Nippon Hoso Kyokai

Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) is the only Japanese public radio and television broadcaster. Since 2003, a partnership between this company and UNESCO has existed to promote tangible and intangible cultural heritage, as well as natural heritage, for present and future generations.

Objectives :

• Create a series of documentaries on World Heritage and intangible heritage in order to contribute to the creation of a video database, "Heritage Images Archives Initiative ", available to the public through the World Heritage Centre's website.

Set up specific projects for the promotion, documentation and archiving on heritage, as well as producing specific programs about World Heritage sites, especially for "Bam and its cultural landscape" (Islamic Republic of Iran) and "The cultural landscape and archeological remains of the Bamyan valley" (Afghanistan).

The parties decided:

- To create a database of digital, hi-definition moving images of heritage, both tangible and intangible

- To cooperate on the development the Heritage Images Archives Initiative (On-line database of Hi-vision format images of tangible and intangible heritage).

- To co-produce a series of 100 Digital High Definition television documentaries about tangible and intangible heritage.

Also NHK donated audiovisual resource material produced about Bam (Iran) to the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization in order to contribute to the comprehensive recovery process of Bam after the earthquake and for research purposes. NHK donated as well audiovisual material about the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan) to assist UNESCO in enhancing awareness about the cultural values of Bamiyan. This material was provided to the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture. A list of films made is available from WHC and through the WH website