A two-day forum on promoting intangible cultural heritage will take place next week in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, hosted jointly by the Korea Heritage Service and UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific office handling intangible cultural heritage.

The Oct. 17-18 meeting, held annually and now in its eighth edition, will explore how peoples have maintained their self-identities over migration and what intangible cultural heritage could do to help advance cultural diversity.

Over 30 participants from 14 countries including academics and specialists from UNESCO and related agencies and groups will take part in the event, divided into three sessions and a special lecture.

Feng Jing, the director overseeing UNESCO’s Bangkok office, will deliver a keynote speech, followed by the first session on the theme “Intangible Cultural Heritage as Records of Human Lives Amid the History of Migration.”

The second session will debate the role of intangible cultural heritage as a “means of inclusive migrant societies.” The third session will address new perspectives and challenges on the transmission of intangible cultural heritage, looking at recent migration cases.

Marie McAuliffe, head of migration research and publications at the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration, will deliver a special lecture titled “An Elevated Agenda for Migration: Migration and the Pact for the Future.”

“This year’s forum will shed light on the role that intangible cultural heritage has played in maintaining cultural diversity and peace between cultures throughout the history of migration, and will foster discussion for a new leap forward into the future,” the Korea Heritage Service said.