About Us
Historical Background
The introductory steps to establish the Asian Cultural Documentation Center was initiated by the UNESCO International Conference on Cultural Policies hold in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1973. The Asian Cultural Documentation Center was established on July 25th, 1977 as an independent and nonprofit center funded by the Ministry of Culture and Art. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the center was under the supervision of the Center for Cultural Coordination and Studies (Secretariat of the former Supreme Council of Arts and Culture). On December 17th, 1981, the center was merged into the Cultural Studies and Research Institute, according to the decree of the Counselor of the Asian Cultural Documentation Center. On March 16th, 1991, the Institute for Cultural Studies and research was renamed to the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
Aims
1. Introducing cultural heritage of Asian nations to each other and to the world in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO goals);
2. Gathering, categorizing and publishing the information about all Asian cultural documents;
3. Encouraging and assisting to cultural and art researches of Asian nations;
4. Introducing the Center to Iran, Asia and to the World as one of the Asian Studies Agencies;
5. Introducing Asian religions alongside the establishment of communication and dialogue among the followers of different religions.
Duties
1. Creating a suitable platform for scientific and research communication with all individuals or institutions which are active in the field of Asian Culture;
2. Research, survey, and studies on the documents and manifestations of the Asian nation's culture;
3. Contribution to the publication of scientific works of Asian experts, scholars and artists;
4. Holding lectures, seminars, congresses and exhibitions in the domain of Asian culture;
5. Helping to train specialists in the domain of Asian cultures;
6. Publishing books and journals on the topics related to the goals of the Center;
7. Inviting Asian specialists to create and promote relationships and cooperation in the fields related to the goals of the center;
8. Organizing existing documents and providing required documents in Asian cultures;
9. Establishing virtual databases for gathering, analyzing and saving Asian culture information on the website of the Center;
10. Publishing the works in the domain of Asian culture (in the form of inter-organizational projects).
The Center activities
In the first five years of its Strategic Plan (2014-2018), the Asian Cultural Documentation Center focused on "Peace and the World without Violence", and in the Second Five-Year Strategic Plan (2018-2023), it has chosen the "Conservation of Common Cultural and Civilian Legends of Asian Nations", and the plans are designed and organized to realize the Second Five-Year Strategic Plan goals.
Some of the activities of the center are as follows:
1. Meetings and lectures
2. Published books
3. Conferences