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 by IRCI, ICHCAP, and the UNESCO Office in Uzbekistan (Tashkent Office).

This sub-regional meeting aimed to explore the future direction of research on intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and its safeguarding and the potential for regional collaboration. It consisted of two sessions: ‘Discussion on ICH Research in Central Asia’ on DAY 1 and ‘Discussion on Synergies between Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage’ on DAY 2. (Please click here to see the programme.)

The first session, ‘Discussion on ICH Research in Central Asia’, was based on the results of IRCI’s project ‘Sustainable Research Data Collection for ICH Safeguarding: Focusing on Central Asia and SIDS’ implemented from FY 2022 to 2024. Following an introduction by IRCI that provided an overview of the collection of research information and its key findings, country reports were delivered by project partners from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In the discussion, timely and important topics regarding ICH research in Central Asia were raised, including the impact of tourism, ICH elements shared across borders, and endangered indigenous languages as heritage requiring urgent attention. Based on these topics, participants also explored future collaboration to advance research for safeguarding ICH, including joint research on common ICH and the continuation of information collection with IRCI.

The second session, facilitated by ICHCAP, dealt with the timely topic of synergies between tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Following presentations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and a regional research institution (IICAS) on recent developments related to this theme, participants explored the importance of such synergies and the significance of ICH in this context and discussed future steps and collaborations for the holistic safeguarding of heritage, including natural sites. The outcomes from the first session on ICH research were also integrated into the final discussion, which led to a broader exchange of ideas on how to address critical safeguarding needs through research and enhance the safeguarding efforts in this sub-region.

Excursions programmed by the UNESCO Tashkent Office included visits to traditional Uzbek ceramic and embroidery workshops, introducing how ICH has been safeguarded, transmitted, and promoted in the city of Tashkent.

In addition, it should be noted that the meeting was the first instance for IRCI to collaborate with ICHCAP to co-organize an event from the early planning stage. With CRIHAP’s participation as an observer, this event became a rare occasion for three Category 2 centres of UNESCO to align their efforts in support of the safeguarding of ICH in this sub-region.

The meeting provided an important opportunity to facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange on ICH research and reinforce sub-regional networks and cooperative ties with Category 2 centres. Insights gained from this meeting will contribute to the development of new approaches and efforts for more effective and comprehensive safeguarding of ICH in Central Asia and to the promotion of future international and regional cooperation.

*This sub-regional meeting was also reported on the UNESCO website. Please click here to read the official news article.