ICH Elements Booklets of Central Asia

ICHCAP jointly published booklets with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in 2016 to offer a comprehensive overview of Central Asian intangible cultural heritage.

Since 2010, ICHCAP has held annual Central Asian sub-regional network meetings with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Mongolia to support ICH safeguarding activities in the sub-region. Through collaboration, ICHCAP has managed projects related to collecting ICH information, producing ICH websites, and constructing ICH video archives. The projects promote the value and significance of Central Asian ICH and have been recognized as successful cross-border ICH safeguarding activities.

To publish the ICH element booklets, ICHCAP has been collaborating with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO, the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO, the National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO, and Odam Va Olam (a Tajik ICH NGO) since 2015. The organizations published the booklets based on their national ICH lists, field surveys, and literature studies conducted with relevant ICH experts.

The ICH element booklets contain not only the well-known ICH of each country but also the little-known endangered ICH, helping to raise the awareness of national ICH. The people of Central Asia are now paying greater attention to their own national ICH in the post-Soviet era. Publishing these booklets highlights the importance of not just in safeguarding ICH but also in facilitating cultural pride.

The Central Asian ICH element booklets were published in the respective national languages and English for foreign readers with an interest in Central Asian ICH. In Kazakhstan, the booklets are available in Kazakh, English, and Russian, as Russian is widely spoken in the country. The Kazakh booklets show the lifestyle of nomads, living in harmony with vast Central Asian plains and the mountainous meadows as well as the people's creative artistry. ICH booklets on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan address their cultural acceptance and the creativity, developed in constant cultural exchanges with people from Arabia, Persia, Cappadocia, Central Asian, Siberia, India, and East Asia.

Though unseen, ICH and the associated pride in these assets have been transmitted over many centuries and millennia and are now available through ICHCAP's partnership with Central Asian nations. It is believed that these ICH element booklets will help promote and safeguard Central Asian's spiritual values, wisdom, and expressions.