Renee C. Talavera, Director of NCCA’s Cultural Community and Traditional Arts Division, extended her thanks to CRIHAP for its efforts to implement the tree-year training program for the Philippines. Talavera said CRIHAP has organized a series of online capacity-building workshops by CRIHAP and the two UNESCO facilitators in accordance with specific training themes, offering trainees in-depth guidance irrespective of the pandemic which made it impossible to conduct field trips. She then issued certificates of honor to CRIHAP and the two facilitators on behalf of NCCA.

The training workshop kicked off on Dec 13, 2021 and ran for four and a half months. It is the first time CRIHAP has organized a cross-year capacity-building workshop which integrated self-study sessions, Q&A sessions and diverse online courses into a holistic program.

From January to April, the trainees learned about the basic knowledge of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. During that time, CRIHAP and NCCA organized four exercise sessions, each followed by an online Q&A to help the trainees learn processes smoothly. The trainees spoke highly of the flexible self-study mode. Making the best of their spare time, the trainees said they have gained a solid grasp of knowledge, old and new, and received targeted guidance from the facilitators. Trainees have also benefited from a learning platform which enabled them to share experiences and exchange ideas.

At the online courses running from April 27 to 29, the facilitator focused on the core knowledge of the 2003 Convention and talked in detail about how to conduct ICH safeguarding in emergencies and how to develop ICH safeguarding plans and policies using specific cases as vivid examples.