Ana Shanshiashvili is a PhD art historian, founder and Executive Director of the Georgian Heritage Crafts Association — an umbrella organization uniting over 300 artisans across Georgia. Since 2012, she has been a leading voice in research and sustainable strategy for the Georgian crafts sector, delivering targeted training to more than 400 craft makers. A former Director of the Georgian State Museum of Folk and Applied Art and National Board of ICH Member (2016–2022), Ana is a member of the Cultural Council of the Michelangelo Foundation. In 2020-21, she led a project on ICH in urban contexts in Tbilisi, encompassing community-based inventorying, documentation, training for young people, and the development of safeguarding strategies. In 2022–23, she contributed to the work on the guidance note on the economic dimensions of ICH safeguarding.