Digital Cultural Heritage Business and Open Data:
Bringing Rome to JapanRENKEI Workshop at Ritsumeikan University, Japan(Saturday, 24th June – Wednesday, 28th June 2017)
The global society faces extraordinary challenges associated with profound globalisation trends,
including population mobility and widening social inequalities, which are challenging national,regional, and individual cultural practices. The impacts of these cultural changes have broader
implications for social stability and the economic and overall wellness of individuals, communities,and nations. Cultural (tangible and intangible) heritage preservation and interpretation plays acritical role in the social and economic development of regions and nations.
Traditionally different aspects of cultural heritage have been looked at separately by many fields ofexpertise (e.g. archaeology, history, cultural anthropology, education, museology, etc.), however,there is a growing emphasis on digital mechanisms for connecting and enhancing these
disciplinary areas. In turn this digital activity supports community revitalisation, economicdevelopment, and social justice. This is particularly true in the case of open data. Activities by theOpen Data Institute (UK) have demonstrated the global economic potential of monetising open
data. In turn activities pioneered by Southampton are continuing to identify economic opportunities
for businesses mobilising open education (e.g. via Massive Open Online Courses), open researchdata, citizen science and through connections to broadcast media.
Open scholarship needs to engage with new business models, considering complex issues suchas licensing and cultural sensitivity. Whilst knowledge can and should be free, it must also bevalued, exchanged and earned: this presents an opportunity for entrepreneurial cultural heritage
industries and for the creative digital sector. It also requires sharing of practices around data
governance, exemplified in the area of cultural property, and engagement with relevant authorities.
This workshop aims to assemble an expert network representing creative digital business andcultural heritage researchers in order to support digital business and museology in Japan. It will
focus on the opportunities and challenges of open scholarship in this context, building on theexample of the Portus Project, Italy, which has engaged millions of people via broadcast media,
open education and other open scholarship approaches.
The network and exemplar together will support subsequent applications for funding, both in theUK and Japan, and deployment within the Japanese creative technologies and cultural heritage
sectors. It will also stimulate further business collaboration within and between the two countries,
and open partners to new markets.
The project builds from wide-ranging, ongoing creative business-focused activity by the Portus
Project in Italy. This project, focused on the port of ancient Rome, has considered the role ofcommunities, technology and open scholarship in the construction of cultural heritage knowledge –a theme at the heart of this proposal. The RENKEI project workshop funding is complemented byfunding from the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) and other sources that is extending thenumber of delegates.
Date:June)
Place:

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Saturday, 24 June – Wednesday, 28 June 2017 (accommodation available until 29thArt Research Centre at Ritsumeikan University, Kinugasa Campus

Style of the workshop and programme:
The workshop will be facilitated in a way to stimulate and encourage creative thinking. Eachdelegate will present personal projects/ interests that fits with the theme on the first day, while thesecond day will be dedicate to engaging with Japanese cultural heritage in Kyoto. Participants willthen be able to familiarise themselves with their respective cultural heritage and creative industries
strengths before taking part in a “Thinkathon”. The brainstorm session will help to define theme to1

be explored during the sandpits sessions. On the final day of the programme teams will have thechance to develop future projects and to feedback to the group.
ProgrammeDateContents

Friday 23June
Sat 24 June
WorkshopDay 1
Sun 25 JunWorkshop
Day 2Mon 26 June
WorkshopDay 3
Tue 27 June
WorkshopDay 4
Wed 28 June
WorkshopDay 5
Thu 29 June

(Arrival of participants to Workshop / Free time for preactivities)(am) Conference(pm) Conference(evening) Public Lecture and reception
Activity day – visit to Kyoto Heritage sites

Location

Kinugasa Campus(am) Cultural Heritage presentations(pm) Creative Industry presentations

Suzaku Campus(am) Thinkathon(pm) Project and funding “sandpit”

Kinugasa Campus(am) Project and funding “sandpit”(pm) Feedback session: Close 5pm

Kinugasa CampusthDeparture (delegates may also depart on 28 June)

Who should attend this workshop:
Researchers at the RENKEI member universities who have a strong interest in some of the themes
below connected to digital cultural heritage:•open data and open education•
crowdsourcing•
virtual communities•
3D graphical reconstructions•
public engagement
There is space for two representatives from each RENKEI university. Participants are welcome fromany discipline – a major advantage of the RENKEI workshop is to mix disciplines as well as cultures –and they can be postgraduate students, early-career researchers or academics.
Cost
Cost to be covered by the RENKEI programme
thththth- Lunch on Sat 24th, Mon 26 , Tue 27 and Wed 28 June and reception on Sat 24 June.
Cost to be covered by participants- Transportation between your participants’ place of residence and Ritsumeikan University- Transports in Kyoto (eg. One day bus pass ¥500)- Accommodation in Kyoto at the Ark Hotel Kyoto- Meals not covered by the programme- Any other personal expenses not included in the programme

For the accommodation in Kyoto, Ritsumeikan University has put on hold rooms at the Ark Hotel inKyoto for all participants. The room rate is ¥6,200 a night for a single room + ¥1,000 for breakfast(optional). If you check-in on 23rd June and check-out on 29th, the total cost will be ¥43,200 withbreakfast. (¥37,200 without breakfast). The rooms will be available from 23th June for 6 nights and areallocated to first come first bases. Participants are asked to pay directly to the hotel upon check-in.
Participants are invited to stay at the conference hotel to promote discussion and engagement after theend of the daily programme, however delegates living in Kyoto or surroundings can commute if theywish.
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