President's opening address

Abstract

Preparing this address has been rather difficult. It reminded me of the attempts made by others to straighten my, to this day, crown of curly hair. Using brown paper strips and a hot iron, sweaty palms and endless patience patches of hair would be gathered, held down and disciplined. At the first touch of a cool breeze, 'dem curls' would snap right back. And how has the preparation for this conference address been anything like that? Well, at this very moment I would think that I had my thoughts straight - held the meaning of what intangible heritage is, the title of this conference clear in my mind - a cool breeze would enter my thoughts and 'dem curls' would snap right back.