International Cooperation in Living Heritage,”a workshop of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
“International Cooperation in Living Heritage,” a workshop organized by the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage (President: Hirayama Ikuo), the secretariat of which has been entrusted to the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, was held on January 9..In this workshop various topics related with international cooperation in conservation are discussed. The workshop in January, which is the second in a series of such workshops, focused on the living heritage, in other words on “heritage that is kept alive and utilized.” Over 100 experts from various disciplines participated. In the keynote lecture, Dr. Richard Engelhardt, Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific at UNESCO Bangkok, spoke on the background that led to the concept of living heritage, the importance of international cooperation in conservation that includes the local people, and the role that Japan is expected to play in conservation. Case studies were also introduced, including academic research and practical restoration projects undertaken in Vietnam by Showa Women’s University and the study on living heritage in Southeast Asia by Dr. Miura Keiko of Waseda University. In the panel discussion, topics such as what kind of problems are faced at sites, what needs to be conserved in the context of changing systems of value and how Japan can cooperate in the conservation of living heritage were discussed actively among the panelists and the audience. The Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage plans to hold workshops regularly in the future and to provide support in constructing a network of experts related with international cooperation in conservation.