A webinar on contribution of ICH on creative economy and stakeholders roles. Banglanatak dot com in collaboration with British Council hosted an international webinar titled “Traditional Art in Contemporary Times” on 4^th September, 2020. This international transcontinental webinar aspired to look at how traditional art is ever evolving and also explore how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting living heritage worldwide. The theme of the webinar was the contribution of intangible cultural heritage on creative economy and stakeholder roles and relationships in the context of the changing world. The webinar reflected on the following questions:

1. How has COVID-19 and the burgeoning of digital platforms impacted the market for art rooted in traditions as contemporary art?
2. How to promote reputation of heritage art traditions?
3. What are the ethical issues in the market for heritage art, and how to address them?
4. How can innovation in traditional art be supported in contemporary times? Are there any limits?

The speakers for the webinar were, Patricia Navas Röthlisberger from Colombia who is the technical lead for of the Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth (CH4IG) programme at British Council Colombia, Dr. Harriet Deacon from UK who is a heritage expert working as a consultant to UNESCO and also a professor, Dr. Diego Rinallo from France, a professor at Kedge Business School and a marketing expert and Lou-ann Lee a visual artist from the indigenous community of Canada. Suresh Jayaram a curator and art historian and Anwar Chitrakar, a National Award winning Patachitra artist joined in as discussants. The webinar was moderated by Nandita Palchoudhuri, a social entrepreneur and the welcome address was given by Ananya Bhattacharya, Director, banglanatak dot comThe speakers for the webinar were, Patricia Navas Röthlisberger from Colombia who is the technical lead for of the Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth (CH4IG) programme at British Council Colombia, Dr. Harriet Deacon from UK who is a heritage expert working as a consultant to UNESCO and also a professor, Dr. Diego Rinallo from France, a professor at Kedge Business School and a marketing expert and Lou-ann Lee a visual artist from the indigenous community of Canada. Suresh Jayaram a curator and art historian and Anwar Chitrakar, a National Award winning Patachitra artist joined in as discussants. The webinar was moderated by Nandita Palchoudhuri, a social entrepreneur and the welcome address was given by Ananya Bhattacharya, Director, banglanatak dot com. The speakers shared how reviving lost practices and know how in handicrafts, textiles, medicine, folklores, music and dance, with passing over of traditional knowledge to the younger generation and capacity building of the indigenous communities in promotion, sales and networking through participation in multicultural events  do away with intermediaries and give more power to the communities and promote cultural diversity. Supporting heritage-sensitive innovation  increases the viability and  visibility of contemporary  traditional art lead to protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. As art markets mature, there is greater market appreciation for artists with a recognizable aesthetics who are part of a tradition but innovative.  Use of Art Codes to promote ethical approaches and Creative Commons for digital content  were some measures shared. Examples showed that artists and communities can promote their own cultural heritage in a heritage-sensitive way to promote their social and economic development. Importance of ensuring that communities have a strong internal governance system, representing a diversity of voices, to ensure maximum bargaining power with third parties and to reduce internal conflict was discussed. Special support is to be given to address disruption of market channels including supporting indigenous cultural organizations. It was decided that the next step for would be to continue sensitization and awareness on artist rights and sustainable development of arts rooted in traditions through - promoting  ethical approaches with stakeholders who work with traditional artists (music, film, publication, galleries, cultural spaces etc.) - organising heritage education programs to create awareness and recognition of rights of tradition bearers (individual and community level) among young people. Capacity building of artists on digital marketing and promotion and strengthening collective promotion and advocacy for their rights should also be focused upon. Working with communities for sustainable development of their intangible cultural heritage through creative enterprise and cultural tourism was also an important measure. The webinar had enthusiastic participation from 20 countries across 6 continents. The viewership of the webinar on Facebook Live was 1.9k and outreach was more than 9k. Watch the webinar on Facebook.