The town of Taunggyi, Shan State, in Myanmar hosted from 14 to 18 September 2015 a workshop on how to elaborate nomination files for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. This was the final chapter of the capacity-building project, which had been generously supported by the Royal Norwegian Government through a contribution to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. The two-year national project has been implemented since 2013 with the aim to strengthen skills of human resources in Myanmar for the inventorying and safeguarding of its intangible cultural heritage.

The 24 participants, comprising of cultural officers, scholars and actual ICH practitioners, acquired hands-on skills in elaborating nomination dossiers and learned how to use the lists of the 2003 Convention as an effective tool for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. Combining theoretical training on how to devise community-based safeguarding measures and practical exercises of evaluating mock nominations, the workshop provided an opportunity to clarify the different objectives of each of the international mechanisms established by the Convention so policy-makers can use them in the most appropriate and effective manner.

The five-day training workshop that was facilitated by two members of the network of UNESCO-trained experts, included a practical field exercise with local communities in Inle Lake.