.

ICHCAP will give the winners certificates and prizes worth 9.4 million won. ICHCAP is also planning to publish photo essays and hold online exhibitions using the prize-winning entries.

<Prize-winning entries>

	Young Practitioners	General Youth
Grand Prize	Moushumi Choudhury (India) Breaking the Glass Ceiling: One Somersault at a time	Nguyen Anh Quan (Vietnam) The Art of Masks Making
Excellence Prize	Alina Tamrakar (Nepal) Gunla baajan, a traditional devotional music	Saurabh Narang (India) Dhamal – Traditional Dance
Distinction Prize	Xiaobo Liu (China) Weaving Dreams, Inheriting Bamboo Artistry	Abdullah Al Durrani Sony (Bangladesh) Color of joy
Distinction Prize	Maya Rai (Nepal) Woven Together: A Story of Empowerment through Weaving	Munipalli Goutham (India) Bonalu
Special Prize	Khin Myat Noe Naing (Myanmar) One of the traditional snack, Jaggery production	Touhidul_Islam (Bangladesh) Rickshaw
Special Prize	Hwadam Kwon (Republic of Korea) Bruise of Glory	Deepak Tolange (Nepal) Kusunda
Special Prize	Le Zhang (China) Youth Meets Paper-cut	Lynn Wong (Singapore) Wui Chiu Mugwort Kueh for Qing Ming Festival
Participation Prize	Debasish Dey (India) Charakpuja, an Ancient Taboo of Hindu Tradition	Avijit Ghosh (India) Pattachitra – rejuvenated folk art of Bengal
Participation Prize	Dwi Permata Wulan Sari (Indonesia) Truntum batik	Bhagyanath Moothedath (India) The Lights & Shadows, a story of Puppetry
Participation Prize	Hnin Darli Soe (Myanmar) Traditional pottery making in Bagan	Fanning Meng (China) Woodblock New Year pictures
Participation Prize	Rija Joshi (Nepal) Baakhan Nyane Waa: an Oral Tradition	Mengxing Chen (China) The Wonder Woman of Wood Painting
Participation Prize	Tiancheng Xu (China) Acubot: Bring Acupuncture to the World by Robot	Sweta Kandari (India) Wool making tradition of Jadh Bhotiyas
Participation Prize	Vipin V (India) Tholpavakoothu, shadow puppetry	Minglei Wang (China) Real Beauty in Yunnan
Participation Prize	–	Alexandria Mordeno (Philippines) A Mountain Girl’s Reflections by the River
Participation Prize	–	Monalisa Maharjan (Nepal) The story of ancient safeguarding practice in Kathmadu Valley
Participation Prize	–	Hissah Macaraya (Philippines) Baor-making Skill