JAPAN: Are You Ready? Introduction to Disaster Risk Management for Museum Professionals

The Kyoto National Museum and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative teamed up to offer a workshop that  offered participants the basic principles and terminology of disaster risk management, an overview of disaster planning and preparedness, and concluded with a hands-on exercise for documentation, evacuation, and salvage of museum collections.

Corine Wegener, ICOM Disaster Risk Management Committee and Director, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and Samuel Franco Arce, ICOM Disaster Risk Management Committee and Program Coordinator, Blue Shield Guatemala served as lead instructors. They offered information to help museum professionals better understand the risks museums face from disaster and how they can contribute to planning at their own institutions.  They also provided resources that participants could download if they wanted to learn more.

After this brief introduction, participants divided into teams to design an evacuation strategy for a faux collection. The day concluded with a tour of the real collections of the Kyoto National Museum.

Image: Stacy Bowe and Nana Kaneko of SCRI facilitate a practical exercise at the Kyoto National Museum. Deborah Ziska