The Intangible Cultural Heritage Division, INTACH, in collaboration with the INTACH Uttarakhand Chapter and the UNESCO C2C at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, organized a National Conference on the intangible culture of the Himalayan region in the month of November 2017, with the aim to deliberate with community members, professionals, scholars, researchers and other cultural specialists on the idea of social and cultural identity, related oral traditions and to explore how this meets the challenges of an ever-changing contextual environment. The aim is to establish links between scholars, communities, and government/non-government bodies, to further the efforts of safeguarding intangible and 'lived' heritage, and explore its connects with economic regeneration.
A discourse through this seminar reiterated the need for cultural mapping and research delving into the heritage of the region, and looking at cultural continuities and transformations observed over time. It is hoped that an understanding of local experiences, findings and case studies will generate newer research into the complex dynamics of the region and its interaction with the wider geography of the country, and also lead to targeted programmes to deal with some of the emerging issues, especially those related to livelihoods that sustain traditional communities.