Overview Report of the Nepal Cultural Emergency Crowdmap Initiative

Compiled and edited by Jonathan Eaton, CHwB–Albania.

May 19, 2015, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) & International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS-ICORP).

As the news of a massive earthquake in Nepal broke out, ICCROM, ICOMOS-ICORP and their combined network of heritage professionals decided to put up the Kathmandu Cultural Emergency Crowdmap to gather on-the-ground reports in order to provide a consistent situation overview. This initiative was successful in gathering valuable information thanks to the contributions of several institutions namely, the Smithsonian Institution, USA, the Disaster Relief Task Force of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-DRTF) and UNESCO office in Kathmandu, Nepal. Social media reports of cultural heritage professionals working in Nepal helped in gathering reports of damage to cultural heritage beyond the Kathmandu Valley