After providing initial training on DigiNet, JOICFP's database and digital asset management system, to the Shanghai International Center for Population Communication (SICPC) in July 2005, five representatives from SICPC were in JOICFP from 5th to 7th February after requesting further technical training.

The participants included the deputy director of the AV department, a sound engineer, design and editing staff, as well as staff from the information center.

The workshop began with an overview of DigiNet (DigiPlan Networking), and the value of digitizing and 'assetizing' information. This was followed by technical training in still and video skills with on-location shooting.

The participants prior to on-location shooting in Tokyo

The trainees practiced naming data, developing the database categories, and then entering them into the database. Information reference records that are programmed into a database need systematic numbering that will identify the location of original material, so uniform naming across different organizations is important to locate original information.

JOICFP emphasizes information theory so that trainees can understand concepts such as cell division, which is breaking data down into smaller components, and coupling, which is recombining data in different ways, for a wider range of use of data.

Properly digitized and recorded data can be safely kept, turned into an asset for future use, and shared easily. Also important, is that institutional memory is preserved, meaning that data is not 'lost' in someone's desk or on a shelf somewhere.

All the trainees said they had learned a lot from the workshop and would use their new skills to develop their information database.

A JOICFP staff member shows
how images can be archived to form categories
for easy access and retrieval from the database