ICHCAP

As a repository of the Silk Roads nomadic culture, the Kyrgyz Republic has been striving to develop the cultural tourism industry. However, it has been hard to achieve sufficient economic value enough. In particular, the traditional felt crafts, 'Shyrdak' and 'Ala-kiyiz' are highly valued as the intangible cultural heritage, but traditional handicrafts, which are the major source of income for the residents who are in rural areas, are declining due to the limited quality and lack of marketing strategy. These challenges put those ICHs under threat of extinction. Against this backdrop, ICHCAP has been implementing the ‘Promoting Cultural Tourism Industry by Capacity Building for Production and Digital Marketing of Traditional Craft in Kyrgyz Republic (2023-2026)’ with the aim of developing alternative sources of income using traditional crafts, and alleviating poverty and improving the quality of life through promoting cultural tourism industry. This is an Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program supported by Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea.

Given the evolving socio-cultural landscape influenced by the climate crisis, digital transformation, human rights issues, and other factors, accurate and timely information is increasingly crucial for developing projects and policies on intangible cultural heritage(ICH). As a UNESCO Category 2 centre specializing in ICH, ICHCAP is dedicated to curating ICH-related policy information for diverse stakeholders. ICHCAP publishes ‘ICH Policy Brief: MOVE’ online, which serves as a comrehensive resource featuring the latest news and trends in ICH policies. MOVE captures and disseminates ICH policy trends under three categories: UNESCO, Asia-Pacific, and Korean trends. ICHCAP strives to position itself as a prominent information-sharing platform for ICH policies in the Asia-Pacific region, meticulously collecting and analyzing ICH policy information within the region and beyond.

In 2022, the ROK government through Cultural Heritage Administration inaugurated the ‘ASEAN-ROK Working Committee on Cultural Heritage Cooperation’ to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN especially in the field of cultural heritage. As a UNESCO Category 2 centre in the field of intangible cultural heritage, ICHCAP supports the operation of the above Working Committee and the development of cooperative projects to strengthen information-sharing and network-building among ASEAN and the ROK stakeholders in the field of cultural heritage.