NEWS
UNESCO
20/02/2026
Sub-Regional Meeting on Research for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Small Island Developing States Held in Tokyo on 5-6 February 2026
The Sub-Regional Meeting entitled ‘Research on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Small Island Developing States: Current State, Challenges, and Prospects’ was held on 5–6 February 2026 at the Kuroda Memorial Hall in Tokyo, Japan. This meet…
20/01/2026
IRCI Hosted Roundtable Session at the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee (20.COM) on 11 December 2025
On 11 December, IRCI organized a roundtable session titled ‘Exploring Synergies between Tangible and Intangible Heritage: The Role of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Safeguarding Cultural Landscapes in the Asia-Pacific Region’ as a side event o…
17/10/2025
‘Sub-Regional Meeting on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Central Asia’ held in Tashkent (25–26 September 2025)
The ‘Sub-Regional Meeting on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Central Asia: Enhancing ICH Research and Networks for Comprehensive Heritage Safeguarding’ was held on 25–26 September 2025 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The event was co-organized …
17/10/2025
17 October is the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
17 October is designated as the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. On this day in 2003, the General Conference of UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. While celebrating this day w…
20/08/2025
New Publication of Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding and Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific
IRCI is pleased to share the news that UNESCO has released a publication, Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding and Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific. It examines how communities across Asia and the Pacific draw on ICH, such as traditional c…
15/08/2025
Call for Cases on Promoting Tangible-Intangible Synergies at UNESCO Designated Sites in Asia-Pacific (World Heritage, Biosphere Reserves, and Geoparks)
UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia (Beijing Office), in cooperation with Category 2 Centres in the Asia-Pacific region, is now inviting case studies from stakeholders related to UNESCO Designated Sites such as World Heritage properties, Biosphere R…
05/08/2025
IRCI participated in the Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Climate Change, held in Chengdu, China
‘Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Climate Change: Enhancing knowledge sharing and networking in Asia and the Pacific’ was held in Chengdu, China, from 29 May to 1 June 2025. The event was co-organized by UNESCO Regional Office for East As…
30/05/2025
IRCI participated in the Fourteenth Session of the Governing Board Meeting of CRIHAP
The fourteenth session of the Governing Board Meeting of the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) was held on 29 April 2025 in Beijing, China. In addition to t…
09/01/2025
IRCI attended the ‘Release Ceremony of Selected Cases on ICH Safeguarding for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region 2024’ held in Beijing, China (26 November 2024)
On 26 November 2024, the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) held the ‘Release Ceremony of Selected Cases on ICH Safeguarding for Sustainable Development in t…
24/12/2024
IRCI’s promotion activities at 19.COM (Asunción, 2–7 December 2024)
IRCI participated in the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (19.COM), which took place in Asunción, Republic of Paraguay from 2 to 7 December 2024. For promotion, IRCI set up a table t…
15/09/2023
IRCI attended “Nomads” World Cultural Festival in Mongolia (18-20 August 2023)
Invited by the Minister of Culture of Mongolia, MACHIDA Daisuke, Director-General of IRCI, and YU Le, Associate Fellow, took part in the “Nomads” World Cultural Festival held in Nalaikh District, Ulaanbaatar during 18–20 August 2023. This festival wa…
15/06/2023
UNESCO’s animation series on ICH and education now available in Japanese
UNESCO Animation series: Teaching and Learning with Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia and the Pacific are added with a new Japanese-subtitled version. IRCI has contributed to the Japanese translation of these video clips. Please visit the followin…
29/03/2023
IRCI visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (13-17 March 2023)
Within the ongoing ‘Sustainable Research Data Collection for ICH Safeguarding: Focusing on Central Asia and Small Island Developing States’ project (FY 2022–2024), IRCI Associate Fellows Inoue Aina and Dudko Anastasia visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhsta…
24/03/2023
IRCI held a Working Session for Collecting Research Information Related to ICH and Its Safeguarding targeting SIDS (21 February 2023, Online)
IRCI held an online working session inviting cooperating institutions in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) under the project “Sustainable Research Data Collection for ICH Safeguarding: Focusing on Central Asia and Small Island Developing States” …
22/02/2023
ICH’s contribution to SDGs project: the first international symposium was held (February 2023)
The International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) held the first symposium in Nara, Japan on 1–2 February 2023 as a kick-off event of its new project “Research on ICH Contributing to SDGs – Intangibl…
16/02/2023
IRCI Director-General Joins UNESCO’s Regional Consultations for Culture and Arts Education (13-14 February 2023)
Iwamoto Wataru, Director-General of IRCI participated as a panelist in the online Regional Consultations on UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education, hosted by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia during 13 and 14 February 2023. In this…
22/12/2022
IRCI promoted its research activities at the 17.COM (Rabat, Morocco, 28 November – 3 December 2022)
IRCI participated in the seventeenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (17.COM), which was held from 28 November to 3 December 2022 in Rabat, Morocco. Also, as a side event, IRCI set u…
17/08/2022
Announcement of the renewal of the IRCI logo
In line with the renewal of the UNESCO logo, the joint logo of IRCI and UNESCO Category 2 Centre in the field of intangible cultural heritage has been renewed as follows. The old logo that appears on official documents, publications, and so on, will …
17/12/2021
ICH’s contributions to SDGs: Conference in the Kyrgyz Republic (26 November 2021)
On 26 November 2021, IRCI held an international conference “Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage through Education” online, in cooperation with Taalim-Forum Public Foundation (TFPF) and the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bi…
09/11/2021
The IRCI Researchers Forum was held online on 29 October 2021
The IRCI Researchers Forum on ICH Safeguarding in the Asia-Pacific Region “Progress and Challenges in the Research for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage – Towards a Sustainable Future –” was held online (Zoom webinar) on 2…
27/01/2020
C2 Centre’s Collaboration Event Held in Colombia (9-14 December 2019)
From 9 to 14 December 2019, the 14th session of Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Bogota, Republic of Colombia. IRCI and Category 2 Centres in the field of the safeguarding of ICH …
18/09/2019
IRCI sent the delegation to the Regional Meeting for Strengthening the Use of ICH in Education (August 2019)
The delegate of IRCI has participated in the Regional Meeting for Strengthening the Use of ICH in Education – Teaching and Learning With and About Intangible Cultural Heritage in Primary and Secondary Schools in Asia and the Pacific – co-organised by…
12/09/2019
ICH Experts of UNESCO Headquarters and C2 Centres gathered at the annual meeting held in Algeria (September 2019)
The Seventh Annual Coordination Meeting of Category 2 Centres (C2C) Active in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Algiers, Algeria on 2-3 September 2019. Participated in the meeting Mr. Tim Curtis, Chief, Intangible Cultural Heritag…
12/09/2018
IRCI sent the delegation to 2018 Sub-regional Meeting for ICH safeguarding in Northeast Asia “ICH in Education: Toward Joint Collaboration for Promoting ICH in Formal and Non-Formal Education”
The 2 delegates of IRCI, Mr. IWAMOTO, Director-General and Mr. HAYASHI, Chief Officer have participated in the 2018 Sub-regional Meeting for ICH safeguarding in Northeast Asia “ICH in Education: Toward Joint Collaboration for Promoting ICH in Formal …
10/04/2018
Delegation of International Training Centre in Astronomy under the auspices of UNESCO visits IRCI (March 2018)
The 4 delegates of International Training Centre in Astronomy under the auspices of UNESCO (ITCA), the first UNESCO category 2 centre (C2C) in Thailand visited IRCI on 30 March 2018. ITCA and IRCI shared the knowledge of the operational and managemen…
15/12/2017
IRCI Held a Panel Exhibition as the side event of 12th Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (December 2017)
IRCI held a panel exhibition from 1 to 9 Dec 2017 at the side event of “The twelfth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)” and “ICH NGO Capacity Building Workshop” which took place i…
18/10/2017
Mr. Koïchiro MATSUURA, Former Director-General, UNESCO, was newly appointed as an Honorary Advisor of IRCI
The Letter of appointment to an honorary advisor of IRCI has been handed over to Mr. Koïchiro MATSUURA, Former Director-General, UNESCO by Director-General of IRCI on 1 October, 2017. Mr. Matsuura who had been a member of the Governing Board, provide…
28/09/2017
ICH Experts of UNESCO Headquarter and C2 Centres gathered at the annual meeting held in Iran (September 2017)
The Fifth Annual Coordination Meeting of the Category 2 Centres (C2C) Active in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran on 10, 11 Sep. Participated in the meeting Mr. Tim Curtis, Chief, Intangible Cultur…
22/03/2017
Attendance to Sixth Session of the Governing Board of CRIHAP (February 2017)
The Sixth Session of the Governing Board of the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (CRIHAP) was held on 23 February 2017 in Beijing, China. In addition to the 11 members of the governing board, 2…
07/02/2017
First International Photography Competition of Tehran Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre (Entry Deadline: 18 Feb 2017)
The Regional Research Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in West and Central Asia under the auspices of UNESCO (Tehran Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre), a UNESCO Category 2 Centre like IRCI, shall be organising its first …
12/01/2017
Attendance to Ninth Governing Board Meeting of ICHCAP (December 2016)
The Ninth Governing Board Meeting of the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP) was held on 15 December 2016 in Seoul, Korea. In addition to the 11 members of the governing…
20/10/2016
Attendance to ‘2016 Sub-Regional Meeting for Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding in Northeast Asia’ held in Ulaanbaatar
The ‘2016 Sub-Regional Meeting for Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding in Northeast Asia: The Role of the Media in Raising Awareness about Intangible Cultural Heritage’ was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 10-12 October 2016. Co-organised by …
21/06/2016
4th Annual Coordination Meeting of Category 2 Centres Active in the Field of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Paris
IRCI participated in the Fourth Annual Meeting of Category 2 Centres under the auspices of UNESCO Active in the Field of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France on 4 June 2016, straight after the Sixth Sessio…
26/08/2015
IRCI participated in the Third Annual Coordination Meeting of Category 2 Centres Active in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage
IRCI participated in the Third Annual Coordination Meeting of Category 2 Centres Active in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage, held on 6-8 July 2015 in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China. This meeting is organised annu…
26/08/2015
The evaluation report of IRCI is available on UNESCO website
As a category 2 centre of UNESCO, IRCI underwent an external evaluation commissioned by UNESCO in December 2014. The evaluation report “Review of the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia Pacific Region (IRCI)”, s…
02/07/2014
IRCI hosted an international experts meeting on “Mapping Research for the Safeguarding of ICH in the Asia-Pacific Region” (February 2014)
IRCI is conducting the project entitled “Mapping Research for the Safeguarding of ICH in the Asia-Pacific Region” based on the work plan approved by the 2nd IRCI Governing Board Meeting. This project is intended to contribute to the safeguarding of I…
31/03/2014
Government Officials from Timor-Leste Attended Study Tour on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Japan (October 2013)
IRCI, in response to a request from the Government of Timor-Leste and UNESCO Office in Jakarta, planned and conducted a study tour on Intangible Cultural Heritages in Japan for government officials from Timor-Leste. This project was not included in t…
02/09/2013
International Symposium in Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
This symposium was co-organised by IRCI, Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and Sakai City in Sakai on 3rd August 2013 from 13:00 to 17:30. The first part of the symposium proceeded as follows: Opening addresses by co-organisers and a guest from UN…
READ MORE
- ARCHIVE
- CATEGORY
- Research Database
- Research Data Collection
- Creation of Research Forum
- SDGs
- Climate change
- Natural hazards
- COVID-19 Pandemic
- Endangered ICH
- Post-conflict
- Legal systems
- Documentation
- Conferences/Meetings
- Seminars
- Symposiums/Forums
- Workshop/Working sessions
- Field research
- Information
- Visits
- Publications
- YouTube
- C2Centre
- UNESCO
- Cooperation-with-Sakai-city
- Governing Board Meetings
- Others
