Year of creation: 2012

The functions of the centre are:

(a) to create and keep up to date an automated information system registering and linking institutions, community organizations and individual experts involved in safeguarding ICH in the Region;

(b) to gather and disseminate information on legal, administrative, financial and other measures taken by the States participating in the centre with a view to safeguarding the ICH present in their territories;

(c) to gather and disseminate information on safeguarding activities in the States participating in the centre;

(d) to organize activities for developing research methodologies and studies concerning the safeguarding of ICH, including studies concerning the development of tourism that is respectful of ICH;

(e) to organize activities to identify and promote good safeguarding practices, and to assist States Parties to reinforce their capacities to prepare files proposing such practices to the Intergovernmental Committee as foreseen in Article 18 of the 2003 Convention;

(f) to coordinate activities aimed at awareness-raising and capacity-building among holders and practitioners of intangible cultural heritage, so as to allow them to participate actively in the identification, inventorying and managing of their ICH;

(g) to foster capacity-building for drafting candidature files for inscription on the two lists of the 2003 Convention and for drafting requests and reports for submission to the Intergovernmental Committee, in particular concerning shared intangible cultural heritage elements;

(h) to cooperate and exchange information with other category 2 centres in and beyond Asia, under the auspices of UNESCO, in the field of safeguarding ICH;

(i) to inform the Intergovernmental Committee and the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention about relevant activities in the Region and to assist in the implementation of the 2003 Convention.

Participating countries: Armenia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Tajikistan