Discussion at the meeting

The IRCI’s research database has provided information on ICH since FY2014 to share the outcome of research on the safeguarding of ICH in cooperation with researchers and experts in the Asia-Pacific region (https://www.irci.jp/ichdb/). As part of the effort to address the issues concerning its contents and functions, in FY 2019, IRCI began to improve the current database.

This time, focusing on enhancing the contents aiming at adding various research data on ICH from more Asia Pacific region, on the research database, IRCI organised a working group meeting on July 22nd and 23rd, 2019 at the Tokyo National Museum as one of IRCI’s research database improvement projects, aiming at defining guidelines for building a pilot database. An ICH expert and experts from Myanmar were invited to the meeting.

Regarding building a pilot database, IRCI picked up Myanmar as an example of countries which have lots of research histories but these achievements have not been shared. IRCI defines a procedure that makes it possible to use information through IRCI’s research database by digitising valuable research materials related to ICH that have not been digitised.

It is expected that research materials related to ICH which actually exists but have not been widely shared can be provided through the pilot database.