From 22 to 25 July 2019, a four-day workshop on ‘Capacity Building Workshop on Linking 2003 Convention and University ICH programs’ was held in Shanghai, China to reinforce university networking in Asia and the Pacific.
Universities that are part of the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (APHEN-ICH) were introduced to key concepts of the 2003 Convention and given opportunities to discuss integrating intangible cultural heritage safeguarding in their existing courses. APHEN-ICH was founded in 2018 with support from UNESCO and ICHCAP and since then has continued to strengthen its network through an international seminar and upcoming field school.
The workshop was co-organized by International Training Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the Auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP), UNESCO Bangkok and APHEN-ICH.
Higher education institutions play an important role in training future decision-makers, planners and administrators to work in the field of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding and can be key actors in capacity building. Therefore, UNESCO is supporting university networking in all regions.