The Pan-Asia Conference on “Heritage Protection: The Asian Experience”

At a time of rapid economic, technological, and social changes, the Siam Society Under Royal Patronage, a leading Thai civil society organisation in the field of cultural heritage together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Authority of Thailand, is hosting a conference entitled “Heritage Protection: The Asian Experience”, held in the English language, in Bangkok, on 25th – 26th January 2019. The conference will bring together Asian thinkers, professionals, and practitioners in the field of cultural heritage protection who will examine the meaning of “Culture”, “Cultural Heritage”, and “Cultural Heritage Protection” in Asian nations.

A well-developed corpus of conventions, guidelines, and internationally accepted best practices for cultural heritage protection already exists, which largely arose out of successful European experiences in heritage protection in the 19th and 20th centuries; hence, it is only natural that heritage protection theories reflect such European experiences. This conference invites Asian speakers to describe cultural heritage from an Asian perspective, recognising the diversity of cultures and cultural heritage protection experiences across the Asian continent.

With twelve nations participating on the panels, the speakers will look at various aspects of the Asian experience of cultural heritage protection within diverse Asian settings to determine: what are the main obstacles to successful heritage protection; what works and what does not; what lessons can be drawn for Asian people from Asian experiences? Furthermore, they will suggest cultural heritage protection strategies most likely to be effective within the Asian socio-cultural and political contexts, focusing on community involvement, the role of law, and entrepreneurs’ contributions.

Date: January 25 & 26, 2019
Venue: The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage, Bangkok, Thailand
Organiser: The Siam Society
Four half-day panels: “Heritage is the living present of the past” ; “People taking ownership of heritage”; “How to put law to work on behalf of heritage protection?”; “How can entrepreneurial energies complement heritage protection?”
See full program and more information about speakers and registration: conference2019.siam-society.org