ABOUT US 

At the 35th Session of UNESCO General Conference in October 2009, approval was granted to Japan to establish an international research centre for intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in the Asia-Pacific region. After this approval, the Japanese government concluded an agreement with UNESCO in August 2010 and established the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City in October 2011 as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO (institutions that contribute to the achievement of UNESCO’s strategic objectives).

IRCI’s objectives are to promote the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and its implementation and to enhance the safeguarding of ICH through instigating and coordinating research in the Asia-Pacific region. Today, many elements of ICH are endangered worldwide due to various factors, and the safeguarding of ICH is now undeniably an urgent issue. IRCI collaborates with universities, research institutes, museums, and NGOs in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region to promote research on the practices and methodologies of ICH safeguarding.