After the earthquake
Research, protection and preservation of Nepal’s cultural heritage
- Time: Monday-Tuesday, 22-23 October 2018
- Venue: Room 1.50, 1st floor, Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia
- Organisation: Nina Mirnig, Verena Widorn, Christopher Davis
Topic
The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake devastated communities across Nepal through the great loss of lives and livelihoods. But this natural disaster was not only a humanitarian tragedy, it was also a cultural catastrophe, with heritage sites across all of Nepal destroyed or seriously damaged. Whilst much international media attention was focussed on the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, showing the loss and destruction of monument sites, post-disaster research has been examining the on-going threats to tangible and intangible heritage during the post-emergency phases and the first reconstruction efforts.
This international workshop is bringing together academics and heritage practitioners from Nepal, Austria, Germany and the UK – archaeologists, philologists, anthropologists, epigraphists and conservators – who have been active in developing research methods and approaches for protecting and preserving the cultural heritage of Nepal in the aftermath of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. The workshop will present new research approaches to Nepal’s past, as well as information about current steps being taken to protect its cultural heritage together with stake-holder communities, particularly in the face of future earthquakes in this seismically active region.
Sponsors
- Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia (IKGA), Austrian Academy of Sciences
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Documentation of Inner and South Asian Cultural History (CIRDIS), University of Vienna
- UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage, Department of Archaeology, Durham University, UK
- Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (IMEMS), Durham University, UK
- Weltmuseum Wien, Vienna
Registration
Kindly register your participation by 14 October 2018 with an email to nina.mirnig@oeaw.ac.at.
Public Keynote Lecture
Prof. Robin Coningham, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage, Durham University, UK
Place: Theatersaal, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Sonnenfelsgasse 19, 1010 Wien
Time: 17:00
Title: Seismic safety – Interdisciplinary approaches for assessing resilience and pathways towards the rehabilitation of the cultural heritage of Kathmandu in post-earthquake Nepal