The 50-year History of Legacies by Prof. Jiro KAWAKITA and the Institute of Himalayan Conservation by Old Photographs

Abstract

This presentation will look back the 50-years-history of the activities of the legendary geographer, Prof. Dr. Jiro KAWAKITA (Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Institute of Technology) and The Institute for Himalayan Conservation (IHC), which was established as his international cooperation sector, based on old photographs and video. The most distinctive feature of Kawakita-style action=research is that it juxtaposes “ethnology” and “community development” as actions that can be mutually verified, rather than as two sides of the same coin. The origins of Kawakita's praxis and IHC, born out with pure academic explorations, are worth reaffirming in today's turbulent academia which overemphasizes practical profits..