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Draft:Archival and Research Project

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The Archival and Research Project (ARPO) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2021 in Kerala, India, to discover and share lesser known aspects of Indian cultural heritage in accessible and creative ways, and to create innovative interventions to sustain them[1][2]. An initiative of ARPO won the 2023 Unesco Asia Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation Awards[3][4][5][6][7]

Based out of Kerala, ARPO engages in digital archiving, multimedia storytelling, community engagement and interventions to preserve and promote pluralistic cultural heritage.[1][2] ARPO'S areas of interest include local histories[8], art, architecture, culture and folklore.[9][10][3]

ARPO was started by a group of young professionals who are passionate about preserving and promoting cultural heritage.[1]

Activities and achievements

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ARPO undertakes multiple projects with the aim of preserving and promoting India's cultural heritage.

  • In 2022, ARPO launched the Earthlore project, which envisions to engage with tribal communities, document the various aspects and disseminate the wisdom contained in their lore, craft, and living traditions in responsible and creative ways.[11][12] In the first season ARPO worked with the Irular community of Attappadi and Kattunaykkar of Wayanad[11][12]. A video song featuring Nanjiyamma and Irula musicians of Azad Kala Sangham was released in September 2023.[13]
  • In the same year, ARPO collaborated with media house The Fourth to create a podcast series called History Zone, which tells stories from Kerala's history in a fun and engaging way.[14]
  • In early 2023, ARPO, in association with Faizal and Shabana Foundation started the LoreKeepers project, to collect and archive vanishing oral traditions from across Kerala by engaging communities using smartphones..[15] It has managed to collect and archive more than a thousand folk songs and stories so far.[16] They are available for free for anyone to access[10]
  • ARPO also organizes regular events and workshops on Kerala's history and culture in museums, schools and in events like Kochi Biennale.[1]

Awards and recognition

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ARPO's intervention to restore the Karnikara Mandapam at Kunnamangalam Bhagawati Temple at Calicut won UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards 2023.[4]. This was a project commissioned to ARPO by Mr Vivek Sahni, Chairman of Kama Ayurveda[6]. ARPO roped in Team Ezha, a group of conservation architects, to oversee the project.[17] The intervention won the Award of Distinction and Special Mention for Sustainable Development at the Unesco Awards[18][17][7]. Later, the same initiative also won Golden Leaf Awards by the Indian Institute of Architects - Kerala chapter, and Honorable mention at the International Domus Awards at Ferrara, Italy[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Chakraborty, Prutha (2023-05-22). "Back to the roots: Non-profit strives to educate Malayalis about their culture, history". The South First. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  2. ^ a b "About". ARPO. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  3. ^ a b KR, Rajeev. "The Sacral In Sync With Nature". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  4. ^ a b DD India (2023-12-26). Kozhikode's icon to get UNESCO's Asia Pacific Award | DD India. Retrieved 2024-07-22 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Thatipalli, Mallik (2024-04-13). "The temple scientists". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  6. ^ a b "Architectural Conservation". ARPO. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  7. ^ a b Service, Express News (2023-12-22). "Unesco recognition for Kunnamangalam temple's 'karnikara mandapam'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  8. ^ Nanisetti, Serish (2023-01-28). "How young Instagrammers in India are using social media to give history context". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  9. ^ Anand, Shilpa Nair (2022-05-27). "A music concert with tribespeople, and so much more". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  10. ^ a b KR, Rajeev. "Children as Conservators". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  11. ^ a b Tom, Disney. "Dampatta for the soul". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  12. ^ a b "Preserving lingering throbs of tribal music's Earthlore". Onmanorama. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  13. ^ S, Krishna P. (2023-09-16). "Nanjiyamma returns with a song of love from the hills". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  14. ^ ഡെസ്ക്, വെബ് (2022-12-06). "സാമൂതിരി രാജവംശത്തിന്റെ പതനം". The Fourth (in Malayalam). Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  15. ^ "LoreKeepers: How ARPO is preserving Kerala's forgotten oral traditions, folklore". The Week. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  16. ^ "Latest News". ARPO. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  17. ^ a b c Nagarajan 6790, Saraswathy (2024-03-05). "Ezha, a women-led architectural group, wins accolades for conserving a heritage structure in Kozhikode". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-07-22.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Unesco. "UNESCO announces winners of 2023 Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation". unesco.org. Retrieved 22 July 2024.