Bringing Shared Heritage into the Classroom: East Asia’s Three-Year Journey Culminates in Nanjing

From 6 to 9 July 2026, the third workshop on "Teaching and Learning with East Asian Shared Heritage" was successfully held in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Jointly organized by UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia and the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), the workshop marked the concluding activity of a three-year project (2024-2026). It brought together 17 participants who are educators and representatives of the private sector and cultural institutions such as China Ports Museum, Osaka Science Museum, Chinggis Khaan National Museum, etc. from East Asia to deepen cross-sectoral collaboration and promote the integration of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) into formal and non-formal education via diversified settings.

Centred around the theme of "teaching and learning with heritage", the four-day program addressed key topics including the theoretical foundations of ICH education, building partnerships between cultural institutions and schools, communication and pitching strategies, and the use of AI technology in relevant educational activities. Through lectures, group discussions, role-play exercises, and a field visit, participants explored good practices and strategies about how to incorporate shared heritage elements into classroom teaching. Innovative sessions such as "partnerships clinic" and "cross-sectoral pitching simulations" helped participants identify barriers and pathways to collaboration and develop feasible partnerships models.

As one of many successful examples of partnership, a Ningbo (China)-based curriculum research institute has collaborated with China Port Museum on the ICH-based education through joint exploration of local heritage values and teaching practice. By transforming elements such as the bamboo, tea, porcelain, silk, bridge, ship, rice, salt, port, etc. into general education programs for younger generation, they have created an innovative approach to keeping Ningbo's ICH alive in its local context, through combining hands-on experience, critical thinking, cross-disciplinary projects, and real-world social practice that are offered to students.

Lin Liangzheng, a workshop participant and curriculum designer from China, said "the workshop showed me that ICH is not a relic of the past, but a living force that inspires curriculum innovation and can enter the classrooms and awaken students' cultural identity."