ICHCAP

The 2024 APHEN-ICH (Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage) General Meeting and Conference successfully took place in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 22 to 23 September, organised jointly by the APHEN-ICH Secretariat, Tribhuvan University, and ICHCAP. This event brought key stakeholders from across the Asia-Pacific region together, focusing on the role of higher education institutes in terms of intangible cultural heritage in building community resilience and discussing the future direction of the Network.

This year, the conference, held on 22 September, centred around the theme "ICH for Building Community Resilience: Contexts of Disasters and Climate Change". The discussions highlighted how knowledge and practices transmitted through generations can be harnessed to strengthen community resilience in the face of climate change.

The General Meeting on 23 September addressed vital organisational matters of APHEN-ICH, including previous activity reports, plans for future activities, the approval of a new member institution from Sri Lanka, and the election of the Bureau and Secretariat. The University of Santo Tomas from the Philippines was elected as the next Secretariat, followed by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies from the Republic of Korea, University of Dhaka from Bangladesh, and Vietnam National University in Hanoi from Vietnam — as the newly elected Bureau of APHEN-ICH for the next two years.

The discussions throughout those two days significantly contributed to the formation of discourse on safeguarding and raising awareness of intangible cultural heritage while enhancing public awareness of the importance of safeguarding these cultural practices. This event has marked a significant step forward in the ongoing efforts to safeguard and promote intangible cultural heritage across the region.