Seminar on the Cultural Heritage Damaged by the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake with Invited Nepali Experts

Scene from the seminar
At the conservation site of Rinno-ji Temple in Nikko

 A seminar titled ‘Seminar on the Cultural Heritage Damaged by the 2015 Nepal (Gorkha )Earthquake’ was held on 5 February 2016 at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, to encourage information sharing between Nepal and Japan regarding the Gorkha Earthquake on 25 April 2015—the state of cultural heritage, activities performed to date, and future initiatives.
 This seminar was held as a part of the “Project for investigation of damage situation of cultural heritage in Nepal” in the frame of the Project for International Contribution to Cultural Heritage Protection (Expert exchange), which was entrusted to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Three guests were invited to the seminar: As representatives of the cultural heritage protection agencies of Nepal, the Director General of the DoA-Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (Bhesh Narayan Dahal); the Executive Director of HDMDC (Saraswati Singh) and the Culture Project Coordinator of the UNESCO-Kathmandu Office (Nabha Basnyat Thapa) were invited to attend. The seminar included presentations on post-earthquake conditions and recovery efforts by the Nepalese representatives and individual survey results by the Japanese project participants. While on-site conditions were still difficult, it was possible to exchange information and points of view through discussions regarding cultural heritage preservation measures.
 On the following day, seminar participants visited the repaired Sanbutsudo Hall of Rin’oji Temple and Yomeimon Gate in Nikko to provide the Nepalese representatives with a deeper understanding of historic building conservation techniques in Japan. They showed special interest in the conservation and repair of wooden members attacked by insects—a common issue in Nepal’s cultural heritage. Through explanations provided by experts in charge of the repair work and other participating Japanese experts, seminar participants were able to discuss, question and exchange opinions.
 We would like to further provide appropriate technical assistance through conducting continual survey in order to contribute to activities for rehabilitation of earthquake-damaged cultural heritages in Nepal.

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