Message from former participants

Training Impact and Effectiveness

“Ever since I participated in ITC, I have been eagerly preparing myself for the event of an earthquake in the future. When the Nepal earthquake occurred in 2015, I was able to prepare the response strategy utilizing what I learned throughout ITC which I gained a broader understanding of any type of circumstance.”

Kai Ube Prasad WEISE, ITC 2008

Planners’ Alliance for the Himalayan & Allied Regions (PAHAR Nepal), Nepal

“After I returned to Korea, I participated in the installation of disaster prevention possibilities and I was able to make compelling suggestions based on my training with ITC. Because I could deeply understand the process of analyzing disaster risk and proposing disaster mitigation through ITC, it has been very helpful for me to work on various research about safety and disaster prevention of cultural heritage in Korea.“

Sangsun JO, ITC 2012

Safety and Disaster Prevention Division
National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH), Korea

“After I returned to my country, I started focusing on fire accidents in XXX that had more than 185 cases each year. Since 2017, I have been working on mitigation measures on one area that has 50 monuments and 70 buildings and we haven’t recorded any fire accident since then.”

Abdelhamid SAYED, ITC 2014

Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation, Egypt

New Opportunities For Participant’s Career Growth

“One of the opportunities I had after ITC was to develop a disaster service management plan for the historic city, Ayutthaya, which was actually the case study mentored by Mr. Rohit Jigyasu. I feel nothing but grateful for his support.”

Hatthaya SIRIPHATTHA NAKUN, ITC 2013

Safety and Disaster Prevention Division
National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage(NRICH), Thailand

“This course made me eligible to be one of the consultants working on the integrated management plan of Petra Archeological Park as well as the representative of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.“

Muhammad Fathi Hasan AL, ITC 2016

ABSI, RWTH Aachen University/ The Department of Antiquities of Jordan, Jordan

“After I participated in ITC, Museum Omero contacted me to plan disaster risk mitigation for their new exhibition. I was proactively involved in this project and suggested anticipating the impact measure of every collection which was something ITC inpsired me to do.”

Alessia STROZZI, ITC 2019

Superintendence of Marche Region,
Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Italy

Global Network Building through ITC Community

“What I gained the most was a great network of specialists from all over the world. I appreciate this ITC community as we can still remain connected and keep ourselves informed.”

Fauzia QURESHI, ITC 2006

ICOMOS Pakistan President, Pakistan

“I was privileged to meet colleagues coming from all over the world because each of them had very different experiences and stories of resilience to share. It was also great to take the best part of knowledge from all kinds of senior experts.“

Zeynep GUL UNAL, ITC 2010

Faculty of Architecture Restoration Department,
Yıldız Technical University, Turkey

“ITC is not only about having a professional achievement but also meeting new people from other countries to inspire each other. I feel like I got an extended family through ITC.”

Khin Aye YEE, ITC 2017

Urban, Disaster Risk Management,
Resilience & Land, World Bank Group, Myanmar

Mindset Shifts with New Perspective

“My highlight of ITC was the site visits. Because we were able to visit sites to learn how exactly they have been protected, it helped me understand how cultural assets can be protected from natural disasters.”

Pauline BROWN, ITC 2009

Office of DisasterPreparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM)-Jamaica, Jamaica

“I found ITC very useful and enriching our knowledge. I want my younger colleague to participate in ITC so they can apply their knowledge in the field for maintaining and managing the monuments.“

Janhwij SHARMA, ITC 2011

Archaeological Survey of India, India

“One of my best memories with ITC was the site visit to Sendai. We had a workshop in the rural area affected by the Tsunami to prepare a construction plan which was very inspiring. I learned from ITC that we need to absorb lessons from different disciplines to ensure the effectiveness of a risk preparedness plan.”

Mohammad RAVANKHAH, ITC 2015

Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning, Iran

“ITC not only allowed me to have a wider perspective of aspects, methods and techniques useful for the protection of cultural heritage during disasters but it also showed me the importance of working with multiple stakeholders such as community members and other professionals cross-functionally. Also, ITC provided me with theoretical and practical tools that have been essential for my work in the last couple of years.”

David Antonio TORRES CASTRO, ITC 2018

National Bureau for Cultural Heritage Conservation part of National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico

Video messages

Thirteen former ITC participants answered the following three questions.

1. “Please tell us one of our best memories from the training course that you attended in Japan?”
2. “How did your training in Japan contribute to your professional work after returning to your country?” and
3. “Please give inspirational messages for past and future participants of the international training course”.