Lecture by Mr. Matsuura Koichiro, Director-General of UNESCO
The Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage, whose secretariat is entrusted to the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, invited Mr. Matsuura Koichiro, the Director-General of UNESCO, to the seminar room of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, on August 3, for a lecture. At the beginning of the lecture, Mr. Matsuura presented a medal to the President of Consortium, Mr. Hirayama Ikuo, to commemorate his 20 years as goodwill ambassador to UNESCO. Following this ceremony, Mr. Matsuura gave a lecture titled “Future Perspectives for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage”. He looked back on his track record as Director-General in UNESCO for the past 10 years, and stated the role that UNESCO has played in international cooperation in cultural heritage. Mr. Matsuura discussed the history until the structure of six conventions related to the cultures was established by UNESCO and the significance thereof: 1. The Hague Convention in 1954, 2. The Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, 3. The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 4. The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, 5. The Convention on the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and 6. International Protection of Cultural Diversity in 1970. He stated that he had anticipated that Japan would make contributions in 1970 conventions, ratify the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, and enhance bilateral aid, thereby building a truly global system based on the six-convention system. The seminar room was full of people, and the lecture was displayed on a monitor in another room for those who could not be accommodated in the seminar room. Many people, both experts and non-experts, earnestly listened to the lecture.