On April 11, ICCSD launched the seventh episode of the "Creativity Promotes Sustainable Development" Serial Exhibitions, namely Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — The Case of Beijing Tangrenfang.

The exhibition, jointly held by ICCSD and Beijing Tangrenfang, was themed on "Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development". Through wall charts and physical exhibitions, it showed practical cases of Beijing Tangrenfang's inheritance and protection of intangible cultural heritage.

Exhibition Site

Intangible Cultural Heritage

The UNESCO has, in the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, defined "intangible cultural heritage" as "the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills — as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith — that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage". "This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity."

Beijing Silk Figurines (Photo via Beijing Tangrenfang)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

On September 25, 2015, the UN Summit on Sustainable Development was held at its headquarters in New York. At the summit, the 193 member states of the UN formally adopted 17 SDGs, which aim to address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development in an integrated manner from 2015 to 2030 and shift to a sustainable development path. This case exhibition focused on four SDGs, namely Goal 1: No Poverty, Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being, Goal 4: Quality Education, and Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.

Goal 1: No Poverty

Eradicating poverty in all its forms remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. The SDGs are the successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to eradicate poverty in all its forms by 2030. Goal 1 includes helping vulnerable populations, increasing their access to basic resources and services, and helping communities affected by conflict and climate disasters.

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Ensuring healthy lifestyles and promoting well-being for people at all ages are essential to sustainable development. Goal 3 aims to achieve universal health coverage, and provide access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines for all. Notably, supporting vaccine R&D and providing affordable medicines are the priorities.

Goal 4: Quality Education

Access to quality education is fundamental to improving people's lives and achieving sustainable development. In addition to free primary and secondary schooling for all boys and girls by 2030, Goal 4 aims to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to quality higher education.​

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Promoting policies that encourage entrepreneurship and employment is the key to achieving the SDGs and an effective measure to eliminate forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. Goal 8 aims to achieve full and productive employment and guarantee decent work for all by 2030.

Case Exhibition:

1. Injecting New Connotations into Intangible Cultural Heritage

Beijing Tangrenfang, founded in 2004, is intended to protect, inherit, spread and carry forward Chinese intangible cultural heritage. It is a domestic enterprise specializing in the creation, design, production and sales of the intangible cultural heritage "Beijing Silk Figurines" and the derivative "Silk Dolls", aiming to promote the development of traditional crafts in China, and carry forward traditional Chinese culture.

Beijing Tangrenfang integrates intangible cultural heritage into vocational education, assistance for people with disabilities, and other industries. The business injects vitality into cultural development in turn, and more people are encouraged to find jobs and create value in work, which sustainably increases the efficiency of poverty alleviation. Moreover, it establishes intangible cultural heritage schools and continuously promotes the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. By leveraging the cultural and creative industries about intangible cultural heritage as a platform, Beijing Tangrenfang explores the cultural connotations of intangible cultural heritage and crafts, forms a handicraft training industry chain, teaches the unemployed, women and people with disabilities handicraft listed as intangible cultural heritage, and supports employment.

"Creativity Promotes Sustainable Development" Serial Exhibitions

As an open and inclusive international exchange and exhibition platform, ICCSD regularly sets up a series of exhibitions centered on "Creativity Promotes Sustainable Development", which are open to the public. So far, it has held seven exhibitions, namely Yunnan Dulong Cultural Integration Project Exhibition, Baima Huatian Rural Cultural and Creative Project Exhibition, Charitable Art Exhibition, "2030 My Hometown" Painting Collection and Exhibition, Exhibition for China ECO Design Award 2021, the 2021 "Design Marathon" Works Exhibition, and this exhibition.

ICCSD is dedicated to promoting diverse approaches to cultural and creative development, raising awareness among stakeholders at all levels of the relationship between culture, creativity and sustainable development, as well as human well-being and social cohesion, and sharing experiences on different approaches.

Please submit your plans to lifang@unesco-iccsd.com if you want to participate in the serial exhibitions.