UNESCO Chair Programme on Cultural Heritage and Risk Management
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE (ITC) on DISASTER RISK
MANAGEMENT of CULTURAL HERITAGE 2024, 18th year
Online course:29th July to 23rd August 2024
Onsite course: 30th August to 13th September 2024 at Kyoto, Kobe city, and Sayo-cho, Japan
Organized by the Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University in collaboration with ICCROM
Contributed by UNESCO, ICOM & ICOMOS/ICORP
The UNESCO Chair Programme on Cultural Heritage and Risk Management – 18th INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE (ITC) on DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT of CULTURAL HERITAGE 2024 was successfully held for five weeks. This year’s course had thirteen participants, two participants under the MOU with ICOMOS Philippines, one observer and two interns. These participants and interns were from the Bhutan, Chile, Croatia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Philippines, Romania, Turkey, Republic of Korea and Thailand. The participants were selected through a competitive selection process which had 65 applicants from various countries and regions in the world. This year’s participants had diverse backgrounds, including cultural heritage managers, disaster risk management experts, decision-makers, emergency managers, and government officials involved in cultural heritage conservation and disaster management.
We are very fortunate to have resource persons from national organizations such as Agency for Cultural Affairs with Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and Cultural Heritage Disaster Risk Management Center, Kyoto City Fire Department, Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education, Kyoto National Museum, Kobe City Culture and Sports Bureau, Sayo Board of Education, and international organizations such as Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, George Town World Heritage Incorporated etc. We would like to thank all colleagues for supporting us and participants from all over the world.
The purposes of this training course are twofold. Firstly, it aims to educate practical experts in the fields of cultural heritage conservation and disaster risk management. Secondly, it focuses on developing a draft plan for disaster risk management to ensure the safety of both people and cultural properties in each cultural heritage site and historical city.
This year, the course was conducted in a hybrid format, with the first three weeks held online, followed by two weeks conducted onsite. Firstly, in the online training program, we conducted live sessions twice a week for 2.5 hours each. One session per week was designated as a feedback session, providing an opportunity for students to consult with resource persons regarding their individual projects. For the onsite course, the lectures were held at the conference room of the DMUCH and various neighboring cities as site visits.
The sub-theme for this year’s course was “Linking tangible and intangible cultural heritage for disaster risk management”.
We learned about the role of ICH, such as Japan’s traditional techniques and festival mechanisms, in supporting the restoration of tangible cultural heritage in the disaster recovery phase. Simultaneously, we gained insights into Japan’s unique and advanced initiatives on disaster prevention measures, including preserving disaster memories and preparing for future disasters through pre-recovery plans.
Furthermore, starting from last year, we initiated an internship program as a contribute to the global relations of Ritsumeikan University students through this training course. Two students participated as interns, acquiring knowledge in disaster risk management of cultural heritage and simultaneously gaining valuable experiences by interacting with experts from overseas.
