The final report of the ‘Research on ICH Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic’ project titled ‘Case Studies on Intangible Cultural Heritage amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Asia-Pacific Region’ is now available online.

The global spread of COVID-19 since December 2019 has severely affected people’s lifestyles. The critical situation of ICH practice and transmission gained attention by the public, as measures to prevent the infection limited the interactions among people and many ICH activities such as local festivals were suspended. Against this background, IRCI conducted a three-year research project to closely document various changes occurred to the practice and transmission of ICH during the COVID-19 pandemic and build knowledge to be prepared for future pandemics, in cooperation with local institutions and researchers in Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and the Republic of Korea.

The report consists of a summary of the project and the results of case studies conducted by collaborators in each country.

Please check below for the table of contents and for downloading selected papers to read.
 *The entire volume is available for download if you click the cover image at the bottom.

[CONTENTS]
Preface (Daisuke Machida)

Introduction: IRCI’s Project ‘Research on ICH Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (Hitomi Yamamoto)

Transformation of the ICH in Bangladesh in the Context of COVID-19 (Saymon Zakaria)

Impacts of COVID-19 on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fiji 2022–2023 (Elizabeth Edwards)

Building Futures: Lessons Learnt from the Case Study on the Impact of COVID-19 on Traditional Craftmanship in Kutch, India (Ritu Sethi)

Nitik Batik Production and Marketing during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Mahirta, Niken Wirasanti, Fayeza Shasliz Arumdhati, Faiza Maula Syahra and Syehkhan Dartiko Aji)

Handicraft Workshops and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran: The Internet, the Role of Woman and the Re-emergence of Traditional Craftmanship in Households (Janet Blake and Yodollah Parmoun)

COVID-19 and the Transformation of the Traditional Knowledge: Case Studies in Kyrgyzstan (Achilova Altynai and Akmatova Kuluipa)

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on ICH in Mongolia: A Case Study in Ulaanbaatar Capital City (Enkhbat Galbadrakh and Saruul Arslan)

The Impact of COVID-19 upon ICH Practiced by the Tolai People of Papua New Guinea: The Case of Kutu-Tabu and Malagene (Naomi Faik-Simet)

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Two Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements in Korea (Hanhee Hahm and Semina Oh)