ProgrammeWebinar Series “Capacity Building for Disaster Risk Management ofCultural Heritage: Challenges and Opportunities in Post-COVID Times”
UNESCO Chair Programme on Cultural Heritage and Risk Management, Ritsumeikan University (R-DMUCH) andthe International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)

Outline: Since 2006, the Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University (RDMUCH) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property(ICCROM) have been collaborating towards building the capacity for managing risks to cultural heritage, which havebeen increased by natural and human-induced disasters such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides, fires, andterror attacks. To date, 152 participants from the fields of cultural heritage and disaster risk management from 62
countries have been trained through the 1st to 14th programmes each as the UNESCO Chair Programme forInternational Training Course (ITC) on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. The COVID-19 pandemic
that has caused unprecedented health crisis and global disruption makes us rethink about how to manage disasters
caused by biological hazards. Besides huge impacts on peoples’ lives and livelihoods, this pandemic has makeinfluences to the sphere of immovable and movable, or tangible and intangible, cultural heritage. Many heritage sites
and cultural institutions such as museums and libraries were shut down due to lockdowns. According to the datacollected by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, almost 90% of World Heritage Properties were totally closed forsome days in April and May.
This pandemic has posed a huge challenge in maintaining and monitoring these heritage sites and cultural institutions,also affecting tourism revenues and the livelihoods of people who are directly or indirectly depending on them.
Moreover, many crafts persons and building artisans lost their jobs, while festivals and cultural practices were
disrupted thereby affecting intangible heritage. At the same time, invaluable roles of cultural heritage in providing
psycho-social support to communities has also been brought forward in this pandemic, bringing forward innovative
practices in monitoring and communication using digital technology.
Research has indicated that the causes for the increasing intensity of these epidemics lie in climate change, rapid
urbanization, the increasing of global mobility and economic globalization. There is already enough evidence
indicating that the importance of traditional knowledge in planning and management can provide a healthier living
environment. So, on one hand, we need to think about reducing vulnerability and risks to cultural heritage due todisasters caused by biological hazards and improving local capacities. On the other hand, we also need to reconfigure
response and recovery as we pass through this crisis and emerge from it. Clearly there are lessons to be learnt fromthis pandemic that cuts across all aspects of disaster risk assessment and cultural heritage management.
As we move towards post-COVID times, it is time for us to reflect on how we should continue capacity building on
the disaster risk management of cultural heritage by tailoring the existing knowledge and skills, identifying and filling
gaps in terms of knowledge areas/topics, target audience, and pedagogy based on the lessons learnt from thispandemic. The webinar series of UNESCO Chair Programme on Cultural Heritage and Risk Management by RDMUCH at Ritsumeikan University and ICCROM aim to discuss the future directions of cultural heritage
management through presentations by resource persons of ITC (International Training Course on Disaster Risk
Management of Cultural Heritage).

Dates: 27th June and 4th July 2020 Time: 18:00(JST)/11:00(CET) (about 1 hour)
Webinar Platform：Zoom ※The recordings of the webinars will be shared on the websites of R-DMUCH and ICCROM.
<Main Moderators>•Rohit JIGYASU (Project Manager, Urban Heritage, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management,ICCROM)•Dowon KIM (Associate Professor, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University)<Webinar 1> Rethinking disaster mitigation and preparedness, 27th June 2020
Rohit JIGYASU: Background: Why do we need to reflect on DRM for CH in Post-COVID times?
Dowon KIM: Introduction of ITC’s objectives and past activities①

Ksenia CHMUTINA (Senior Lecturer in Sustainable and Resilient Urbanism, Loughborough University /Lee BOSHER (Professor of Disaster Risk Management, Loughborough University):②

Considering multiple risks and inequalities in COVID-19 times and beyond
Takeyuki OKUBO (Professor, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University):
Community based DRM workshops with digital network for post-COVID times③④Yoshifumi SATOFUKA (Professor, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University):
Consideration of Climate Change for DRM
Joseph KING (Director of Partnership and Communication, Partnership and Communication Unit,ICCROM):How should international organizations working in the field of cultural heritage sector rethink on
their activities in the light of COVID-19?

Discussion: How can we reimagine “Capacity Building on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage in PostCOVID times”?

<Webinar 2> Rethinking disaster response and recovery, 4th July 2020
Rohit JIGYASU: Moving from Response & Recovery towards Building Resilience
Dowon KIM: Initiatives undertaken by the past participants of International Training Course of Disaster
Risk Management of Cultural Heritage⑤Aparna TANDON (Senior Programme Leader, First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage |Sustaining Digital Heritage, Programme Unit, ICCROM):⑥⑦⑧

What can we learn from COVID-19 response cultural heritage?
Wesley CHEEK (JSPS Fellow, Visiting Researcher, Ritsumeikan University)
How can we address sustainable and resilient recovery by mainstreaming cultural heritage
Elke SELTER (Doctoral Researcher, SOAS, University of London)
Reflecting on PDNA methodology based on COVID-19 experience
Ming Chee ANG (General Manager, George Town World Heritage Incorporated)
The Disaster Risk Management Implementation during COVID-19 in George Town, Malaysia

Discussion: How can we reimagine “Capacity Building on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage in PostCOVID times”?

Panelists‐Ksenia CHMUTINA‐Senior Lecturer in Sustainable and Resilient Urbanism
Academic Deputy Lead for the Secure and Resilient Societies Research Challenge
School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Loughborough UniversityBio
Dr Ksenia Chmutina is a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable and Resilient Urbanism at the School of Architecture,
Building and Civil Engineering. Her main research interests are in understanding of the processes of disasterrisk creation, and in synergies and tensions of resilience and sustainability in the built environment, including holistic
approach to enhancing resilience to natural and human-induced threats, and a better understanding of the systemic
implications of sustainability and resilience under the pressures of urbanisation and climate change. Ksenia’s otherresearch interests include disaster risk management of cultural heritage, use of games in disaster risk reduction, andlanguage in disaster studies. Ksenia uses her work to draw attention to the fact that disasters are not natural. Ksenia’s
research mainly comprises location-based case studies and systemic policy analysis; it brings together quantitativeand qualitative research and participatory methods to generate transdiciplinary understanding in the areas ofsustainability, resilience, and policy in the context of built environment, and employs various data analysis techniques.
A well-documented track record of publications and external activities provide testament to the internationallyrecognised quality of her work. She has conducted research in the UK, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, China, theCaribbean, and across Europe. Ksenia is a Joint Coordinator for the CIB W120 ‘Disasters and the built environment’,a co-author of a textbook ‘Disaster Risk Reduction for the Built Environment’ (Wiley, 2017) and a co-host of a
podcast ‘Disasters: Deconstructed’.

‐Lee BOSHER‐
Professor of Disaster Risk Management
Director of Doctoral Programmes
School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering,
Loughborough University

Bio
Dr Lee Bosher is a Professor of Disaster Risk Management and Director of Doctoral Programmes in the School ofArchitecture, Building and Civil Engineering at Loughborough University, England. Lee has a background in disasterrisk reduction and his research and teaching includes the multi-disciplinary integration of proactive hazard mitigation
strategies into the decision-making processes of key stakeholders, involved with the planning, design, constructionand operation of the built environment. Lee is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and he has been involved
in research projects that investigated how disaster risks can be reduced in the UK, India, Indonesia, Vietnam andacross parts of Europe. Lee’s books include ‘Disaster Risk Reduction for the Built Environment’ (co-authored withKsenia Chmutina 2017, Wiley), ‘Hazards and the Built Environment’ (2008) and ‘Social and Institutional Elementsof Disaster Vulnerability’ (2007).

‐Takeyuki OKUBO‐Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan UniversityDirector, Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University (R-DMUCH)

Bio
Takeyuki OKUBO is a professor at the Graduate School and College of Science and Environmental Engineering,
Ritsumeikan University and the director at the Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage. He is alsoa member of ICORP and JP-ICOMOS, an officer of the “NPO for Protection of Cultural Heritage from Disaster” andthe chairman of its Technical Committee. His background in civil engineering, architecture and global environmental
engineering informs his current research interests in urban design for disaster mitigation and architectural designs
which promote the utilization of traditional knowledge and wooden materials.

‐Yoshifumi SATOFUKA ‐Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University

Bio
Yoshifumi SATOFUKA is a professor at the College of Science and Environmental Engineering, Ritsumeikan
University and also affiliated with the Research Organization of Science and Technology/ Frontier Research Center
for Natural Disaster Mitigation and the Kinugasa Research Organization/ Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban
Cultural Heritage. He graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University in March 1987 and theDivision of Civil Engineering of Graduate School, Kyoto University in March 1989, completed a Master’sCourse and obtained a Ph.D (Engineering) at Kyoto University in March 2001. He worked as a Research Associate
at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University from April 1989 to September 2002 and an Associate
Professor at the Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University from October 2002 to March 2008.

‐Joseph KING‐
Director of Partnership and Communication
Partnership and Communication Unit
Acting Focal Point, Finance and Administration
ICCROMBioJoseph King received a degree in Architecture from the University of Maryland and a Master of City Planning and a
Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. He later attended
the Architectural Conservation Course at ICCROM. He is currently the Director of Partnership and Communication
at ICCROM as well as the Acting Focal Point for Finance and Administration. He also leads ICCROM’s team in its
role as an Advisory Body to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. Previously at ICCROM he was the Unit
Director of the Sites Unit, was involved in the development and implementation of the AFRICA 2009 programme
and the Integrated Territorial and Urban Conservation (ITUC) programme. Before joining ICCROM, he worked on
a UNESCO/UNDP project to develop an urban conservation plan for the Old Town of Mombasa, Kenya. From 1999
– 2002 he served as Secretary-General of the ICOMOS International Training Committee.

‐Aparna TANDON‐Senior Programme Leader
First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage| Sustaining Digital Heritage
Programme Unit
ICCROM, Rome, Italy
Email aparna.tandon@iccrom.org

BioAparna Tandon specialises in crisis response and disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage. She has 25 years ofpost-qualification work experience in cultural heritage conservation and has conducted professional training for theconservation of cultural heritage in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and South America. As Senior Programme
Leader at ICCROM, she leads the design and implementation of its international capacity development programme
on First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage (FAR) Additionally, she coordinates the activities for Sustaining
Digital Heritage and Sound and Image Collections Conservation programme aimed at safeguarding endangeredaudio-visual heritage. She has led emergency response, post-event damage and risk assessments and in-crisis training
in Northern Iraq (2017), Nepal (2015, 2016), Philippines (2013), Haiti (2010). Through ICCROM-ATHAR regional
centre in Sharjah, she has held workshops for protecting heritage in conflict-afflicted countries including Syria,Lebanon, Libya, Egypt and Iraq. Additionally, she has trained military personnel, civil protection teams andhumanitarians for providing first aid to cultural heritage during emergencies. Aparna has authored several papers andpublications. Her recent handbooks on First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis and Endangered Heritage:
Emergency Evacuation of Heritage Collections have been translated multiple languages including Arabic, French,Spanish, Japanese and Russian. Aparna has an MA in Art Conservation from the National Museum Institute, India.
She has received advanced level training in Paper Conservation from the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard
University Art Museums, USA. In 2001-2002 she enhanced her professional experience first, as the Fulbright Arts
Fellow at the Preservation Directorate of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and then as a Conservation
Guest Scholar at the Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, USA. From 1998 to 2004, she worked as the CuratorConservator at the Amar Mahal Museum and Library in Jammu & Kashmir, India.

‐Wesley CHEEK‐JSPS Fellow
Visiting Researcher Ritsumeikan University
Institute of Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage

BioDr. Westly Cheek is a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellow and a visiting researcher at Ritsumeikan
University. He is a sociologist of disasters, focusing on community involvement in post-disaster reconstruction andcritical urban theory. Wesley also holds a degree in historic preservation and conducts research focusing on the nexusof architectural history, cultural heritage, and disasters. His aim in his work is to reveal post-disaster reconstruction
as a part of a larger process of the social production of risk and the reinforcement of existing inequalities.Wesley isan ethnographer who uses the extended case method to present a complex picture of local disasters situations and toextrapolate those localized cases to a more universal, generalized understanding of our current approach to disasters
as a feature of globalized urbanization. His research has largely focused on Northeastern Japan and SoutheasternLouisiana. Wesley has taught in both sociology departments and schools of architecture and believes thatinterdisciplinary scholarship is critical to both understanding and addressing disasters. With Kevin Gotham he has
published a book chapter “Post-Disaster Recovery and Rebuilding” in The Sage Handbook of New Urban Studies.
As well as the article “The Paradox of Community Involvement: Post-Disaster Reconstruction in Minamisanriku,
Japan” in Disaster Prevention and Management. Wesley is the co-chair of the i-Rec 2021 conference and a memberof the American Association of Geographers and the Vernacular Architecture Forum.

‐Elke SELTER‐
Doctoral Researcher
SOAS, University of London

BioElke SELTER is a doctoral researcher at SOAS, University of London. Her current research focuses on international
politics, heritage and armed conflict and looks mainly at recent developments and interests in heritage withininternational organizations. Since 2004, Elke has worked with the United Nations, including with UNESCO, in crisisand (post-)conflict situations. She has worked in Bosnia, Cambodia, Haiti, Mali, Nepal and South Sudan. Elke has
been much involved in conducting post-emergency assessments in the aid sector, including rapid damage and impact
assessments for heritage.

‐Ming Chee ANG‐General ManagerGeorge Town World Heritage Incorporated

Bio
Ming Chee ANG is an alumnus of ITC 2017 through the case study of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Currently the General Manager of George Town World Heritage Incorporated (since 2016), ANG received her
PhD in Political Science from the National University of Singapore (2011) and holds a Master of International Studies
from Uppsala University in Sweden (2003). Specializing in resource mobilization and policy making, she has
integrated World Heritage Site management with elements of building conservation, disaster risk reduction andintangible cultural heritage safeguarding. Despite many challenges, ANG continues to mobilize the local
communities to develop a localized Disaster Risk Management Plan to create a safer, better and more sustainable
heritage city for the people who live in, work in and visit George Town.

Moderators‐Rohit JIGYASU‐
Project Manager,
Urban Heritage, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management
Programme Unit, ICCROM
Visiting Researcher, Ritsumeikan University

BioRohit Jigyasu is a conservation architect and risk management professional from India, currently working at
ICCROM as Project Manager on Urban Heritage, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. Rohit served as
UNESCO Chair holder professor at the Institute for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage at Ritsumeikan
University, Kyoto, Japan, where he was instrumental in developing and teaching International Training Course onDisaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. He was the elected President of ICOMOS-India from 2014-2018
and president of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP) from 2010-2019. Rohit
has been the Elected Member of the Executive Committee of ICOMOS since 2011 and is currently serving as its
Vice President for the period 2017-2020. Before joining ICCROM, Rohit has been working with several national
and international organizations such as UNESCO, UNISDR, Getty Conservation Institute and World Bank for
consultancy, research and training on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage.

‐Dowon KIM‐Associate Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University

BioDr. Dowon Kim is an associate professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ritsumeikan
University. And he is the one of UNESCO Chair holder professor on the Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Unban
Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University (R-DMUCH). He has conducted and organized the International Training
Course (ITC) on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage, since 2015. Currently, His research focuses oncommunity design of disaster risk management on historical districts, both nationally and internationally. The main
objective of his research is the sharing the best practices of the urban and local communities` sustainability and its
cultural/social identity, with the method of analytics, field investigation, and communication tools development, andtheorize these practices to transfer to the global context. Moreover, he has interests of the disaster mitigation planningto make the balance between heritage conservation and the restriction of building control on heritage districts.