World Forum for intangible Cultural Heritage

Intangible cultural heritage is realized in direct contacts and communication between individuals and communities. However, cultural homogenization brought on by globalization, climate change and the spread of a global pandemic has put the physical presence of intangible cultural heritage on hold, the effects of which has been damaging enough to raise the risk of extinction in some cases.

Such unprecedented practice of social distancing has accelerated the penetration of ‘contactlessness’ into our daily lives. Science and technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, with convergence taking place across various fields, bringing widespread changes and leaps to all facets of society. Creativity which has enabled humanity to overcome crisis at every crucial moment continues to transform the way we live at every level of society. In this age of convergence and creativity, how should we utilize social change and technological developments to enhance the sustainability of intangible cultural heritage?

As living heritage, intangible cultural heritage continues to be reinvented and transmitted in different ways according to the times and changes in society. The creative continuation of intangible cultural heritage shows potential for its application to other fields based on the premise of human creativity and increases its value. Using convergence, made possible by revolutionary creativity and technology, expansions can be made to the way we approach, utilize and transmit intangible cultural heritage, ensuring that intangible cultural heritage remains as living heritage in our present lives, and not a product of the past. The 2021 World Forum for Intangible Cultural Heritage is a forum for discussing the significance of intangible cultural heritage in the era of convergence and creativity, to rediscover the value of intangible cultural heritage.