MILLVILLE, NJ –WheatonArts has announced that Dr. Iveta Pirgova, Down Jersey Folklife Center Director, will be one of three representatives from the U.S. attending The International Organization of Folk Art’s (IOV) first "Global Forum on the Protection of Endangered Cultural Heritage" in Jiuzhaigou (jo-dzi-go), Sichuan Province, China, October 21 - 27, 2009.

Pirgova is a Vice-President of IOV USA National Section. She will be involved in creating the policy document, which is to be submitted to UNESCO after the Forum. The IOV National USA also selected Mark Gould, Chair of the Tribal Council of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe of New Jersey. Gould will present the Native American perspective during the forum discussions.

Conceptual Guidance of the Forum has been provided by IOV, which is a worldwide organization that deals comprehensively with the preservation and promotion of popular culture, folk art and intangible cultural heritage. The Forum’s organization is coordinated by the IOV China National Section and the China Association for Promotion of Ethnic Minorities’ Cultures and Arts. It is sponsored by the China Ministry of Culture (Intangible Culture Heritage Department), the Chinese Ethnic Affairs Committee (Cultural Publicity Department) and by the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center.

Representatives of various countries will gather to discuss policies for cultural preservation and presentation, and to share experiences related to their participation in the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) programs of UNESCO. There also be discussions on specific projects that need to become part of the Urgent Need Project List of the ICH programs of UNESCO. There will be presentations more focused on general topics such as: defining the nature and the source of "danger" to folk and traditional cultures in the context of the globalized world; establishing policies, which will secure community/minority groups’ participation in the process; as well as presentations more specifically oriented to certain case studies and experiences.

Jiuzhaigou was chosen for a conference site because of its history and its relevance to the forum’s major theme. In 1992 Jiuzhaigou valley was added by UNESCO to the "World Natural Heritages List" and 1997 saw Jiuzhaigou recorded in the reserve net of "Man and Biosphere." Historically, Jiuzhaigou has been home to a small population of Tibetan and Qing people, whose unique life and cultures will be presented at the Forum and considered as one of the projects submitted by the IOV China Section.

For more information, call the Down Jersey Folklife Center at WheatonArts at 800-998-4552 or 856-825-6800, ext. 131 or 132.

The Down Jersey Folklife Center at WheatonArts offers special exhibits, programs and performances featuring the culture and tradition of major heritage communities that have settled in southern New Jersey.

Funding for the Down Jersey Folklife Center has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Bank of America Foundation. WheatonArts has also received grant support from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of Cultural Affairs in the Department of State and from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism.

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