Since 2006, the second Saturday of June each year marks China’s Cultural Heritage Day. Since last year, following respective suggestions by the UNESCO Office Beijing, it goes under the name of “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day”. Two days ago, the Ministry of Culture held a press conference announcing the main theme, the slogans and events for this year’s “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day,” of which ICH turns out to be the major element. The main theme reads “ICH Safeguarding Practices: Transmission and Development Coming to Life” (“非遗保护——传承发展的生动实践”). The key slogans are “ICH Safeguarding: Promotion in everyday life, revitalisation in practice” (“保护非遗——在生活中弘扬，在实践中振兴”), “Safeguarding and Transmitting ICH, Displaying Wisdom of Everyday Life” (“保护传承非遗，展现生活智慧”), “Living Communities, Living ICH (“活力社区，活态非遗”) and “Revitalising Chinese Traditional Arts and Crafts (“振兴中国传统工艺”). On the 10th of June, over 1700 events will simultaneously take place across the country, with the main one in Chengdu (Sichuan province) between June 10 and June 18. According to the official report, it will include a series of international ICH exhibitions, international conferences and forums (including an Open ended intergovernmental working group on developing an overall results framework for the Convention), ICH competitions and a series of activities involving traditional Chinese performing arts entering communities. The festival will focus on the “transmission and development of China’s excellent traditional culture, the revitalisation of traditional arts and crafts and the active mobilisation of the international and national community to widely participate in and comprehensively display the unique charm and safeguarding results of Intangible Cultural Heritage”. On top of this, workshops, training sessions, forums and conferences will be held in all parts of the country. So, as the report promises, “at the time, all citizens will be able to participate in ICH activities not far from where they are”. Several TV stations will furthermore broadcast ICH related programs.
This year’s Heritage Day will possess the following special characteristics:
1. Implement the essence and spirit of a series of documents issued by the Central Government pertaining to the transmission and development of China’s excellent traditional culture and firmly propagating the notions on correct ICH safeguarding practices.
2. Focus on ICH practice and pay attention to the innovative transformation and creative development of excellent traditional culture.
3.Actively bundle all efforts and try everything to build a structure and stable system to propagate ICH safeguarding to society.
4. Actively create new and innovative forms of activities and work towards raising the attractiveness and influence of the Heritage Day.