Education and Cultural Heritage: Building Teachers' Capacity for Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Shared Heritage

Education and Cultural Heritage: Building Teachers' Capacity for Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Shared Heritage

Education and Cultural Heritage: Building Teachers' Capacity for Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Shared Heritage

14/01 2022

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The International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS) is pleased to announce the successful completion of the project "Education and Cultural Heritage: Building Teachers' Capacity for Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Shared Heritage" implemented by the Public Foundation "Center for Art and Culture" with the assistance of the Secretariat of the National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO.

Financial support for the project was provided by IICAS within the 2020-2021 grant cycle.

The project aimed at raising awareness of teachers, accumulating knowledge about existing experience in the integration of cultural heritage, sharing experiences, as well as at establishing links between schools to preserve and transmit cultural heritage through the system of formal and non-formal education.

As part of the project a series of trainings were conducted in three regions of the Kyrgyz Republic. The main purpose of the trainings was to raise awareness of the participants about UNESCO activities, its programs and Conventions in the field of culture and education, as well as inform about the activities carried out in the Kyrgyz Republic to preserve and promote cultural heritage. The trainings contained both theoretical and practical components.

Within the framework of the project, special attention was paid to the intangible cultural heritage (ICH). In particular, a field trip was organized for program participants to a local community of women craftsmen engaged in the production of Kyrgyz traditional clothing, as well as the restoration of 13 types of traditional female headdress - elechek. The event clearly helped to rethink the importance of preserving ICH and integrating it into the classroom.

A brief manual for teachers was also developed, taking into account the national context to introduce cultural heritage into existing school programs and extracurricular activities. The manual is available for download on the website of IICAS at the following link: https://www.unesco-iicas.org/book/143

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