The 2011 General Assembly of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage convened and the 10^th seminar on “International Trends in Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Protection” was held

　The 2011 General Assembly of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage was convened on March 16^th. The Secretariat General reported on Consortium projects in 2011 and projects planned for the coming year. This was followed by the 10^th Seminar, and it is started with a keynote lecture by Mark Woodward, Sustainable Development Leader, Manila Office, World Bank entitled “The World Bank’s Approach to Heritage: From Protection to Inclusion of Heritage Assets and Historic Cities in Local Economic Development Programs.” Afterwards, three other lectures described recent trends in the safeguarding of cultural heritage with a focus on international conferences that mainly took place last year.
　Yoko Futagami, Head of the Research Information Section, Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, described deliberations concerning inscription in relation to the 40^th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. Ms. Futagami also described international border disputes that occurred last year. Shinpei Minami, Director of the Office for International Cooperation on Cultural Properties, Traditional Cultural Division, Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan, talked about the process of and criteria for inscription of intangible cultural heritage. Mr. Minami also described the inauguration of the International Research Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region. Finally, Kosaku Maeda, a Visiting Researcher at the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, reported on recent efforts to safeguard cultural heritage and build peace by focusing on the 10^th Expert Working Group Meeting for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley World Heritage Property.
　The topic of international trends in protection cultural heritage is usually brought up at seminars annually and attendees always number more than 50 people. Information on recent trends is greatly needed. The Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage will continue its efforts to share information through seminars.