ICH NGO Network

■ ICH NGO Conference co-organized by ICHCAP and ICH NGO Forum Sakr is continuously in contact with ICHCAP concerning the online conference “ICH and resilience in crisis: Implication in the Era of B.C. (Before Corona) and A.C. (After Corona)”. The call for papers has been published, and is open until the mid August. The co-organizers currently discuss the selection of keynote speakers, and how to additionally motivate NGOs to submit their proposals. Members of the Steering Committee suggested few additional experts who could be considered to serve as keynote speakers, especially concerning the theme of resilience system analysis. As for the participation of ICH NGOs, it is important to motivate those that have been continuously involved in the activities of the Forum, but also to be as encouraging as possible to newcomers. ■ Next Newsletter of the Forum The new issue of the Newsletter, dedicated to responses of ICH NGOs to the pandemic, will be published these days. It is quite extensive, probably the most extensive Newsletter in the history of the Forum, with editorial summaries and authorial papers on the impact of COVID-19, as well as very extensive section of announcements, and an elaborated proposal concerning the establishment of a new working group that would deal with the problem of regional imbalance of accredited NGOs. Members of the Steering Committee have agreed for the next Newsletter to be published in the mid November, a week or so after the conference on ICH and resilience, while before the start of the Forum’s programme attached to 15.COM. The central part will include reports from 8.GA, the conference on ICH and resilience and the IMP project, and also provide an overview of the Forum’s activities during 15.COM. In any case, it is planned to be less extensive than the issue that is coming out these days. Nyathi will again coordinate its preparation. ■ Preparation of programme for 8.GA The next Newsletter was initially planned to be published in June, focusing on 3 responses of NGOs to the pandemic. As only a few NGOs responded to our call published in the last Newsletter, it was decided that by the mid June Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi will contact individuals from each of six regions of the world, asking for their contributions to the Newsletter. In addition, Naila Ceribašić will prepare contribution on musical responses of ICH communities to the pandemic, and Jorge Caicedo on responses of communities devoted to traditional games and sports. Besides, the Newsletter will include a report on IMP project, which will be prepared by Kia Tsakiridis, as well as information on ongoing work related to the preparation of the Forum’s activities at 8.GA and 15.COM, and the joint conference with ICHCAP. ■ Preparation of programme for 8.GA It is confirmed that 8.GA will be held from 8 to 10 September in Paris. None of the member of the Steering Committee will attend it in person. However, we hope that quite visible online presence of the Forum will be feasible. As agreed upon at the previous meeting, the Forum’s programme for 8.GA will consist of two online discussion sessions. One session will be held a few days in advance of 8.GA to discuss agenda and documents for 8.GA from the perspective of ICH NGOs, as well as the Forum’s statement at 8.GA. Another session will be held towards the end of 8.GA to discuss its deliberations and decisions. Caicedo will prepare the first draft of the material which will serve as a basis for the first session, including the draft of our statement at 8.GA. He will also facilitate the session. Nömgård will contact the Secretariat concerning the Forum’s statement. ■ Preparation of programme for 15.COM (1) Establishment of the Election Board The Election Board is still in the process of formation. In a few days from now, it is expected to be completed, consisting of members from the US, Mexico and India. Caicedo, Choi and Sakr are involved in the correspondence with them, and Nömgård 3 is in charge to coordinate the work in order for the Election Board to be formed as soon as possible. (2) ICH NGO Forum report for 15.COM As reported by Ceribašić, among the three thematic sub-groups that had been formed (A. on the history, organization, principles, roles, objectives of the NGOs accredited to the Convention and the ICH NGO Forum; B. on the reform of the listing mechanism; and C. on ICH in emergencies, including COVID-19), the one on ICH in emergencies, facilitated by Matti Hakamäki, has advanced the most in the preparation of an online discussion session, which is intended to enable the broadest possible participation of ICH NGOs in the drafting of the report. The session will be held towards the end of August, and it is expected from two other sub-groups (facilitated by Ceribašić and, respectively, by Hanna Schreiber) to follow suit. ------------------------------------ Minutes of the SC's monthly virtual meeting are uploaded a month later after the confirmation in the next meeting. See more details at the SC's Monthly Minutes. Link: http://ichngo.net/SC/Minutes

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Title	Follow-Up Activities of the Steering Committee (SC), 5 August 2020
Place
Date	0000-00-00