The theme for this year’s symposium is ICH in Cities: Multiculturalism, Social Cohesion and Sustainability.
Guest of honor was Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Communications and Information.
More than half the world’s population live in urban areas, and the proportion is set to increase to 68% by 2050.
Coupled with the increased globalisation and movement of people, cities are sites of rich and diverse intangible cultural heritage (ICH). In such dense urban environments, ICH can be a resource to foster social cohesion and facilitate dialogue among communities. At the same time, the rapid rate of urbanisation and development observed in cities around the world poses challenges to the safeguarding of ICH.
Titled “ICH in Cities: Multiculturalism, Social Cohesion and Sustainability”, the 2019 Intangible Cultural Heritage symposium organised by the National Heritage Board, explores the roles of ICH in multicultural cosmopolitan societies especially in terms of promoting community identity and fostering inter-cultural understanding and appreciation amongst diverse communities.
The symposium will feature international and local speakers, including ICH experts, academics, researchers and cultural practitioners. It will explore the themes of ICH in cities, including the issues and challenges relating to research and documentation of ICH in multicultural and/or urban context; the role of ICH in sustainable development; as well as the ICH frameworks, policies and initiatives that can encourage and empower communities to play a role in the safeguarding and transmission of ICH.
Emcee Lester was the emcee for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Symposium 2019 .