Saniya is a cultural heritage specialist and educator from Kazakhstan, working at the intersection of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), education and sustainable development. She is a member of UNESCO’s Global Facilitators’ Network for the 2003 Convention and the Culture|2030 Indicators Expert Facility. With a background as Senior Lecturer at the Kazakh National University of Arts and graduate studies in Art Education in Indonesia, she has extensive experience in ICH-related capacity-building, formal education projects, and fieldwork with communities across Central Asia. She also founded “Eternal Melody,” a public association working on ICH and the SDGs.