Work Plan for FY 2020
1. Activity Focus and the Overview of Research Projects
The Work Plan for FY 2020 is developed under the scheme of IRCI’s Medium-term
Programme (2016-2020)(IRCI/2019/8GB/Ref.4b), which was approved at the 4th
Governing Board Meeting of IRCI (25 September 2015). Being at the final year of thecurrent five-year term (Figure 1), some projects are at the final stage of concluding
major activities, while some new activities are proposed to envisage the post-2020
direction of IRCI’s research.
A total of four projects are proposed for FY 2020 (Table 1): two projects under Activity
Focus I (Promoting Research for ICH Safeguarding), and two projects for Activity Focus
II (Research on ICH Safeguarding and Disaster-Risk Management).

Figure 1: Timeline of research projects in Medium-Term Programme 2016-2020
FY 2016
FY 2017
FY 2018
FY 2019
FY 2020 1
Activity Focus I. Promoting Research for ICH Safeguarding
International
Experts Meeting

International
Conference

Literature Survey on ICH Safeguarding Research in AsiaPacific Countries
Research Data Collection on ICH Safeguarding in the Asia-Pacific Region and
Optimisation of its Use
Sustainable Research Data Collection for ICH
Safeguarding in the Asia-Pacific Region
IRCI Researchers
Forum

IRCI Researchers
Forum
Multi-disciplinary Study on ICH’s
Contribution to Sustainable Development Focusing on Education

Research on ICH
Contribution to SDGs
– Education and Community
Development

Activity Focus II. Research on ICH Safeguarding and Disaster Risk Management
Preliminary Research on ICH
Safeguarding and Disaster Risk
Management

Asia-PacificRegionalWorkshopResearch on ICH
Safeguarding and DRM

Study of Emergency Protection of ICH in conflict Affected Countries in Asia

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Projects that start in FY2020 require approval from the Governing Board.

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Table 1: List of FY 2020 research projects
Activity Focus I. Promoting Research for ICH Safeguarding
Sustainable Research Data Collection for ICH Safeguarding in the Asia-Pacific Region (20192021)
New
Research on ICH Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals
project– Education and Community Development (2020-2021)
Activity Focus II. Research on ICH and Disaster Risk Management
Study of Emergency Protection of ICH in Conflict-Affected Countries in Asia (2017-2020)
New
Research on ICH Safeguarding and Disaster Risk Management (2020-2022)
project
Activity Focus I: Promoting Research for ICH Safeguarding
Specific Contents of Activities
Promote research for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, through conducting
the following activities regarding the practices and methodologies of safeguarding, incooperation with research institutions and researchers working in the Asia-Pacific region:(i) Instigate research activities and develop the researchers’ community throughinternational conferences, experts meetings, and publications;(ii) Examine and develop strategies for optimizing the use of research data, whilecollecting research information.
(Section III(1), Medium-term Programme 2016-2020)

IRCI has implemented since FY 2013 a research project based on the mapping ofresearch information pertaining to the safeguarding of ICH in the Asia-Pacific region.
This ‘Mapping Project’, aiming at instigating research for ICH safeguarding in the AsiaPacific region through analysing current trends and challenges, constitutes one of themost important research projects undertaken by IRCI. Since FY 2016, this project has
been carried out in the form of three inter-related sub-projects: international
conferences/experts meetings, systematic literature survey, and optimisation of the useof research information with the database. After six years of implementation, current
setup of the Mapping Project was reviewed and new projects were proposed in FY2019
to develop an alternative framework for collecting research data and to prospect the
future direction of the IRCI research as a whole.
Specifically, the newly launched project in FY2019, ‘Sustainable Research Data
Collection for ICH Safeguarding in the Asia-Pacific Region’ will continue to seek aninnovative methodology to collect information relating to research for ICH safeguarding
and to keep IRCI’s research database updated in a sustainable manner.
‘Multi-disciplinary Study on ICH’s Contribution to Sustainable Development ‒ Focusing
on Education’ is to be concluded in FY 2019 and building on the experience, a new
project ‘Research on ICH Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals – Education
and Community Development’ will begin in FY2020 in order to explore the contribution

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of ICH to SDG 4 and 11 through a series of case studies in the region.

Activity focus II: Research on ICH Safeguarding and Disaster Risk Management
Specific Contents of Activities
Conduct research on the current status and the cases of the safeguarding of intangible
cultural heritage in the Asia-Pacific region that are endangered by disasters such as
natural hazards, as well as research on the role of ICH for disaster preparedness and in
the post-disaster recovery process, in consideration of UNESCO’s focus in the MediumTerm Strategy (37C/4) on the response to post-conflict and post-disaster situations(PCPD).
(Section III(2), Medium-term Programme 2016-2020)

This Activity Focus was devised in consideration of UNESCO’s concern on post-conflictand post-disaster (PCPD) situations, as described in its Medium-term Strategy 20142021 (37C/4). The emphasis on this issue has been further strengthened in the latest
Programme and Budget (39C/5 and Draft 40C/5), with a cross-cutting ER 5 stating‘Culture protected and cultural pluralism promoted in emergencies through better
preparedness and response’. This Activity Focus also reflects growing national andinternational interests in the heritage management in the context of disasters, in which
importance of ICH has been increasingly recognised. Against this backdrop, IRCI has
undertaken two projects during the current medium-term: one focusing on natural
hazards and disasters, and the other related to conflict. Although research on ICH in
disasters and conflict situations is still an emerging field, the importance of theseprojects by IRCI has been acknowledged by various researchers and organisations in
the world, including the latest sessions of the Intergovernmental Committee in 2017and 2018, and the experts meeting in 2019 which highlighted the agenda on thesafeguarding of ICH under emergencies. IRCI’s initiatives with Japan’s abundant
experiences and knowledge are expected to open a new research horizon that
contributes significantly to the safeguarding of ICH in disaster-prone/conflict-affected
countries in Asia and the Pacific.
The project ‘Study of Emergency Protection of ICH in Conflict-Affected Countries in Asia’
has been investigating ICH and its safeguarding in conflict-affected situations since
FY2017 and will be concluded in FY 2020.
Based on the preliminary research (FY2016-2017), and reflecting the lessons learnt andchallenges identified in ‘Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on ICH and Natural Disasters’(FY 2018), IRCI will launch a 3-year-research project ’Research on ICH Safeguarding
and Disaster Risk Management’ on ICH safeguarding in the context of DRM.

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2. Individual Project Outlines
Activity Focus I. Promoting Research for ICH Safeguarding

Sustainable Research Data Collection for ICH Safeguarding in the Asia-PacificRegionPeriod of implementation: FY 2019-2021
Geographic focus:

Entire Asia-Pacific region (FY2019: Southeast Asia, FY2020: SouthAsia, FY2021: TBD)
Background: With regard to the Mapping Project, its Literature Survey which was
implemented in cooperation with researchers in each country in the Asia-Pacific region
ended in FY2018. While the project was effective, it also identified some challenges
associated with limited resources and capacities in certain countries. For example, amajority of the countries in Asia-Pacific region ratified the 2003 convention (43countries as of October 2019), nonetheless, a basic understanding such as thedefinition of ICH has not been popularised thoroughly among the research institutions
and government officials and the legal system is yet to be streamlined. Also, there is alimited number of experts in the related academic fields such as anthropology at the
local level, given that from a global perspective, research data and resource are
distributed unevenly, and thus research of a high standard in some cases were notpossible. Furthermore, other issues include variation in the quality of collections due todifferent ways of understanding ICH, limited information sharing among the research
institutions and a high risk of loss of archived research data due to poor storage
conditions and limited access.
Purpose: In order to overcome the challenges and lessons learnt from the Mapping
Project (FY2013-2018), IRCI will establish a new mechanism for data collection incooperation with research institutions (such as universities, museums and research
centres). This not only ensures the collection of research data, but also promotes a
better understanding of the Convention and research as one of the safeguarding
measures and will further promote ICH research. Designated institutions will become
the National Counterparts and take responsibilities for carrying out research activities.
Data is collected in a sustainable manner. By reaffirming the necessity of research data
for a holistic safeguarding of ICH, a mechanism in which each National Counterpart
proactively operates as the focal point in their own country is built.
Progress/preparatory activities (during/before FY2019): In the first year of the
project, Southeast Asia was chosen as the focused region and 7 organisations from 6
countries (Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam) were
designated. Priorities were given to the organisations that are already in cooperation

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with IRCI through various projects, though at the same time, institutions with which
IRCI’s contact is new were also chosen in the hope of building new relationships. 7
participants from the selected organisations were invited to the Working Group Meetingon 26-27 June and the new data collection scheme and cooperating mechanism were
proposed and discussed among the participants. The Guide for National Counterparts
was developed as a result of the discussion. The guide is now available in 7 languages.
Agreements will be signed between each institutions and data will be submitted to IRCI.
Specific activities for FY 2020: Through preliminary studies, working groupmeetings, as well as monitoring and facilitating, IRCI will cooperate with research

institutions in target countries in South Asia (FY2020) and begin the 1st phase of the
project (collect data from their own institution) while the first group of partner
institutions (6 institutions from Southeast Asian countries) from FY2019 will move on to
the 2nd phase of the project and each will develop its own mechanism for a sustainable
data collection in cooperation with other institutions in the country to expand thecooperating system. Data is collected systematically in both regions, while a network ofcooperating institutions continues to grow. By the end of FY2020:
1) At least 10 research organisations have established partnerships as National
Counterparts (NCs) with IRCI and submit information collected in FY2020 and/or
contribute to the research activities.
2) First group of NCs have expanded the data collection scheme to other relevant
institutions in their respective countries while the second group of NCs begin datacollection.
3) While analysing the collected data, IRCI will facilitate research initiatives to develop amechanism for promoting research on ICH by encouraging young researchers’
participation.
4) Collected data will be added to IRCI Online Database continuously.
Specific outputs:

Information collected in FY 2019 will be fed into IRCI’s Online

Research Database.
Project partners/cooperating researchers and organisations:
Research organisations in selected countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including
universities, museums, and other relevant organisations.
*See attached PDM (IRCI/2019/8GB/8/Annex 2a) for the detailed project design andbenchmarks.

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Activity Focus I. Promoting Research for ICH Safeguarding

Research on ICH’s Contribution to Sustainable Development –Education andCommunity Development (New Project)
Period of implementation: FY 2020-2021
Geographic focus:

Entire Asia-Pacific region

Background: On 25 September 2015, the 70th General Assembly of the United
Nations adopted the resolution “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development”. The Agenda sets the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), which consist of 17 goals and 169 targets. The SDGs are the common goals
shared by the international community to realise the sustainable world in order to leave
no one behind. UNESCO emphasises the contribution of culture to the sustainable
development. In the Major Programme Ⅳof the 39C/5, UNESCO outlines thecontribution of culture to the SDGs, where potential contribution of intangible cultural
heritage (ICH) is expected in SDGs 2, 4, 5, 11 and 17. At the twelfth session of theIntergovernmental Committee, a decision was made to dedicate its second funding
priority to the safeguarding of ICH in formal and non-formal education, testifying a
growing need for its contribution to the goal 4, which stipulates “Ensure inclusive andequitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
Purpose: The analysis of the role of ICH knowledge as the foundation that improves
the quality of education, and makes sustainable development of the community
possible, by conducting research on the role of ICH into non-formal education andcommunity development, in cooperation with local institutions in the Asia-Pacific region,such as academic institutions, NGOs, museums, and other relevant organisations.
Contribution of ICH to SDG 4 and 11 is explored in the project. Through this project,recommendations for the utilisation of ICH in the field of non-formal educations tonurture people to become proactively aware of their role in achieving sustainable
development of their community are drafted.
Progress/preparatory activities (during/before FY2019): The present project on ICH’scontribution to Sustainable Development, focusing on education has shown theimportance of combining education and community development to more clearly analyse
the role of ICH. At the International Workshop in November 2019, not only the outcomesof the undergoing project but also the ICH’s contribution to education and community
development will be discussed. On the other hand, the outcomes from “International
Researchers Forum: Perspectives of Research for Intangible Cultural Heritage towards a
Sustainable Society” planned to be held in FY2019 shall provide an adequate insight forchoosing the appropriate cases. Additionally, following UNESCO’s 40C/5 Major

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Programme IV, attention will be also paid to the importance of traditional knowledge.
Specific activities for FY 2020: From FY2020 for two years, IRCI will conduct a seriesof case studies that combines ICH and SDGs, notably goals on Quality Education (4.7)
and Community Development (11.4). The research will be proceeded in order to analyse
ICH’s contribution to Sustainable Development. Through a series of in-depth case studies,
IRCI will examine good practices from the regions which adopt ICH as an importantmeans for learning in a non-formal learning setting. The topic of how ICH can cultivate
and nurture people who contribute to community or local development will be studied.
The project will focus on cases in at least 2 countries initiated by national or local
institutions –such as local museums (ecomuseums), community learning centres (CLC)and NGOs. The selected cases should highlight how local initiatives help the inhabitants
to grow fondness and take pride in their community through ICH and contribute to thecommunity development based upon this. For example, ideally these cases should
encourage entrepreneurship among the members of the community in order to become
more aware of their responsibilities and equipped for developing sustainable communities
and regions.
Through these cases, it is hoped that light will be shed on the connection between ICH
and SDGs (4.7/11.4). This will also open a dialogue on how an appreciation of cultural
diversity and mutual respect can be nurtured through education by learning to respect
and understand one’s own culture as emphasised in the Article 14 of the 2003
Convention. At the end of the FY2020, IRCI will organise a Regional Symposium toanalyse the lessons learnt from these case studies. The outcomes of the symposium will
be published and shared with diverse stakeholders including UNESCO and national
commissions for UNESCO.
Specific outputs:

Project report with a collection of case studies.

Project partners/cooperating researchers and organisations:

Research

institutions, CLCs, local museums, and NGOs
*See attached PDM (IRCI/2019/8GB/8/Annex 2b) for the detailed project design andbenchmarks.

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Activity Focus II. Research on ICH Safeguarding and Disaster Risk Management

Study of Emergency Protection of ICH in Conflict-Affected Countries in Asia
Period of implementation: FY 2017-2020
Geographic focus: Afghanistan, Sri Lanka (Northern and Eastern Provinces 2), andTimor-Leste
Background: ICH faces the danger of extinction in conflict-affected situations, due tofactors such as the loss of life and forced displacement. While the role played by ICH in
recovering the community’s solidarity in emergencies has received a greater attention,
the detailed situation of ICH remains in need of investigation. In recent years, UNESCO
has been emphasising the importance of dealing with ICH in post-conflict situations.
The latest sessions of the Intergovernmental Committee in 2017 and 2018 included theagenda ‘ICH in emergencies’, and the experts meeting was also held in 2019 tofacilitate the discussion on the safeguarding of ICH under emergencies.
IRCI has previously implemented a research project in Northern and Eastern Provincesof Sri Lanka. Building on this experience, IRCI launched this project in FY 2017 as a
new initiative to identify possible safeguarding measures for ICH in conflict-affected
countries.
Purpose: This project aims to examine ICH under conflict-affected situations andspecify risk factors that threaten the viability of ICH. Through the implementation ofcase studies in the selected areas of the above three countries, it also discusses
possible safeguarding measures and methodologies for mapping community’s ICH in
conflict-affected situations. The project is expected to contribute to the enhancement ofresearch and discussions on ICH in conflict-affected situations, and also thedevelopment of possible measures for ICH revitalisation.
Progress/preparatory activities (during/before FY2019): The relationships with local
institutions such as Bamiyan University (Afghanistan), Balkh University (Afghanistan),
University of Jaffna (Northern Sri Lanka), National Craft Council (Sri Lanka) and Ministryof Higher Education Science and Culture of Timor-Leste have been built. Research
activities including desk survey continue step by step by maintaining close communication
with the counterparts and government officials despite the continuing unstable situationin these countries. Hurdles of the research activities lie in the deterioration of security(Afghanistan), the system of government mechanisms that change with national election(Timor-Leste and Afghanistan) and insufficient internet access (Timor-Leste andAfghanistan).

2

Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka were severely affected by the civil war (1983-2009).

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As of August 2019 six elements of ICH under the threat of disappearing were identified
in two provinces (Bamiyan and Balkh Provinces) of Afghanistan. Due to the unstablecondition in these countries, travels to the communities are limited so desk study withsmall scale survey in the selected areas nearest to the universities has been conducted.
It is expected, however, under the condition that safety is secured, an intensive survey
in the areas where the communities hold the target ICH elements, to be conducted. As
for other target countries, MoU will be concluded and research on two elements in
Jaffna District in Northern Sri Lanka will begin. Research on few elements in Covalima
province, Timor-Leste will be conducted in November.
Specific activities for FY 2020: In FY2020, IRCI will organise an international
workshop to share the outcomes and challenges from the three-year project in 5
districts in the target countries where endangered elements were identified and small
scale researches were conducted. This project is also expected to contribute to thefostering of young researchers in the target regions by encouraging their research
activities. In the workshop observers from countries of post-conflict situation will be
invited to participate in the discussion and to deepen the future recommendation. By
the end of FY 2020:
1) The surveys, including desk survey are continued.
2) Networks between IRCI and research institutes in three countries are strengthened.
3) An international workshop is held to share the outcomes and challenges of 3-year
project, in which the experts from Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, and Northern Sri Lanka
and the observers from the post-conflict countries participate.
4) A report is published as an output of the 3-year project.
Specific outputs: As an output of this 3-year project, a report that introduces thechallenges on ICH study in the conflict-affected countries together with researchoutcomes will be published by March 2020 and its digital version will be released
through IRCI website.
The outcomes are analysed in view of the implementation of UNESCO’s strategy on ICH
in emergencies.
Project partners/cooperating researchers and organisations: Ministry of Higher
Education Science and Culture of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Culture and Information of
Afghanistan, National Crafts Council of Sri Lanka (Project Partners); Craft Revival Trust,experts in ICH safeguarding (Resource Persons); UNESCO Offices, including Kabul
Office.
*See attached PDM (IRCI/2019/8GB/8/Annex 2c) for the detailed project design andbenchmarks.

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Activity Focus II. Research on ICH Safeguarding and Disaster Risk Management

Research on ICH Safeguarding and Disaster Risk Management (New Project)
Period of implementation: FY 2020-2022
Geographic focus: Entire Asia-Pacific region (Particular focus will be given to thecountries which participated in the “Preliminary Research on ICH Safeguarding and theDisaster-Risk Management in the Asia-Pacific Region”)
Background: The importance of ICH in the context of natural disasters has recently
been recognised, but the situation still requires active involvement of ICH sector. At the“Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on ICH and Natural Disasters” held in 2018, roles of
ICH in disaster preparedness, disaster mitigation and disaster resilience were discussed.
Such various aspects of ICH should be reflected in the DRM activities.
Purpose: The project aims to undertake research in order to understand how issuesof natural disaster and ICH within the community will shape the research on DRR/DRM
and ICH safeguarding.
Some of the challenges to be addressed include; a critical need to bring ICH and DRM
fields together as well as a need to raise awareness on the impact of ICH safeguardingfor DRM among the communities including their members and the local governments.
In connection to these, on the basis of the “Sendai Recommendation” adopted in 2018,
research will take a preparatory step to build a foundation for solving these challenges.
This project is expected to contribute to the development of further research focusing
on ICH in the context of DRM, not only in the Asia-Pacific but also in other parts of theworld, and to promote active involvement of ICH researchers in DRM.
Specific activities for FY 2020: 1) As a preparatory step, and in order to fill in the
gap between the preliminary studies terminated in 2018, current state of research on
ICH and DRM since 2018 will be studied.
2) IRCI will identify ICH/DRM experts and will conduct field research in the target areain the light of “Sendai Recommendation” adopted in 2018.
3) Researchers of ICH and DRM, IRCI and the implementing institutes will discuss theeffective implementation of “Sendai Recommendation” and draft action plans for DRM
through ICH.
Ultimately, the result of the research can be obtained such as by categorising types ofdisasters and provide practical recommendations through models of DRM and ICH
safeguarding measures for each category.

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The findings of this project will be shared with UNESCO and various stakeholders inorder to contribute to the strengthening of the linkage between ICH and DRM.
Specific outputs:

Project report (other deliverables are to be determined dependingon the progress of the project).
Project partners/cooperating researchers and organisations:- Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties- ICH/DRM researchers in the research institutions in the Asia-Pacific Region andoptionally those in the other regions*See attached PDM (IRCI/2019/8GB/8/Annex 2d) for the detailed project design andbenchmarks.

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3. Cooperation with Sakai City
In accordance with its Medium-term Programme (2016-2020), and within theframework of its mandate as specified in the Agreement between UNESCO and theGovernment of Japan, IRCI has been contributing to the projects carried out by Sakai
City for promoting ICH to the general public.
In FY 2020, following its activities in the previous year, IRCI will collaborate inorganising symposiums or seminars with Sakai City as well as display panels introducing
IRCI’s research activities and disseminate brochures and leaflets at the Sakai City
Museum. In light of the inscription of “Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Groups: Mounded Tombs ofAncient Japan” as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, IRCI’s promotional activity will not
only raise the public awareness on importance of ICH but also increase the visibility of
IRCI to the wider public.

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