China and US in joint efforts to protect cultural heritage
China-US Cultural Forum, a seminar centering on cultural heritage protection has just wound up in Beijing on December 9, 2008. More than fifty experts, scholars and professors from China and the United States took part in an in-depth discussion on a wide range of issues concerning Preservation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage in Digital Age.
On welcoming banquet of the forum, Cai Wu, the Minister of Culture, observed that digital technology would bring about great changes in cultural creation, communication, research and preservation. It is a new trend in human culture, he said, adding that Sino-US cultural cooperation could advance to a new stage, with efforts from both sides.
According to Li Mei, a researcher with the Music Institute of the China Art Academy, there are about 7,000 hours of recordings of Chinese folk music and sound collected from 31 provinces and more than forty ethnic minorities in her academy. The ongoing digital salvation program of endangered audio and video will ensure preservation of video, audio, photos, ancient books and documents for future generations. "The aim is to preserve our intangible cultural heritage forever." Li added. But Mike Casey, director of the Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music, pointed out that the huge quantity, deteriorating quality, and lack of renewal of audio archives are three problems that need to be addressed.
On bilateral cooperation, Wang Wenzhang, dean of the China Art Academy said he hoped both sides would further Sino-US exchanges on science, technology and culture and explore the valuable heritage of Chinese traditional culture.
Bruce Cole, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, said that digital technology has the potential to transform the study of humanities.
Sponsored by Chinese Ministry of Culture and the US National Endowment for the Humanities, organized by the China Art Academy, the Sino-US Forum on Culture is a public and academic dialogue in the field of cultural cooperation in which China and U.S. discuss the development of art and culture in a diversified contemporary context and enhance mutual understanding and cooperation in the arts, culture and humanities. It was initiated last June during the visit of a delegation from the US President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
The US National Endowment for the Humanities was established in 1965, is an independent grant-giving agency of the US government, dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
It is reported that the China-US Cultural Forum will be held regularly in the future and topics are expected to cover all categories of the cultural sphere.
