ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015

Potentiality ofInternational Cooperation
Transmission and Utilization ofCultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015

Potentiality ofInternational Cooperation
Transmission and Utilization ofCultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

NoteThis book is the proceedings of the ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015
“Potentiality of International Cooperation – Transmission and Utilization of Cultural
Heritage in Southeast Asia”, held on 13 December, 2015 by the Agency for Cultural
Affairs of Japan, the Japan Foundation Asia Center, and the Japan Consortium forInternational Cooperation in Cultural Heritage ( JCIC-Heritage). Contents of theproceedings were based on the transcription from recordings or the papers preparedby the speakers, which were edited by the editors where appropriate. The English
translations of the parts originally spoken in Japanese were prepared under the responsibility of the editors. The images without citing sources in each presentation areprovided by the speakers.

Contents
Opening Remarks: 1.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Masanori Aoyagi (Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan)
Opening Remarks: 2.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Hiroyasu Ando (President, the Japan Foundation)
Opening Remarks: 3.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Kosaku Maeda (Vice-chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/Professor Emeritus, Wako University)
Keynote Lectures
Cultural Heritage Is a Crystal Exemplifying Ethnic Identity:
Towards a Cultural Development Strategy for ASEAN+3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Yoshiaki Ishizawa(Chairperson, Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage/Professor, Sophia University)

The Conservation of The Sukhothai World Heritage Site and Cultural Management:
A Case Study from Thailand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
H.E. Mr.Vira Rojpojchanarat (Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Thailand)
Session 1
Diverse Cultural Heritage : Ideas and Measures for Its Effective Use
National Policy on Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Laos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Viengkeo Souksavatdy(Deputy Director, Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (Laos))Unity in Diversity: Malaysian Way of Heritage Spectra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Khalid Bin Syed Ali(Director, Heritage Enforcement Division, Department of National Heritage, Ministry of Tourism and Culture (Malaysia))

Strengthening National Identity through Cultural Diversity: The Philippine Experience . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Milan Ted D. Torralba(Executive Council Member, National Committee on Monuments and Sites, National Commission for
Culture and Arts (The Philippines))

Celebrating Diversity: Forging Partnerships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Jean Mei-Yin Wee(Director, Preservation of Sites and Monuments, National Heritage Board of Singapore (Singapore))

Discussion.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Session 2
Strengthening and Handing Down the Ties that Help Transmit Cultural Heritage to the Future
Cultural Heritage Properties in Indonesia: Safeguarding andCommunity-International Cooperation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Harry Widianto(Director, Directorate for Cultural Heritage Preservation and Museum, Ministry of Education and Culture (Indonesia))

Po Dam Tower Temple Architecture:
Archaeological Studies and Conservation of Relic Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Bui Chi Hoang(Director General, Southern Institute of Social Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (Viet Nam))

Thailand’s Current Missions and Prospect of Strengthening Cultural Heritage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Amara Srisuchat(Senior Advisor and Expert in Archaeology & Museum, Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture (Thailand))

Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Myanmar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Kyaw Oo Lwin
(Director General, Department of Archaeology and National Museum, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture (Myanmar))

How to Maintain National Identity and to Strengthen Autonomy:
Experience from Two Decades of International Cooperation in Angkor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Ly Vanna(Director, Department of Conservation of the Monuments in Angkor Park andPreventive Archaeology, APSARA National Authority (Cambodia))

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Session 3
Multilateral Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
Chinese Practice in Terms of Multilateral Cooperationin Cultural Heritage Conservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Song Zhang (Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University (China))International Cooperation of Korea for Conservation ofCultural Heritage in Asian Regions.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Jae Eun Yu(Director, Restoration Technology Division, National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage of Korea (the Republic of Korea))

Discussion.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Concluding Remarks.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Yoshiaki Ishizawa (Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/Professor, Sophia University ( Japan))
Closing Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Yasuyoshi Okada(Vice-chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/Head, The Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan University ( Japan))

Program.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Opening
Remarks

Opening Remarks: 1
Masanori Aoyagi

Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan

5
Opening Remarks: 1

Your Excellency Vira Rojpojchanarat, Minister of Culture of the Kingdom ofThailand, distinguished international experts, ladies and gentlemen, thank you verymuch for attending the ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015 “Potentialityof International Cooperation—Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage
in Southeast Asia.” I would like to make some opening remarks on behalf of theorganizers.
In recent years ASEAN countries have been developing increasingly strong ties,
and today’s forum brings together people at the forefront of cultural heritage protection in the region to share thoughts on this field and related issues in their countries.
They are joined by experts from Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea, which havelong cooperative relationships with ASEAN countries, not only in the political andeconomic arenas, but also in the cultural heritage field. Together, these experts they
will discuss international cooperation relating to cultural heritage.
Currently consisting of ten countries, the ASEAN region does not appear particularly large on a world map, but it has a population of 620 million, exceeding the
500 million people living in the European Union, a region with a similar land area.
The ASEAN region is also very diverse in cultural terms. Moreover, the rich tangible
and intangible cultural heritage of each country exhibits great diversity, and many
issues relating to cultural heritage are common to the entire region. Examples ofissues include the question of how to protect cultural heritage while also utilizing itto promote tourism and regional economic development in fast-growing economies,
and how to treat symbolic cultural properties in multiethnic societies.
I am delighted that we have this opportunity to discuss important cultural heritage issues, including international cooperation, in this multinational forum encompassing the ASEAN+3 countries. Thailand’s Minister of Culture, H.E. Mr. Vira
Rojpojchanarat, made time in his busy schedule to attend this meeting, and I would
like to once again welcome and thank him and to the experts who have joined us
from ASEAN+3 countries.
The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments adopted in 1931
was perhaps the first opportunity to officially recognize that worldwide cultural heritage is a tremendously important asset for humankind and to discuss it fully. The 1964
International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites(the Venice Charter) upgraded various aspects of the 1931 Athens Charter. However,these Eurocentric initiatives focused on the stonework cultures of Europe in settingout cultural heritage protection policy. Thus the Nara Document on Authenticity,
issued at the Nara Conference on Authenticity in Relation to the World Heritage
Convention organized by institutions including ICOMOS and the Government ofJapan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1994 exactly 30 years after the adoption of
the Venice Charter, was the first initiative to properly incorporate matters such as

Opening
Remarks

methods for the sound protection of wooden structures into cultural heritage protection policy. Last year, exactly 20 years on from 1994, another meeting was held in Nara
to update the Nara Document on Authenticity. This meeting reconfirmed the validityof the document.
The importance of cultural properties is rising as societies achieve rapid progress, yetsome cultural properties have been sacrificed to economic development. Moreover, theconventional focus on monuments when considering conservation of cultural properties needs to evolve into a broader approach that takes account of intangible culturalproperties. In addressing such issues, the Agency for Cultural Affairs welcomes theopportunity offered by this forum for the ASEAN+3 nations to share experiences andinformation relating to cultural properties. Allow me to conclude with the hope that it
will be a highly productive meeting.

6
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Opening
Remarks

Opening Remarks: 2
Hiroyasu Ando

President, the Japan Foundation

7
Opening Remarks: 2

I am truly delighted that the ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015 has
attracted so many participants from both Japan and abroad. I would like to express
my sincere gratitude to Your Excellency Vira Rojpojchanarat, Minister of Culture of
the Kingdom of Thailand, and to all who work steadfastly for the preservation andrestoration of cultural heritage for making the time to attend this forum. The Tokyo
National Museum conserves and exhibits significant cultural properties from Japanand other Asian regions, so, as a gateway to Japanese culture and a bridge to other
Asian countries, I believe this museum is an appropriate venue for this forum.
From the time of its establishment, the Japan Foundation has worked with manyother organizations on cultural heritage conservation projects in a variety of countries
and, as a member of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural
Heritage ( JCIC-Heritage) since its installation, has built close ties with experts andorganizations during the course of carrying out these projects. Furthermore, with oureyes set forth towards the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2020, we set
up the Japan Foundation Asia Center in April 2014 to strengthen ties and further
enhance cultural exchange through our many engagements—such as artistic andcultural exchange and support for Japanese-language teaching—with other Asian
countries.
In the context of these efforts, we recognize that the preservation and utilizationof cultural heritage is a very important issue in Asia: natural heritage and tangible
and intangible cultural heritage—including traditional music, dance, drama, and craft
skills in each respective country—are significant elements in the promotion of international cooperation. As mentioned, the Japan Foundation has worked for various
cultural heritage projects, such as providing support for the restoration of traditional
pottery in Afghanistan, and training program for exhibition, conservation and restoration at the Kaman Kalehöyük Archaeological Museum in Turkey, to raise a few.
For this fiscal year we are trying to further contribute to the field by supporting, for instance, Sophia University’s project for restoration and human resourcesin Angkor Wat led by Professor Yoshiaki Ishizawa (Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage),
and a conservation project in Sambor Prei Kuk, Cambodia, led by the Institute of
UNESCO World Heritage, Waseda University. Last month I traveled to Cambodia
and visited the restoration sites at Angkor Wat and Bayon and I was overwhelmed by
the magnificent scales of these treasures and was deeply moved. Moreover, speaking
directly with those involved in the restoration, seeing the remarkable work they do,
and also learning about the difficulties they face, I was able to see, first hand, the quality of Japan’s restoration skills which further strengthened my sense of responsibility
in working together beyond national borders to ensure the continuation of cultural
heritage to future generations.

Opening
Remarks

8
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

In the recent years, however, there have been many cases where valuable culturalproperties are placed in jeopardy by events such as natural disasters and escalating
religious or ethnic conflicts. In particular, the tragic news of destruction caused by international terrorist groups targeting historical cultural heritage sites and museums inWest Asia pains me deeply, and I am concerned that further damage of this type could
continue to occur. I think that such acts stem from a lack of understanding and consideration for the histories and cultures of others. It goes without saying that cultural
heritage is one of humanities’ most valuable properties and is to be shared by all; and,I believe, working together globally to pass these legacies on to future generations iswhat forms the foundation of a stable international community. Bringing together thestrengths particular to Japan—the spirit for harmony and enthusiasm for traditional
culture, rich experience in cultural heritage preservation and research, and high-quality
skills in conservation and restoration—I would like to continue to work with othercountries in building the infrastructure to preserve these valuable cultural heritage
worldwide.
I am thoroughly aware of the extremely important mission entrusted upon us: to put
into use all of our acquired knowledge and skills to propose effective ways of providing
international assistance. I sincerely hope such matters will be discussed here today, andthat this forum will provide us with clues for initiatives that could be pursued in theregion as a whole which will, in turn, aid in the succession and use of Asian cultural
heritage for the future. I would like to ask, from all of you here, your continued support
and cooperation on this matter.
In conclusion, I would like to, again, convey my sincere appreciation to our co-organizers, the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and the JCIC-Heritage, and last but
not least, our speakers and audience. Thank you.

Opening
Remarks

Opening Remarks: 3
Kosaku Maeda

Vice-chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/Professor Emeritus, Wako University

9
Opening Remarks: 3

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us here today, and I am delighted
to see so many of you in attendance. I am profoundly grateful to the experts who
have travelled here from Southeast Asia, China, and the Republic of Korea to play
key roles in today’s ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015. This forum has been
jointly organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, the Japan Foundation
Asia Center, and JCIC-Heritage.
JCIC-Heritage has become widely known in international circles recently. It wasestablished nine years ago in a collaborative effort by the Government of Japan, university research institutes, and private foundations and associations. JCIC-Heritage
was established in conjunction with the enactment of the Law on the Promotionof International Cooperation for Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad to clearly
demonstrate Japan’s intent to make an international contribution through cultural
heritage. Its first chairperson was Ikuo Hirayama, an internationally renowned painterwho at that time was President of Tokyo University of the Arts. His last major international exhibition, staged at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, was entitled“The Junction between the Oriental and Western Cultural exchanges- the splendorous Silk Road.” Just at that time we happened to be at an international conference in
Xi’an, where China and five central Asian countries were nominating the Silk Roads
for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The conference was convened tosupport this transnational serial nomination of World Heritage sites, which was agroundbreaking initiative, and guide it to success. Our support was consistent with
Mr. Hirayama’s often-voiced belief that “Asia is integral to Japanese culture, and thus
Japan must always devote effort to Asian cultural development and exchange.” When
Cambodia was still in the midst of war, Mr. Hirayama and current JCIC-Heritage
chairperson Professor Yoshiaki Ishizawa were among the first to advocate for theprotection of its cultural heritage in the global arena. When the Buddhas of Bamiyan
in Afghanistan were under threat, Mr. Hirayama and Professor Ishizawa worked with
UNESCO to devote all possible knowledge and effort to halting their destruction.
JCIC-Heritage was created to address such serious and challenging issues ofcultural heritage protection and international cooperation, by first forging new
cross-sector links in Japan, and then sharing information gathered on issues internationally, collaborating with other countries to resolve such issues, and contributing
to the development of the relevant countries. Mr. Aoyagi and Mr. Ando have alreadyexplained in detail the purpose of this forum.
My sincere wish is that, while respecting the cultural diversity of the ten Southeast
Asian countries and the three nations of Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea
whose representatives are gathered here today, this forum will be a springboard formore in- depth two-way cultural exchange suited to the 21st century. Finally, I would
like to express my appreciation to everyone who has gathered here today. The Forum2015 program will now begin.

Keynote Lectures[Speakers]

Yoshiaki Ishizawa(Chairperson, Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage/
Professor, Sophia University)

H.E. Mr.Vira Rojpojchanarat(Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Thailand)keynote
lecture1

Cultural Heritage Is
a Crystal Exemplifying
Ethnic Identity:
Towards a Cultural
Development Strategy for
ASEAN+3
Yoshiaki Ishizawa

Chairperson, Japan Consortium for International Cooperationin Cultural Heritage/Professor, Sophia University

12
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Prof. Ishizawa is a Professor at Sophia University andDirector of the Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human
Development, as well as the Sophia University Angkor
International Mission. He graduated from the Faculty ofForeign Studies, Sophia University, and now specializes in
the history and cultural heritage of Southeast Asia. He is thefounder of the Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human
Development in Cambodia, and is credited for making ahistorical discovery of 274 Buddhist statues in the Banteay
Kdei Temple in 2001. He served as 13th president of Sophia
University between 2005 and 2011, and was awarded theJapan Foundation Award in 2003 and the Royal Order ofSahametrei from King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia in
2007.

Introduction: The Islamic State’s Cultural
Terrorism Against World Heritage Sites
On November 13, 2015, the extremist group referred to as the Islamic State carried out random actsof terrorism in the French capital of Paris, whereby
129 decent and law-abiding citizens died, and over
300 were injured. I wish to offer my sincere prayers
for the souls of the victims of this gruesome tragedy.
Yet, the fact is that the terrorism of the Islamic State
consists in not just targeting people, but the world
heritage as well.
Towards the end of August of this year, the Templeof Bel and Temple of Baalshamin at the ancient siteof Palmyra, a world heritage site, were destroyed. In
early October, the Arch of Triumph in Palmyra wasalso destroyed. Palmyra is the site of an ancient citythat flourished between the first century B.C. andthird century A.D. Roman-style temples, an arch oftriumph, an amphitheater, baths and other ancient
structures survived in Palmyra, and yet, as the civil
war in Syria intensified in June 2013, we began to feelconcerned. The Islamic State’s barbarism led to thedevastation of the site of Palmyra that was over 2000
years old, and we wish to express our outrage at sucha destruction of cultural heritage.
Are we really powerless against this type of cultural terrorism engaged in by the Islamic State?
I believe that ultimately we need to return to theideology upon which the UNESCO was founded,
namely: “Since wars arise within the hearts of people,
we need to first of all transform those hearts into
fortresses of peace.” Transforming human hearts into
citadels of peace is more vital than anything else. I
believe it absolutely imperative that we study history
and culture in order to develop a keen awarenessof the worth of human life and importance of cultural values, and acquire a respect for the distinctive
lifestyles of diverse ethnic groups, so that we may
work together to eliminate the barbarism that is war.
With that purpose in mind, it is crucial that we
communicate knowledge concerning cultural heritage by utilizing authentic ancient sites, whereby thesignificance of cultural values may be understood inorder to enable their preservation and restoration.
On October 16, 2015, we of the Japan Consortiumfor International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
released the “Declaration Concerning Preventionof the Illegal Distribution of West Asian Cultural
Heritage.”

keynote
lecture1

1. A Few Proposals based on what we gained
from the task of Preserving and Restoring
Angkor Wat
The Sophia mission began its activities in 1980,
during the Cambodian Civil War. In the course of
our operations we presented several proposals to the
Cambodian government, wherein we introduced thenotion of training human resources, in order thatthe “preservation and restoration of the archaeological sites in Cambodia may be undertaken by the
Cambodian people.” With a view to achieve thisobjective we continue these training sessions evento this day. In 1980, in response to an earnest request by Pich Keo, the Director of the Angkor Wat
Heritage Preservation Office under the Cambodian
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, I personally led

a survey team of the Sophia Mission to examine thedamage, and the report compiled was forwarded to
the UNESCO, the Japanese government, and otherorganizations.
During the French colonial era (1863-1953), theÉcole française d’Extrême-Orient was engaged inpreserving and restoring the ruins of Angkor Wat,and this was carried out for the sake of French national prestige. At that time the Cambodians weretreated merely as laborers, for it was an era when they
were unable to serve as the nucleus in the preservation and restoration.
Accordingly, the slogan of the Sophia mission has
been “to rescue both monuments and people.” Since
1989, for a duration of 26 years, we have conducted
on-site training and intensive courses on Angkor
Wat for students majoring in archaeology, architecture, and other fields at Cambodia’s Royal Universityof Fine Arts, and we have also provided training instonemasonry at the site of Angkor Wat.
Hence, in our training sessions we adopted themode of providing instruction concurrently on dual
aspects, namely aspects related to “things” as in the“preservation and conservation of archaeologicalsites,” and aspects related to “people” as in “training
technicians and researchers.” We created the Sophia
University Asia Center for Research and Human
Development in 1996 in Cambodia, in order that it
may serve as a base facility for full-scale research, andat the same time we invited Cambodians who could
serve as conservators, to study at the graduate schoolof Sophia University. Between 1991 and 2014, thenumber of conservators who acquired degrees roseto 18, and all of them returned to Cambodia, where
they currently lead teams at archaeological sites, orserve as heads of bureaus at the Ministry of Cultureor the APSARA National Authority.
Since 1993, Cambodian students sponsored by
the Japanese government have studied at Sophia
University, Nihon University, Waseda University,
Tokyo University of the Arts, Nara National
Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and otherinstitutions.

2. The Purpose behind the ASEAN+3 Cultural
Heritage ForumASEAN has a permanent facility, namely
SEAMEO-SPAFA (Southeast Asian Ministers of
Education Organization–Southeast Asian Regional

13
Cultural Heritage Is a Crystal Exemplifying Ethnic Identity :Towards a Cultural Development Strategy for ASEAN+3

We are currently threatened by a crisis of cultural terrorism, which targets the world heritage sites.
Based on our perception that “cultural heritage is the
crystallization of ethnic identity,” we of the Sophia
University Angkor International Mission (Sophia
Mission) have made an appeal for the necessity of“preserving and restoring ancient sites” in collaboration with the inhabitants of those regions, and wehave translated this call for action into practice. For
the Sophia Mission, the Islamic State’s cultural terrorism presents a grave situation, but we have notlost hope. Rather, we are in a sense optimistic. In
Cambodia, approximately 40 years have elapsed since
the Pol Pot regime, wherein around three million
Cambodians were massacred. As a consequence of
this, after the civil war only three conservators returned to the sites. Providentially however the Pol
Pot regime viewed Angkor Wat as a stately legacy of
the Cambodian people, and hence they did not engage in the atrocity of systematically obliterating themonument. Yet conservators related to the preservation of such ruins were slain, as they were deemed“intellectuals contaminated by western thought.” On
account of this civil war, Angkor Wat was left in astate of utter disrepair for around 24 years.
Today in this international symposium, I hope weall ponder together as to what needs to be done toeffectively achieve the preservation and restoration ofcultural heritage sites. I would like to first of all present the history of the Sophia Mission’s activities, andthen raise several issues to be addressed in the futureby the group of ASEAN+3.

keynote
lecture1

14
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts). It deals withthe amassing of information on the preservation andrestoration of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, it conducts lectures and workshops, principallyfor human resource development, and steadily continues its operations. I esteem them very highly.
The purpose of this ASEAN+3 Forum is to form a
network of specialists in the field. This is to be carriedout by means both of the activities they undertakein order to preserve and restore the cultural heritage
in their various nations, as well as their projects thatutilize this cultural heritage. In this way they will create a “relationship of trust.” In brief, our ASEAN+3
cooperation is basically simple, in that it is a “cooperation among people.” The starting point for thisforum is to bring together a variety of specialists, sothat they may link-up with each other and develop
into a trusty network of experts. Yet, the question
arises, as to what extent can issues such as language,
skin color and other differences be overcome, in orderto create a “borderless relationship” of trust at theindividual level.
This forum is in addition, an occasion for us tolearn from each other about cultural heritage, fromcountry reports detailing cases where such heritage
sites in 13 nations have been preserved and utilized.
The main objectives of this forum are:( i) At this forum, which is concerned with activities
to restore and utilize cultural heritage sites, we
desire to have ASEAN+3 specialists establish secure relationships of trust with people who are in
charge at the field.
(ii) We desire that ASEAN+3 ponders over issues
that need to be dealt with in creating a newmodel of community cooperation for cultural
heritage sites, and also over the revitalization ofcommunities that make use of cultural heritage
sites.
(iii) We desire that ASEAN+3 constructs a networkof people who are responsible for cultural heritage, and exchanges information on cultural heritage by means of this network.
(iv) We desire that ASEAN+3 preserves and restores
those cultural heritage sites that are linked to anation’s identity by utilizing the efforts of thenation’s own people, and that it reveals and constructs an ASEAN+3 identity, an identity that iscommon to all its members.

3. Where lies the Origin of “Preserving and
Restoring” Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage?
To trace our history is to learn who we are. Cultural
heritage is like a crystal that displays a condensed
historical view of an ethnic group, and its structure
indicates the group’s very identity.
The preservation and restoration we aim for is notjust to renovate or mend something that has becomeruined or dilapidated. Any renovation that lacks aproper understanding of the materials that comprisethe heritage, their variety, the era in which the heritage was erected, and other pertinent factors, cannot
really be viewed as renovation or mending in the
genuine sense of the word. Hence, we need to avoid
adopting the unduly optimistic notion that preservation and restoration consists merely in fixing something broken, and passing it on to later generations.
In order to clarify issues that are as yet unresolved, we intend to describe and elucidate in detailthe ancient sites, while continually making reference
to the study of hydraulics, vegetation, architecture,conservation science, environmental issues and otherrelated matters, besides history, archaeology, folklore,
anthropology and other allied fields among the humanities and social sciences, that pertain to the region in question. On a closer view, we notice thateven if it were technically feasible to preserve andrestore a cultural heritage site, such efforts would
prove fruitless in the true sense of the word, as longas the history behind them remains obscure.
4. Ethnic Identity: From the Standpoint of
Excavation and Construction
The preservation and restoration of cultural heritage and the results achieved tend to exert a significant influence on ethnic groups, energizing people
in such communities and bestowing upon themself-confidence and a sense of pride in their culture.
This is particularly significant, due to the fact that it
will urge them to review their nation’s culture in thecontext of a global cultural history, and enable themto discover clues that reconfirm their ethnic identity
and historical uniqueness. An earnest inquiry into
the cultural heritage of a nation, will serve as a motivation to trigger an ethnic group into rediscovering
its own uniqueness. A scholarly elucidation of cultural heritage serves as a vital source of pride for an
ethnic group, and even evolves into the creation of an
ethnic identity.

keynote
lecture1

Such a scholastic explication of the cultural heritage sites of Southeast Asia will also provide us in
Japan, China and Korea with several new insights,
perceptions that are typical of the customs and manners of the residents of Southeast Asian nations, andserve also as an opportunity for us to rediscover thediversity of Asian culture.
In this forum, I wish to specifically state thatwhat we need more than anything else is the study ofcultural heritage, from the perspective of both ethnic
and regional identities. Our primary dictum is, thatthose ultimately responsible for the preservation andrestoration of the cultural heritage of an ethnic group,
are the talented restoration technicians, researchers,
and conservators dwelling among them, and morethan anything, it is essential that we work towards
the growth of such an understanding. Furthermore,
we expect these sites and their historical settings togive rise to a “cultural spring,” which will synthesize
the group’s development of new arts and culture, andserve as a site for cultural communication.

and hence, creating a system of providing security
for humans and cultural heritage sites within the
ASEAN+3 area, is an immediate necessity. ASEAN+3 also needs to urgently develop disaster prevention systems at the national level, disaster prevention
professionals need to be assigned for the safeguarding of cultural heritage sites, and specialized surveys
and research need to be conducted as a preparation
for such disasters. What primarily needs to be done
is to release information concerning possible risks,
and then, to the extent feasible, ASEAN+3 needs
to deploy specialists in rescue, and embark upon up
the task of collecting and exchanging data. Within
the ASEAN+3 region, typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, fires and other sweeping catastrophes may well occur at any moment, and hence
the creation of new frameworks for rescue cooperation and the exchange of information concerning
preservation and restoration, needs to be carried out
as a preparation.

(2) Towards Regional Cooperation for the
Security of Cultural Heritage and Human
BeingsThe Ayutthaya ruins were flooded in 2012,(4) Towards the Realization of School Excursions
to Cultural Heritage Sites in ASEAN+3
Benedict Anderson, the creator of the concept “Imagined Communities” once declared, that

15
Cultural Heritage Is a Crystal Exemplifying Ethnic Identity :Towards a Cultural Development Strategy for ASEAN+3(1) Strengthening Programs for Developing
Human Resources and Plans for Intern (workexperience) Exchanges
Each nation retains its own curriculum and methodology, with regard to the training of specialists inthe preservation and restoration of historical sites.
For example, within the ASEAN+3 framework, information is exchanged with reference to curriculums, educational programs that are conducted byvisiting scholars, and practical training conducted by
specialists. Besides, within each country, interns areinvited to sites where the preservation and restoration works are carried out, in order that they may
conduct joint research in the field.

(3) Schemes for the Establishment of Special
Environmental Zones in Cultural Heritage
Areas and the Consideration of Tourism
IssuesASEAN+3 needs to propose the establishment ofspecial environmental zones, in order to protect ancient sites and cultural heritage from chaotic development. A major issue to be addressed in establishingsuch zones is, “how will human beings and nature
coexist?” As a groundbreaking initiative, domestic
lawful structures need to be first adopted in order todevelop the legal system governing cultural heritage
in ASEAN+3, and second, agreement on regional
cooperation needs to be concluded within it. Third,a United Nations decision needs to be obtained, andfourth, in the near future, these efforts should leadto the designing of special zones, wherein the “entire
world” is viewed as responsible for the safeguardingof the world heritage sites. We have cited transportation, accommodation, and other aspects of theregulated tourism industry as environmental issues
affecting cultural heritage sites, but we need to first
begin by exchanging information.

5. The Cultural Development Strategy
Proposal of ASEAN+3
Through this forum we can facilitate cooperation among the ASEAN+3 regional cultures, andconsider strategies for cultural development, as wemutually offer proposals on specific issues we may
tackle together.

keynote
lecture1

pilgrimages wherein people walk around various
places within a nation, are effective in the maintenance of a national identity. How would it be if
all the elementary and secondary school students
of Cambodia go on an excursion to the temple of
Angkor Wat? We Japanese have always taken school
trips to Nara and Kyoto, through which we havebecome aware that “we are Japanese.” ASEAN+3
should propose a national policy of school excursions to cultural heritage sites. This will lead to thefostering of an ASEAN+3 regional identity, since
visits will begin to be paid to cultural heritage sites ofother nations, and furthermore, people will begin toparticipate in workshops and other such activities inrelation to those sites.

16
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

6. Stepping in Harmony to Preserve andRestore Cultural Heritage in the ASEAN+3
RegionAs for us of the ASEAN+3 region, owing to ourall being involved in the same projects of conservation and restoration, our cultural heritage activities,
which are unimpeded borderless, have begun to bear
fruit and build up relationships of trust. We haveembarked upon a modest first step in terms of therealization of this forum, and today we move into
action. This first step is critical, for the nations of
ASEAN+3, which are collectively responsible for the
future of Asia’s cultural heritage, have all taken thisinitial step together.
Yet, not withstanding the fact that massive hurdles confront us, we should not fear. By cautiously
acquiring an awareness of our limits we need tomove on ahead harmoniously, even if it were that our

movement resembles that of a cow. It is my hope thatthe combined activity of ASEAN+3, a group that has
been forged together by cultural heritage, will lead to
specific joint projects and internships in the future.
These will serve as our first step in valuing each other’s national pride, after which we shall continue on
to our second and later steps, as we advance together
in a spirit of concord.

7. Our Mission is to Protect Ancient Sites
Certainly, China, Korea and Japan today face aseries of problems with regard to historical perception, and tense political relations have arisen. Yet,geographically they are neighbors, and they enjoy
the same culture and civilization. Stated differently, I
believe that precisely because there exists a strained
political relationship between these nations, theircultural links need to be reinforced. In particular,
our project, wherein the nations of China, Korea
and Japan cooperate to preserve and restore the cultural heritage in the ASEAN region, brims over withgoodwill and cordiality.
Above all, I believe that one of our missions is tomake use of our network of mutual trust and employ
nonviolent means to protect the ancient sites, against
the cultural terrorism perpetrated by the IslamicState. In East and Southeast Asia, where the pacifist
tradition is deeply rooted, of the activities conducted
for peace, we observe that when viewed from thecontext of world history, the conservation and restoration carried out by ASEAN+3 is an activity thatunquestionably requires to be constituted a success,and developed even more. For this, I humbly request
your concern and cooperation.

H.E. Mr.Vira Rojpojchanarat

Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Thailand

keynotelecture2

The Conservation of
The Sukhothai World
Heritage Site and Cultural
Management: A Case
Study from Thailand

In making my presentation, allow me to tell youa little bit of my training and working experience inthe conservation of the Sukhothai World Heritage
Site. These experiences continued to benefit my later
administrative positions, including my present policy-level cabinet post.
I graduated from Chulalongkorn University, Thai­land, with a degree in Architecture. I undertook myfirst job as an architect for the Sukhothai Historical
Park project.
At that time, the Thai government was preparinga Conservation and Development Plan of the oldtown of Sukhothai, a project jointly undertaken with
UNESCO for the international campaign of safeguarding monuments and sites in many parts of theworld.
Sukhothai was Thailand’s first capital, establishedover 700 years ago. Its ruins, covered with plants and

17
The Conservation of The Sukhothai World Heritage Site and Cultural Management:
A Case Study from Thailand

H.E. Mr. Rojpojchanarat has worked extensively in the fieldof cultural heritage as Director of the Departments of Arts,
Ministry of Culture, and as Permanent Secretary for the
Ministry of Culture. He studied architecture at Chulalongkorn
University, and was appointed to his current job in 2014.

keynote
lecture2

trees, had been surveyed and registered for protection
under national law.
I was assigned to coordinate the preparation of amaster plan, and was also in charge of the ancient site
surveys. My duty was to report the study and survey
the nine topics below:• its history, archaeology, and inscriptions• the number of historical sites and their conditions• land ownership and land use• ancient settlement areas including housing andmarketplaces• population size, their occupation and income• infrastructures and public facilities• geological condition, water and climate• flora and fauna in the historical park
• number of tourists and facilities

18
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

My primary responsibility was to inspect the
Sukhothai monuments, inventorize the sites, as wellas to study ancient city plans. I also participated inanalyzing data in order to determine the conservation and development direction of, particularly in thefollowing 8 areas:
1. archaeological excavation plans
2. restoration / conservation plans
3. landscape development plans

4. houses / communities development plans
5. infrastructure plans
6. tourist facilities plans
7. community income promotion plans
8. public relations and fund raising campaigns
It took one year to complete the preparation of
the master plan and submit it to the cabinet for approval and for budget allocation. After that, I spent 5
more years as a project architect living and working
in Sukhothai to implement the plan. During thisperiod, I was in charge of ancient monuments conservation, which was carried out under the Venice
Charter, an international guideline for conservationof ancient monuments and sites. Later, however,Thailand proposed the Bangkok Charter in 1991 asa further guideline for the conservation of historicalcity and monuments.
As part of my job, I also had to develop an appropriate landscape architecture for the Sukhothai
Historical Park. This had to be based on the description of the Sukhothai town and its environs
as inscribed on the Sukhothai stone inscriptions, aswell as from the evidence found from archaeologicalexcavations.
Therefore, I had to:• relocate the villager’s houses from the historicalkeynote
lecture2

compounds to a newly allocated community
equipped with necessary infrastructure• conserve old trees and forests, as well as plant
new trees such as tamarind, mango, coconut
and sugar palms, which were mentioned on the
Sukhothai inscriptions• restore ancient ponds and waterways• construct new buildings and roads inside thehistorical park, which had to be in harmony withthe atmosphere of the site

Up to the present, the private sector has invested
significantly in the infrastructure and facilities for
Sukhothai’s cultural tourism. For instance, theSukhothai Boutique Airport, its Boutique Airline
and its Sukhothai Heritage Hotel, totally took on theheritage theme, and have facilitated direct and convenient connections with Bangkok and Chiangmai,
all headed by one private company. Hotels and resorts near the historical park and in the modern cityalso boomed, with a total of 120 hotels and resorts
combined. This province now enjoys 3 billion baht
from tourist activities per annum. Out of 1.2 million
travelers, 70% are Thais while 30% are foreigners. The
Sukhothai project was slow and gradual, but successful. It helped promote the local economy and develop
the people’s quality of life.
During these times, I had opportunities to work
closely with academics from various fields ranging
from historians, archaeologists, anthropologists,
conservationists to architects, engineers, economists
and geologists from many universities. All of themhad prominent careers. The Sukhothai project also
had the support of the Thai National Commission
for UNESCO, and was able to seek advice from

19
The Conservation of The Sukhothai World Heritage Site and Cultural Management:
A Case Study from Thailand

During this 10-year implementation stage, we finally achieved the main tasks as identified in the
Master Plan. The Sukhothai site became a pleasantHistorical Park where monuments and the landscapeare conserved and enhanced. However, collecting
more information and continual maintenance of themonuments and sites is needed. Moreover, public
relations campaigns are necessary to promote local
wisdom in connection to local traditional handicrafts
such as pottery making, textile weaving, and goldsmithing using designs inspired by the stucco decoration of the monuments. This aspect was consideredvery important from the very beginning, as it wasrecognized that the development of Sukhothai for
cultural tourism must also bring additional income

and better quality of life to the local communities.

keynote
lecture2

20
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

UNESCO international experts. Their names wereas follows:• Dr. Raymond Lemaire, a Belgian conservationarchitect,• Dr. Soekmono, a former director of Borobudur
Restoration,• Mr. Sohiko Yamada, a landscape architect fromJapan
• Professor M.C. Subhadradis Diskul, an archeological expert who was the rector of Silpakorn
University and Directer-General of SPAFA• Dr. Hayati Subadio, a former director-general,the Department of Archaeology, Indonesia, and• Dr. Yoshiaki Ishizawa, leading scholar and professor of Sophia University on the major monuments in ASEAN countries such as Borobudur,
Angkor Wat, Bagan and Sukhothai.

During these years, I took conservation trainings and studies in many countries. For instance, inIndonesia, it was my first time to learn the concept
and technique of anastylosis, a reconstruction technique implemented at Borobudur and Prambanan.
This method is common for the conservation of
Angkor Wat and other stone temples in Thailand.
During my training at ICCROM (International
Centre for the Study of the Preservation and
Restoration of Cultural Property) in Italy, I had theopportunity to join international discussions involving a wide range of techniques such as those adopted
in the Sistine Chapel, the relocation of Abu Simbel
in Egypt, Venice, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, andPompeii. In Japan, I was able to gain deeper insightin town conservation and cultural management.
All these experiences greatly contributed to myskills and conceptual development ever since I waskeynote
lecture2in small positions such as a conservation architectin Sukhothai, and even during my big terms suchas the head of a planning unit for historical monuments conservation, Deputy Director-General of theFine Arts Department and Permanent Secretary for
Culture (2006).

21
The Conservation of The Sukhothai World Heritage Site and Cultural Management:
A Case Study from Thailand

The long experiences I have accumulated in
the past greatly help me in my current position as
Minister of Culture. I recognize that the Ministry
has a tremendous network of different kinds of cultural units in all parts if the country which must be
strengthened and promoted to respond to the current
social and economic situations.
In 2015, the Ministry of Culture initiated many
policies with the guidance of the government. The
following policies are to be effectively implemented
and mobilized by all our cultural units and networks
in all provinces of the country.
1. The improvement of cultural learning centers including 41 national museums, 10 historicalparks and 3,000 archaeological/ historical sites allover the country. They are intended to be life-longlearning platforms and tourist attractions, offeringmodern presentation technologies such as QR code,“Museums Pool” app and audio guides.

2. Improving public access to online library resources. The National Library of Thailand has provided an online library and other services for readers
under the copyright of the Ministry of Culture, while
the National Archives of Thailand has provided national archives, e-documents and more than 35,000
digitized photos through online service.
3. The development of Thailand Cultural Center
constituted by 3 current theaters: the Main Hall, theSmall Hall, and the Amphitheatre. There is a construction of the new Contemporary Art and Cultural
Center (of 50,000 sq.m.) under way. And in the near
future, more facilities will be developed, such as atheater (with 2,000 seats), cultural library, cultural
playground, and international convention hall.
4. Tax deductable-donation for individuals andthe private sector. Charitable donations are tax deductable for those who finance cultural funds forconservation and promotion, as well as the production of media that benefits education and “Thainess”.
5. Increased campaigns for cultural promotion.
They aim to disseminate Thai culture domesticallyand globally with the eventual goal of creating a better
understanding at the community and people-to-people levels, to improve the sense of Thai identity anda sense of pride of the nation. In the past year, Thai
cultural performances, exhibitions and handicraft
demonstrations were showcased in Europe, Africa,
Asia, North America and Latin America.
6. The promotion and support of folk artists. The
Ministry of Culture has promoted traditional folk
performances and supported folk artists to set up
associations of folk artists to encourage cooperationand modernization. Artists directories and websites
were created to provide information of artists in 12
categories such as Likay, Lamtad, Mholam, Norah,
Phleng Saw, Shadow Play, etc. to widen markets.
7. Increased cultural-tourism attractions. Cultural
attraction have been increased over the past 5 years.
In 2015, three different cultural centers opened:
the ASEAN Cultural Center in Bangkok, theContemporary Art Center in Bangkok, and theAndaman Cultural Center in Krabi province. These 3
centers are to pave the way toward the establishmentof ASEAN Community at the end of 2015.
8. The development of a creative economy. Suchan economy should be based on cultural asset/capital.
The Ministry of Culture supports private sectors andindividual groups to invest in the cultural industry

keynote
lecture2

22
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asiaand creative projects, such as animation, film, fashion,
food, etc.
9. The promotion of all religions in Thailand. Thisis promoted through religious events implemented
with the view of improving the people spiritual security and quality of life.
10. The promotion of a sense of “Thainess”. From
2016, the promotion of the sense of Thainess will be
executed among all sectors of the Thai people at threelevels:1) Local and National Ways of Life: To promote
the expression of Thainess in daily life such as,
Thai smile, Thai greetings, Thai disciplines andThai values.
2) Thai Culture & ASEAN Culture: To promote
the Thai culture, together with the appreciationof the ASEAN cultures.
3) Thai and World Cultural Heritage: To promote the appreciation of Thainess to the world
through performances, food, films, Muay Thaiand textiles, as well as nominating World
Heritage Sites in Thailand.
11. Continuation of updating the national listof intangible cultural heritage and documentary
heritage. In 2015, we have added 32 items to thenational intangible cultural heritage list, and 25 national films to the film heritage list. We also submitted one World Cultural Heritage nomination and

one tentative nomination to the UNESCO World
Heritage Committee. As for national treasures, wehave declared 187 national artists, from the first
Kingdom of Thailand until the present day (fromSukhothai to Rattanakosin eras) in recognition of
their contributions to Thai art and culture.
Our current cultural policy focuses on 3 objectives
as follows: 1) to promote the good of the people fora better society 2) to increase the income of people
and encourage national prosperity through culturalindustry and cultural tourism 3) to utilize culturaldimensions for strengthening international relations
and disseminating the Thai image and nation’s pridein the international community.
In addition, the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the civil society, the private sector, andpublic agencies such as the Ministry of Tourism andSports, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry ofInformation and Communication Technology andthe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seek to raise awareness of Thainess in the midst of globalization andto promote the sustainable culture-based economic
development. It has been estimated that over 30
million tourists will visit Thailand in 2015. This isa real achievement of the culture-based sustainable
development.
Thank you.

Session 1
Diverse Cultural Heritage :Ideas and Measures for Its Effective UseThis session features Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, which respect cultural
diversity and national unity to coexist. They present how cultural heritage is utilized to promote the cultural diversity as the nation’s attractiveness, and the means to enhance national
unity through the policy integrated from a national or state approach.

[Moderator]

Koji Miyazaki(Professor, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa,
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies ( Japan))[Speakers]

Viengkeo Souksavatdy(Deputy Director, Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information,
Culture and Tourism (Laos))

Khalid Bin Syed Ali(Director, Heritage Enforcement Division, Department of National Heritage,
Ministry of Tourism and Culture (Malaysia))

Milan Ted D. Torralba(Executive Council Member, National Committee on Monuments and Sites,
National Commission for Culture and Arts (The Philippines))

Jean Mei-Yin Wee(Director, Preservation of Sites and Monuments,
National Heritage Board of Singapore (Singapore))Session 1

National Policy on
Preservation of Cultural
Heritage in Laos
Viengkeo Souksavatdy

Deputy Director, Department of Heritage,
Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (Laos)

24
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Mr. Souksavatdy completed his M.Phil in Methods of History,
Archaeology and Art History at the École Pratique des Hautes
Études, Paris-Sorbonne University, France in 1996. Prior tohis current position from 2007, he had served major roles
in various museums in Laos, including the Director of theDivision of Archaeology. His expertise is in Lao Archaeology,
and conducts various research and field work within the
country.

Laos is the only land-locked country in Southeast
Asia, located in the heart of the mainland. Mekong
is the largest river which flows through the country
from the northwest to the south. Since the ancient
times, it played a very important role as the main
axis of cultural exchange between north and south,
between China and Lower Mekong Valley. Sharing apart of the cradle of the Mekong ancient civilization
and a diverse ethnic composition has made Laos acustodian of various cultural heritage properties, bothtangible and intangible. These legacies have become
valuable cultural resources, which could potentiallycontribute in building prosperity of the people.
Under the effect of a policy that opened up themarket economy, the Laos society underwent unprecedented transformations during the last coupleof decades which generated a complex social environment. This in turn rendered the policy of cultural
heritage to be in need of reevaluation and redefinition. Laos is still facing the classical dilemmas suchas preservation versus modernization and paucity ofresources against such a huge task.
Recognizing the importance of culture as a force
for social integration and national identity, and thecontribution which the arts can make to educational,social and economic life, the Lao Government has
consistently sought to nurture and develop the country’s many different cultural traditions including
those of ethnic minorities as an embodiment of thetotality of cultural values, which characterizes thenation as a whole.
Laos has actively participated in the international
community in order to protect our common interests and to promote their values for the benefit ofour people. Since 1987, Laos is a state party of four
UNESCO conventions within the cultural sector
and one UNIDROIT convention. Laos has ratified
the 1972 Convention concerning the Protectionof the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Fig.
1, 2), the 2005 Convention on the Protection andPromotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of
the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Recently, the country has ratified the 1970 Convention on the Meansof Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import,
Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural
Property. In contention with this convention, Laos
has also ratified intergovernmental convention, theSession 1

so-called 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolenor Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. These are thefive main international conventions that the country
has ratified.
In view of this international legal framework, theLao Government formulated a series of national
legal instruments in order to reinforce protection andpromotion measures of all cultural resources. Oneof the statements in the main policy regarding integration of the development with preservation of national cultural heritage was reflected in the National
Law on Heritage that was adopted by the National
Assembly in 2005. The law it was mentioned that“socio-economic development shall proceed side
by side with the protection and conservation of thenational cultural heritage”. Thus, each development
project is obliged to conduct an environmental andsocial impact assessment. With this regard, the mitigation measures and management plan are necessary
in order to minimize the negative impact on socialand cultural aspects.
The current law also underlines the regulations
governing the utilization of cultural and historicalnational heritage that should comply with the following purposes:
1. To act as the basis for national prosperity, andas the driving force for social expansion together with the development of a strong andwealthy nation;
2. To educate citizens to love their nation, to beunified and proud of historical efforts, to be25

Fig. 2 Vat Phu and its associated ancient cultural landscape inscribed to the UNESCO World
Heritage list in 2001

National Policy on Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Laos

Fig. 1 Luang Prabang Historic Town Listed to UNESCO World Heritage in 1995

Session 1

creative, to bravely struggle, and to be united
as one with the multi-ethnic Lao people in theprotection and development of the nation;
3. To enrich the national collection of culturaland historical heritage;
4. To promote tourism industry;
5. To engage in world conservation activities thatenhance the value to the national, cultural, andhistorical heritage; and6. To conduct research on archaeological science,
history, and other fields.

26

As part of these measures, before granting theapproval for conducting any development project, we
carry out surveys to collect all of the information inregard to the history of the country. Laos is aware of
the fact that culture is the foundation for survival ofa nation. At the same time, it is considered a driving
force and the target for social development. A Lao
proverb says, “Culture proves nationality. Behavior
proves social standing. To lose ones culture means tolose ones nation.” Based on this consciousness andbelief, the Lao Government importantly esteems thecultural affairs as the regular basis for formulating

the policies and strategies for preservation, promotion and development of the national culture. The
final objectives are to bring the nation to prosperity;
to raise the standards of living for all, to provide
communities with favorable conditions of safety,
justice, and harmony, to preserve the time honored
traditions, and to nurture national identity. Parallel
objectives are also to clear the nation from its current status of underdeveloped countries, to achieve
poverty alleviation, to actively contribute to the establishment of the ASEAN socio-cultural pillar aswell as ASEAN community as whole.
Laos is still in the infancy stage of archaeologicalresearch. Therefore, while we apply the law which
mentions development of the socio-economy, we
should at the same time conduct preservation of theculture and heritage (Fig. 3).

Project for Improvement of Vientiane Road No.1
This case I would like to focus on urban archaeology. This project is the Road Number One improvement project with a grant from Japan. The Japanese
project has paid much attention to buried cultural

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Former Prime Minister visits the archaeological excavation
Bronze Age burial withcopper head dress

Neolithic stone axe

Fig. 3 Excavation Site in Vientiane

Fragments of statues of Buddha burned during
the sack of Vientiane in 1827

Session 1

property below this road because Vientiane used to
be an ancient city. Artifacts have been uncovered andpreserved in the museum.
We have found lots of artifacts including locallymade pottery, stone, metallic artifacts, as well as imported objects from ASEAN; from Cambodia, someceramics from Viet Nam and China, and interestingly, imported porcelain from Japan (Fig. 4).

Salvage Excavation within the Project area of
Hydro-electric Dam
This is an example of the hydroelectric dam project (Fig. 5). It is not only in the flooding area, butalso the quarry sites. We conducted the salvage operation, and as a result, we discovered a human skeleton
which dated back 7,000 years (Fig. 6).

27
National Policy on Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Laos

Fig. 4 Artifacts found during the project on the Road Number One

Session 1
Fig. 5 Salvage Excavation within the project area of NT2
Hydro-electric Dam

Sepon Mining Project
Another example is the mining project in the central part of Laos in Savannakhet Province. We also
conducted the preliminary survey to identify the impact. We found many bronze artifacts, which shows
its rich assemblage (Fig. 7). We also found somecrucible glass beads and some ingots.
For the project, we developed the chance finds
procedures, and we are also working with people
from UXO (Unexploded ordnance), because they use
metal detectors to detect the bombs. At the sametime, they identified a big Dong Son drum, which isdated 2000 to 2500 years old (Fig. 8).

28
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 6 Discovery of the archaeological evidences dated back to the late Pre-Historic Period

Fig. 7 Rich Typology of Bronze Artifacts Identified during the ESIA StudySession 1

Fig. 8 Chance Finds Procedures

29

Many vestiges have been recovered including
wooden evidence. The wooden structures, as well asbamboo and rattan, still remain in situ (Fig. 9).
After we recovered the abovementioned buried
cultural properties, we introduced our policy for theprivate sector to cooperate to construct a small local
museum to preserve these artifacts.
Laos is a multiethnic country with a very diverse
population. Maintaining a unity between the peoples
is the key to strength.

National Policy on Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Laos

Fig. 9 Wooden structures found at the ancient mining shaft

Session 1

Unity in Diversity:
Malaysian Way of
Heritage Spectra
Khalid Bin Syed Ali

Director, Heritage Enforcement Division,
Department of National Heritage,
Ministry of Tourism and Culture (Malaysia)

30
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Following the completion of his Master in Arts studying
civilization, Mr. Bin Syed Ali has been serving for Ministry of
Tourism and Culture since 2005.

Introduction
Malaysian heritage has encountered an importantrole in shaping the national agenda of developing
unity amongst races of all Malaysians. It is perceived
to be largely in public ownership. Therefore, its protection, conservation and safeguarding are generally
deemed to be the responsibility of the government.
The establishment of the National Heritage Act
2005 in March 2006, which provides for the conservation and preservation of natural heritage, tangible
and intangible cultural heritage, underwater cultural
heritage and living human treasure, is aimed to enhance national identity while strengthening national
unity, harmony, and integration. Various aspects ofheritage were developed to offer a myriad of products and services that supported the growth of the
tourism industry. In this regard, concerted efforts toconserve the nation’s cultural heritage, disseminationof heritage information, the development of heritage
and arts were also undertaken.
The development of heritage since 2006 was givena greater emphasis which is imbued with a progressive outlook and spectra, including positive heritage
values, both tangible and intangible. The appreciation of heritage is enhanced as part of a larger nation-building agenda in helping to build awareness ofa common history and heritage as well as of a shared
future and destiny of all Malaysians. The Departmentof National Heritage under the Ministry of Tourism
and Culture Malaysia is developing a healthy domestic heritage scene as this will help to raise the people’squality of life. The active participation of the private
sector, NGOs, communities, and the people in heritage-related activities and programs are encouraged,
and the upgrading of heritage resources and infrastructures has been intensified.
Let me briefly explain what is covered in theprovision under the National Heritage Act 2005. Itcovers natural, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, underwater cultural heritage, and treasure trove,
which means it is a very comprehensive act. This act
replaces The Antiquity Act of 1976 and The Treasure
Trove Act of 1957.
We have four categories of heritage. One is heritage site (tangible and immovable), heritage object(tangible and intangible, movable and immovable),underwater cultural heritage (underwater tangible
sites and objects) and living person or living heritage,

Session 1or as UNESCO sees it, a living human treasure.
Status of the heritage is stipulated in the National
Heritage Act. Hierarchically, there are two typesof heritage, heritage and national heritage (Fig. 1).
Firstly, it should be designated or registered as aheritage under the purview of the Commission of
Heritage. Then, if it is very outstanding will the item
be upgraded to national heritage under the purview
of the Minister of Tourism and Culture.
Various heritage-related programs were implemented to raise the interest of the community as wellas to preserve and safeguard the nation’s heritage. The
task of the department is to consolidate policies andprograms that further promote Malaysia’s heritage
as well as to formulate new strategies to make theheritage more vibrant to the masses.

Regional Approach: Appreciation of Heritage
In line with efforts to create heritage mindedsociety, various programs have been undertaken toincrease the appreciation of our heritage among
Malaysians at all levels. In this regard, heritage related activities were carried out at the national and
NATIONAL HERITAGE REGISTER

state level, and are beginning to be organized at the
district and village levels. There are four regional offices: the Southern region which covers the statesof Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and Johor, the Central
region which covers the states of Selangor and Perak,
the Northern region which covers the states ofPenang (Pulau Pinang), Kedah, and Perlis, and theEastern region which covers the states the east coastof Malaysia, Terengganu, Pahang, and Kelantan.
These offices provide avenues to promote artistic andheritage activities as well as to conduct programs tonurture communities in the appreciation of heritage.
Programs that educate and advocate the important value of heritage appreciation among youths are
given more emphasis. Concerted measures have been
undertaken by the regional offices, agencies, and respective community-based associations to increase
the number of those trained in various heritage-related fields. These individuals will then be deployed
to various schools under specific program to provide
training to students (Fig. 2). These activities are envisaged to help instill an appreciation of heritage
and arts and to provide basic knowledge and skills

31

Heritage Site

Underwater Cultural Heritage

Heritage Object

NATIONAL HERITAGE
Living Person

Fig. 1 National heritage registerFig. 3 Showcase of ethnicity of adat perpatih

Fig. 2 Arts and custom for youngsters

Fig. 4 Seminar and documentation of malay poem

Unity in Diversity: Malaysian Way of Heritage Spectra

HERITAGE

Session 1
Fig. 5 Documentation of “main puteri”

32
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asiaof various arts form to students. The program could
provide the link between the arts community andthe education sector, which supports the professional
development of arts educators and arts education
providers. In addition, a similar program could be
extended to cover public sector employees and youth
to improve their access and opportunity to the heritage. Strategic partnerships between the various state
governments, local authorities, cultural, and community-based organizations together with the private
sectors could be established to ensure effective implementation of this program.
Moreover, to enhance cultural heritage and arts
appreciation, particularly at the grass-roots level, various out-reach programs have been intensified andextended to all states (Fig. 3–5). It could deepen
awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage andarts as well as enhance the visibility of visual andperforming arts. Again, various interactive programs
concerning participation of youth, the community
and the private sector could be implemented. Perhaps
soon Kuala Lumpur could be the hub of cultural heritage and artistic activities.
In an effort to create awareness, appreciation, andlove for heritage among the younger generation, various heritage programs and activities such as heritage
clubs continued to be organized in primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. Assistance in this formof training, advisory service as well as costumes andequipment was also provided. Students involved inthese activities were given the opportunity to perform at official functions at the state and districtlevels as part of the effort to spread awareness andappreciation of heritage and the art among more
Malaysian of various ethnicities.

Fig. 6 Heritage talkFig. 7 Chinese calligraphy

Communities are also encouraged to participate
in heritage activities. For instance, the Arts for All
program is aimed to bring the arts back into the community and to make the arts a part of daily life. This
also includes performance of cultural heritage dances,martial arts, music, as well as arts-and-crafts-related
activities involving communities in both urban andrural areas.
Some activities are being carried out throughout the year from 2006, when we established the
National Heritage Act. For example, Heritage Talk
is a program that gathers students, communities, andthe public to know about the culture of every ethnicity in Malaysia (Fig. 6). Malaysia is not only involvedof various ethnics but also various religions, andvarious activities are organized to understand thedifferences so that we could respect each other (Fig.
7, 8).

Heritage as Tool for National Unity
In connection with National Unity, we have
two programs at the national level: 1Malaysia program and Open House. Malaysian multi-ethnicSession 1

Fig. 10 Open House – Chinese New Year

Fig. 9 1Malaysia, traditional games fiesta

Fig. 11 Open House Gawai

communities comprising of the Malays, Malaysian
Chinese, Malaysian Indian, various ethnic groups ofSabah and Sarawak, indigenous groups of Peninsular
Malaysia, Malaysian Siamese, Baba and Nyonya,
Malaysian Portuguese, and other minor groups in
Malaysia are significant in forging a unique Malaysianidentity branded as 1Malaysia (Fig. 9).
The cultural and religious festivals of the major
ethnic groups in Malaysia continue to be celebrated
at the national level. Every year without exception the Ministry of Tourism and Culture organizes ‘Malaysia Open House’ during the celebration
festivals such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri known as Eid
Festival after one month of fasting for the Muslim,
The Chinese New Year, Deepavali Hindu’s Light
Celebration, Christmas, Gawai and Tadau Keamatan
for the Borneo’s ethnic groups (Fig. 10, 11). All ofthese celebrations of Malaysian Open House arerecognized and listed as our national heritage. All
the people and tourists are invited during this open
house.

Listing, Conservation and Preservation
To strengthen and inculcate an appreciation andawareness of heritage in Malaysia, efforts are madeto conserve and preserve heritage sites. In this regard, 35 sites and buildings have been conserved andpreserved in 2015, and 43 sites are being maintainedmonthly (Fig. 12, 13). Contractors, local government
officials and junior conservators have been trained
through in-house program in various aspects of conservation to provide knowledge and the best practices
which comply with conservation standards. Four series of workshops were organized last year, and two
more workshops are to be completed this year.
Conclusion
Heritage is to be seen as an integrated and holistic entity including the natural and the cultural.
Therefore, tangible and intangible heritage meet theheart of any community as it, over time, realizes thehealthy development of its existence and contributes
to a peaceful and harmonized community. The aim ofsuch dynamic heritage might be left to be rhetoricunless the awareness to preserve, promote, practice,

33
Unity in Diversity: Malaysian Way of Heritage Spectra

Fig. 8 Workshop on the art of Kolaam

Session 1
Ubudiah MosquePenang World Heritage Office

Wat Chonprachumthat Chanaram
Fig. 12 Conservation

St. Georges Church

34
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Excavation at Bastion Handrieta Louise

Fig. 13 Preservation – Archaeological sites

interact, and transmit the differences in our culture
and what we inherit is raised by realizing and accepting the common needs and values. Meeting andinteracting in communities and communicating witheach other have been done by our ancestors over

Structure excavated at Bujang Valley

the centuries to make good friends and to share thequalities we possess as to benefit the meaningful life.
We unite due to the diversity we possess as to sharing and safeguard the colorful heritage of Malaysia.
We are proud to be part of every of them.

Milan Ted D. Torralba

Executive Council Member, National Committee on
Monuments and Sites, National Commission for
Culture and Arts (The Philippines)

Let me start by mentioning these basic facts
culled from the recently published book Pinagmulan:
Enumerations from the Philippine Inventory of
Intangible Cultural Heritage. In its 7,107 islands, thePhilippine archipelago is home to at least 80 major
ethnolinguistic groups. Not one of these groups iscomposed of only one culture, but many. For instance, the Manobô of Mindanao alone has no lessthan 82 sub-groups. The Tuwali, a major ethnolinguistic group of the Ifugao, has 18 cultural variations
recorded, and many more. This complexity is unsettling in astutely determining their intangible cultural
heritage alone.
By way of different migratory waves, these major
ethnolinguistic groups settled on the islands fromat least around 4000 B.C. With their multiple
sub-groupings, these cultural communities, someothers whittled by almost 400 years of Western colonization, constitute the Filipino Nation. In otherwords, the sum-totality of these different Philippine
cultures, their interfacing and differentiation, theirconvergence and divergence borne through the millennia, is the Filipino national identity. We acknowledge this fact of Philippine culture and enshrine it in
the fundamental law of our land, which affirms that
the State shall foster the preservation, enrichment,
and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national culture
based on the principle of unity in diversity.
The Filipino national identity, therefore, is formed
and inspired by the diversity of its cultures andthe typologies of its heritage. It is understandable
that in articulating the national policy on culture,arts, and heritage as hallowed in our constitution, thePhilippine Congress identifies cultural preservation(and I would like to stretch its meaning to include
the notion of safeguarding) as a prime national strategy for maintaining Filipino identity. This is read in
Section 2 of Article I of Republic Act 10066, also
known as the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009
(Fig. 1).
How does the Philippines operationalize its national strategy of cultural preservation and safeguarding as Congress enacts it? Two basic on-going
activities effectuate the strategy, as Fig. 2 shows: cultural mapping and cultural education and /or heritage
studies. Both activities resolve the two inquiries posed
as follows: (1) how is cultural heritage integrated in

35
Strengthening National Identity through Cultural Diversity: The Philippine Experience

Fr. Torralba is a Roman Catholic priest of the Tagbilarandiocese, Philippines, and is trained as a canon lawyer andcultural heritage practitioner. He has a masterʼs degree incultural heritage from the University of Santo Tomas, Manila.
Actively involved in working with various government andChurch cultural agencies, he chairs Tagbilaranʼs cultural
heritage diocesan commission charged in rehabilitating the
dioceseʼs historic churches damaged by the earthquake
in 2013. He played a major role in shaping the Vatican Philippines accord on the cultural heritage of the Catholic
Church in the Philippines.

Session 1

Strengthening National
Identity through Cultural
Diversity:
The Philippine ExperienceSession 1

the national policy, and (2) how is cultural heritage
being utilized?
First, cultural mapping, sometimes tagged as ‘heritage mapping’, is an important key to integrate cultural heritage in our national policy. It is the vital
instrument by which the cultural elements and heritage resources are collated for identification, conservation, valorization, and utilization.
We put emphasis on cultural mapping in viewof a number of reasons. For instance, built heritage
damaged by the frequency of natural calamities. This
inevitably leads to change in information embedded in the built heritage. To exemplify, I will makea special mention of around 20 heritage churches
and civic buildings in my home province of Boholin the Philippines devastated in different degrees by
the 7.2 magnitude earthquake of 15 October, 2013.
Three of these historic churches literally collapsed.
Fig. 3 shows two of these heritage churches, namely

36

the Loón parish church and the Maríbojóc parish
church, which suffered complete destruction by thesaid earthquake. Both were officially recognized by
the Philippine Government as national cultural treasures and national historical landmarks. Incidentally,an international symposium on the seismic retrofitting of unreinforced masonry structures will be held
exactly a month from now in Manila and Tagbilaran.
As the outcome, insights and best practices sharedat the symposium will be filtered and inputted toform part of the Philippine Charter for Built Heritage
Conservation.

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

The other major reasons for the stress on periodic cultural mapping is the unsympathetic andmisguided remodeling of other built heritage, theunwarranted dispersal of movable cultural materials,
and the risks that lead to loss or actual disappearance
of intangible cultural heritage. In other words, cultural mapping in the Philippines becomes an activity
similar to census-taking intended to derive updated
information on our cultural elements and heritage
assets as they are shaped by circumstances.
Cultural mapping results are inscribed in thePhilippine Registry of Cultural Property (PRECUP)
and the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural
Heritage (PIICH). Both data banks are administered by the National Commission for Culture andArts(NCCA). The entirety of Philippine culture andheritage data elicited from cultural heritage mapping
allows the government to discern the nation’s culturalelements and heritage assets for scientific and negotiative conservation and safeguarding.

Fig. 1 Section 14 of the Constitution and Section 2 of Article I of Republic Act 10066

ISSUES FOR RESOLUTION
1. How cultural heritage is
integrated in the national policy

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY

cultural mapping

2. How cultural heritage is being cultural education &/or
utilized
heritage studies

CULTURALSTATISTICSPURPOSE: TO ALLOW CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND NATIONAL UNITY TO COEXIST
Philippine National Strategy: CULTURAL PRESERVATION & SAFEGUARDING

Fig. 2 Philippine Government strategies and experiences

Fig. 3 Seismic destruction of parish churches in Loón andMaríbojóc

Session 1

Fig. 5 Halo-halo

Second, cultural education and /or heritage studies in the formal, informal, and non-formal systems
make possible the retention or sustainability of thesecultural manifestations and heritage expressions mostespecially among the Filipino youth. In practice, cultural heritage is utilized as an object of study thatsegues through the following cognitive culture cycle,
which are, awareness, knowledge, understanding, appreciation, valuation, and finally utilization or enjoyment. The cognition of heritage for its significance orvalue logically leads to conservation or safeguarding,which makes training courses, workshops, conferences, seminars, and cultural heritage conservations
not only normative, but also sustainable.
As an actionable component of the national strategy of cultural preservation, the Philippine Cultural
Education Program (PCEP) coordinated by the
Department of Education and the NCCA, waslaunched in 2002 with the aim of integrating culture
and heritage in the basic education curriculum and somainstreaming it in the national development plans(Fig. 4). As an on-going program of the National
Government, PCEP is at the stage of fine-tuning theculture-based educational curriculum.

outcome, it is foreseen that the Philippine cultural
statistics will be a useful implement in measuring thequantitative and qualitative aspects of culture that
contribute to integral human development within
the framework of the Philippines’ strategic development goals.

Measuring the impact and relevance of thePhilippines’ cultural policies, programs, strategies, andplans is the purpose of the baseline tool called cultural
statistics. Still at its incipient stage, the Philippine
Framework on Cultural Statistics, adopted from the2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics, wasonly recently crafted and is to be presented to the
NCCA Board of Commissioners for approval following three years of lively discussion. Whatever its

How do I visualize Philippine culture and heritage? I visualize it like the all-time Filipino favorite,
the halo-halo dessert (Fig. 5). Although we understand that this sugar-full concoction is similar toyour kakigori, to patbingsu of Korea, to baobing ofChina, to aiskacang of Malaysia, Singapore, andBrunei, to cendol of Thailand, and to esteler andescampur of Indonesia, halo is the Tagalog Filipino
root word which means mix or fusion, merger or
blend. Halo-halo is anything mixed together. Halohalo as a Filipino dessert is a mixture of shaved ice,beans, Jell-O, fruits, leche flan, purple yams, tapioca,
evaporated milk, pounded young rice, and a lot more.
The Filipino national identity is a halo-halo of
more than 80 ethnolinguistic cultures and a lot more.
This clearly implies that my culture, my heritage, is
not a melting pot. It is a mixing bowl. Impacted byother influences, the unique cultural elements andheritage resources of a given ethnolinguistic community are maintained, but in a skillful blending, theseelements and resources constitute the integral wholeof what is known as the culture or heritage of thePhilippines. Thus, in diversity, unity; in unity, identity; in identity, communality, co-existence.
The halo-halo is not uniquely Filipino, but is truly
Asian, shared in common by the ASEAN. Like thiswell-loved dessert, I suggest that ASEAN cultural

37
Strengthening National Identity through Cultural Diversity: The Philippine ExperienceFig. 4 Philippine Cultural Education Program (PCEP)Session 1

heritage mirrors our common Asian feature: unity
in diversity. Knowledge of these culture and heritage paradigms shared among practitioners is thePhilippines’ modest contribution to strengthening cooperative relations among the ASEAN+3

38

countries.
Maraming salamat po. Daghan jamung salamat.
Domo arigato gozaimashita.

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Jean Mei-Yin Wee

Director, Preservation of Sites and Monuments,
National Heritage Board of Singapore (Singapore)

Session 1

Celebrating Diversity:
Forging Partnerships

Diversity gives us many reasons to celebrate ourroots as well as to appreciate the wealth of cultures
and traditions and this is no different from how we
see it in many countries in ASEAN.
The UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection
and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions (2005) affirms that cultural diversity
forms a common heritage of humanity that should
be cherished and preserved for the benefit of all. It
creates a rich and varied world which opens the rangeof choices and nurtures human capacity and values,
and is the mainspring for cultural development forpeople and nations.

As a graduate of the National University of Singapore (NUS)
and the Singapore National Institute of Education, Ms. Wee
has wide-ranging experience working as an educator andcurator at the Singapore Art Museum where she served as
Assistant Director. She conceptualized and developed key
programs for the museum, taking charge of the curation ofIndian Art. She was also curator at Baba House, a housemuseum of NUS Museum for conserving and appreciating
Peranakan culture. In February 2009, she was appointed thefirst director for the Preservation of Monuments and Sitesof the National Heritage Board, playing a major role in theinscription of the Singapore Botanic Gardens to the UNESCOWorld Heritage site in 2015 as Singaporeʼs first World
Heritage. She is deeply engaged in raising awareness of thehistory of preserved national monuments, writing extensively
on this topic.

Fig. 1 The historic part of Singapore (foreground)39
Celebrating Diversity: Forging Partnerships

When one sees an image of Singapore like Fig. 1,
the area with the Esplanade theatre and Marina Bay
hotels in the upper side is a large mass of reclaimed
land. The adjacent area with the red-roofed buildings
is a conserved area where the more historic part ofSingapore is. Our latest monument, the Fullerton
Hotel (on the right), can be seen as well as the Asian
Civilizations Museum, another national monument(on the left).
We quote the words of our late Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew who passed away earlier this year:“…provided you understand and ensure that thefoundation is strong. Crucial is interracial, interreligious harmony. Without that, quarrelling with one

Session 1

another, we are doomed.”
We are diverse and have a very stable ethnic mix.
The Chinese form the majority at 74.1%, the Malays
13%, Indians 9.2%, and others. Our population is
growing and currently stands at about 5.8 million.
With regards to religion, 33% are Buddhists and anincreasing number are Christians - with a high number of tertiary educated Singaporeans considering
themselves Christian. As a result, many do not subscribe to some of the more traditional religions thatthey may have grown up with or which their families
commit to.
Today, we have gazetted 72 national monuments,

40
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Asian Civiliza+ons Musem

Victoria Theater

Fig. 2 View of the Singapore River

which reflect this diversity as well as the various
phases of our history. These include British colonial
rule, years of war and occupation, nation building,centers of worship, social bonding, and urban redevelopment, which was very active in the 1980s.
We have also a statutory of law in place, where thePreservation of Sites and Monuments is to advise thegovernment on built heritage and site preservation.
As shown in old pictures, the Singapore River
had been the hotbed of all our economic activity
historically (Fig. 2). Old cargo boats were used tobring in shipped goods from the bigger boats. One
can also see the Asian Civilizations Museum which
I mentioned earlier, and the newly restored Victoria
Theater.
Preserving diverse architectural heritage involves
documentation of early communities, practices, aswell as historical architectural development, especially when they are not preserved, in order to foster
understanding and appreciation of our cultural diversity. The reason why we preserve these structures
is linked to place making, it reinforces a sense ofnational identity while appreciating the composition
that makes up Singapore today. This is very much partof the general policy of racial harmony in Singapore
where even our national holidays are shared equally
amongst all the ethnic groups. We also have a national language policy where English is the main
form of communication and instruction in schools,
but in respect for various ethnic backgrounds, students have a choice of studying either their mothertongue or another language that they can choose if
they can show some connection to it.
As mentioned, this is all set within the context ofa wide range of government policies to encourage
racial cohesion and social integration. Part of it is also
to promote tolerance as well as to understand that
the Singapore that we have today, is the result of thecontributions of many generations of the Armenians,
the Jews, and the Malays – including the regional
diaspora and Chinese etc. that settled in Singapore.
This is important in the preservation of Singapore’s
history and to understand that our pioneers comefrom various backgrounds.

Fig. 3 Sri Mariamman temple

As an example, we have Sri Mariamman temple
which is a Hindu temple, but this was actually built,

Session 1

Fig. 4 The Sultan Mosque

41

Fig. 6 The National Gallery

The Sultan Mosque, which is built in the Malay
enclave in Kampung Glam, was built by an Irishborn architect. Diversity can be seen in the architecture because it is clearly not only Muslim (Fig. 4). It
is actually Indo -Saracenic with golden domes. This
style is a blend of gothic, Indian and Islamic styles.
One may see a dark base at the bottom of the dome.
These are green bottles that had been donated by
the poor who did not have the funds, but who stillwanted to contribute to the establishment of thecommunity mosque.

The National Gallery is yet another special place(Fig. 6). It is composed of two buildings: the City
Hall, which was formerly the offices of the municipal
government set up by the British in 1929, and theSupreme Court which was built in 1939. As it wason the very steps of the City Hall that Singapore declared its independence from British rule, the Gallery
is a historically important building adapted for modern use.

The Yueh Hai Ching temple, which won a
UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage
Conservation, is a very unique temple because it celebrates Taoism on certain days and Buddhism onother days. The rooftop is also very unique because
it is decorated by three-dimensional compositions ofcharacters from some of the great classics in Chinese
literature (Fig. 5).

Singapore had her inaugural UNESCO World
Heritage site inscribed in June earlier this year, – theSingapore Botanic Gardens (Fig. 7). This is a sitethat remembers some of the important research thattook place when Singapore was just a fledgling economy. For instance rubber, which is not indigenous toSoutheast Asia, was researched here with seedlingthat came from Brazil, through Kew Garden. The

Celebrating Diversity: Forging Partnerships

by a Chinese businessman for his Indian workers(Fig. 3). It is located in Chinatown, and the sign put
up by the Hindu temple, wishes the Chinese community a ‘Happy Lunar New Year’. On this street,an annual light up marks the celebration for Chinese
New Year in Singapore.
Another temple, Sri Thendayuthapani, which wasestablished by the Chettiars – remembered for themoney-lending banking services in early Singapore.
The Chettiars provided loans for business start-ups
and charged interest to their clients. They are remembered for establishing this facility that enabledbusiness development.

Fig. 5 The Yueh Hai Ching temple

Session 1

researched seeds at Singapore Botanic Gardens werethen sent to Malaysia for plantation owners to plant.
This met with resounding success, transforming thelandscape of Southeast Asia completely and reshaping the rubber economy in Southeast Asia.
Harnessing local culture is also a step towards racial cohesion. If we look at local, regional, and international levels, there are many opportunities for us todo that. We have literary arts, linguistic expressions,visual arts, performing arts, and some of these things
can be championed by some of our local sectors likethe National Arts Council, the National Heritage

42
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 7 The Singapore Botanic Gardens

Board, the Library Board, as well as the National
Archives.
This goes towards building a sense of community
where we appreciate each other’s heritage, celebrate
each other’s festivals, are mindful of each other’s
racial and religious taboos, and acknowledge thisdiversity that enriches us.
For example, we have the Malays integrating with
the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in a cultural extravaganza (Fig. 8).
The physical manifestations are the buildings that
we preserve and we identify as national monuments
in Singapore.
We also notice how many people overseas (theWesterners) are also learning new cultures: theAmericans are now learning to speak mandarin effectively. And many have also learnt Japanese – going
beyond language into its culture. With these efforts
to appreciate cultures, I feel it goes some way towards
understanding diplomatic relations as well.
With the foreign population which comprises
one third of the labor force in Singapore, we celebrate diversity even if it comes from foreign shores.
We have a legacy of missions, schools, festivals, andheritage buildings. Our early Christian schools, forexample, were established by the French missionaries
and the Portuguese missionaries who not only set
up Christian missions, but also schools where one
could learn more about the religion. How are these
historical events commemorated? We do it with collaborative programming and we work with various
embassies and various foreign establishments as well.
We recognize culture as soft power, somethingthat we celebrate at every opportunity. A study by the
British Council in 2012 shows how global communication is very important, and UNESCO declaresas part of its 70th anniversary “culture as a force for
dialogue, social cohesion, economic growth, and creativity”. We must not underestimate how it is a very
important driver for tourism in the development of
the sector. It is also something that I think should beon our national agenda as well.

Fig. 8 Cross-cultural extravaganza in celebration of Singapore’s Jubilee

Our motivations could be about mutuality, friendship, cooperation, relationship, building trust, tourism
and trade, but I believe it also creates a great deal ofhappiness amongst us, sharing to appreciate and unify

Session 1

Fig. 9 Singaporean shadow puppets, Vietnamese water puppets, Chinese shadow puppets

43

Batad (Philippines)

Longshen (China)(Image by Anna Frodeseak)Ubud (Indonesia)
Fig. 11 Rice terraces in Asian countries

Sapa (Vietnam)

Celebrating Diversity: Forging Partnerships

Fig. 10 Preanakan jewelry, found in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore

Hamanoura ( Japan)

Session 1

ASEAN+3; knowing and understanding where weare in relation to the region ASEAN+3 we see how
we are different, yet we are similar (Fig. 9, 10, 11).
Our key platforms could be the ASEAN+3
Cultural Cooperation Network (APTCCN). The
APTCCN is also something that had many cooperation platforms. This is how we can actually work44

towards establishing many areas of cultural coordination and cooperation. These are just some ideas that I
think we might want to consider as we develop more
platforms to actually find ways to collaborate in architectural preservation, restoration as well as visualand performing arts. Thank you very much.

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

[Moderator]

Koji Miyazaki

Professor, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures ofAsia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies ( Japan)[Speakers]

Viengkeo Souksavatdy, Khalid Bin Syed Ali,
Milan Ted D. Torralba, Jean Mei-Yin Wee

Session 1

Discussion

Miyazaki I would like to use the time we have left
to ask our panelists to share questions or opinions
they have for each other. As Prof. Ishizawa said in his
opening words, the sharing of knowledge is vital for
ASEAN and ASEAN+3. If anyone has something
they would like to share, please do so.

Miyazaki Ms. Wee’s question seems to me that it
was a question to others as well. When sustaining
culture, especially intangible culture, education plays
a highly important role. However, at the same time,making the culture appeal to the younger generation, and to have them choose to preserve it on theirown is also a cardinal point. How about the otherpanelists?

45
Discussion

Wee I just wanted to pick up
on a point that was made earlier
by one of my colleagues here
about how the preservation ofheritage and the disseminationof it seems or is perceived tobe the government’s role. Quite
often we see acts of law develop,
and actual legislation put in place to reinforce theseacts as well. My question, and one of my challenges
at work, is how we can encourage everybody to actually participate in it so that it is part of a living
heritage that is still practiced and utilized. When I
first arrived in Japan yesterday, I could not help but
appreciate the fact that I saw many women wearing
traditional kimonos. They all seemed to be talking
among themselves and partaking of tea, which I assume must be green tea and traditional cakes. Even
when I go to Myanmar I still see many people wearing longyi, but if you come to Singapore, you wonder
what the national dress is because most of the time
we simply wear shorts and T-shirts and slippers. We
are very informal in culture, while we like to retain
traditional practices. How can we ensure that it issustained by just the common people? One could saythat the government is a key stakeholder because it
may have political motivations to do just that. How
much, then, can their efforts actually be supported
by people? This is because, at the end of the day,heritage has to be owned by the community. It has
to be owned by you and me for it to have long term
sustainability.

Session 1

46
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Torralba In the Philippines,
while the government does notreally initiate the projects or the
programs for heritage conservation for the safeguarding of
the intangible cultural heritage,
it helps by using the resources it
has. When we want to perpetuate and promote culture and heritage in a particularplace or in an ethnolinguistic group, what is very important is that the people do their own culture, theirown heritage. However, they need to be assisted indoing so.
The assistance is provided by the government,
since, as I mentioned, the government has the resources for doing so. For instance, in the case of
the churches that were damaged by the earthquake,on our own we cannot restore the 20 to 25 declared
heritage churches because we simply do not havethe wherewithal to bring them back to their paststate. However, the people would want to see thesechurches restored as if the earthquake did not occur.
It is here that the government comes in. When acultural property is declared and is recognized by
the government, the government by virtue of ourconstitution is mandated to assist by way of technical knowhow or by way of monetary compensation
because, as I mentioned, they have the resources fordoing so. What is important in the Philippines isthat we are very particular of the culture and the heritage that we have, only that we need assistance to beable to promote and perpetuate what rightly belongs
to the culture of the people.
Ali
I agree. Whatever the promotions are forheritage sustainability, it always seems to be the dutyof the government in every country. It is being
institutionalized, but what efforts are being takenby the NGOs and the communities? Those efforts,such as education on the importance of heritage,
are actually the most important, because it is only
then that the people can realize their importanceand identify with them. We have a mixed culture
like Singapore and some parts of the Philippines. We
can understand each other, but how do we value ourown heritage? The Government only tries to legally
protect heritage by designating and registering themso that the future generation will not forget about
what it possesses. But the question is how to promote

and actively create the substance of heritage in thecommunities.
With the 2003 convention on Intangible cultural
heritage, it is increasingly important that communities play a large role in promoting heritage in the listing process. This is because, at the international level,
each heritage is defined clearly with a community.
One more challenge that I think that we are facingis that communities want financial aid for protecting
heritage. Without that, perhaps they will not be motivated to do so. Therefore, again, I think knowledge
is a very important base.
Souksavatdy While we areon the topic of the preservationof Intangible cultural heritage,
I would like to share the Lao
women dress called the sinh, a
type of skirt. In the past a lotof Lao women wore this traditional dress, and even today
you can easily identify Lao girls everywhere with thesinh. However, in the present day, we can observe
the adverse effect that the modern phenomena of theopen market has on them. The modern sinhs on themarket are machine-made and very cheap. Handwoven sinhs may take one month for one piece, andmaybe costs about $30 to $50, but the modern product costs about $5. While there is some replicationof traditional motifs, in the long run, the modern
technique will harm traditional skill, I think. Thisis because some of the young women choose thenew product as it is cheaper, which will, over time,
harm the transfer of knowledge. I think this matter
could also be discussed and exchanged with all ourcolleagues.
Miyazaki I believe we have heard how legal protection on its own is not enough in the preservationand the utilization of heritage. Furthermore, we all
seemed to agree on the importance of fostering autonomous protection among the people, and encouraging it where it already exists.
I would like to point out that in the discussionof intangible cultural heritage, language is not often
talked about. For instance, in the presentation by
the Philippines, ethnolinguistic groups were touched
upon, but I felt that their preservation is not necessarily just about autonomy, and much effort is neededSession 1

to accomplish it.
When that effort is measured by monetary value, I
feel there is a tendency to lose the will to preserve it.
I would like to hear opinions on the subject.

Wee I think you were also interested in language.
I had mentioned how preservation is very much tied
to the policy of racial appreciation. In Singapore,
we have a language council that looks into the promotion of the key languages in Singapore. As I
mentioned, everybody studies in English, but we also
speak another language. Because I am ethnically
Chinese, my second language is Mandarin, but I do

Miyazaki Thank you. Through the four presentations we heard today, I feel we have learned thesituations in ASEAN and each country, as well as
opinions on what to share from now on.

47
Discussion

Ali For me, food is a very interesting subject. It is a universal subject, because God
created us with a stomach andtongue, so we need to taste andfill our stomachs. But today weare quite choosy about food.
Whatever is delicious, no matter how high in cholesterol it is, will attract people
who appreciate the taste of the food. However, what
is behind the food? What is the philosophy behind the food? The anthropological approach of foodtells you about your own history, the people’s history,
and the beauty of actually creating the food in suchway. In Malaysia we have a multiracial, multiethnic,
multi-religious population, so the most important
issue is whether food is halal, which food can betaken by Muslims, or not.
If you visit Malaysia, all the hotels can provide youwith halal food, meaning that this will be attractive
to those tourists from the Middle East, from outside
the Malaysia. They do not have to worry about dining at the restaurant because it is halal. In terms oftaste, Japanese food and Korean food are very popular, but do they tolerate the culture of others? When
promoting cuisines, I think consideration of culture,such as the obstacle of the religion has to be considered so that everybody will taste the food, and let the
food be the universal heritage of the people.

not use it at home, I have actually forgotten a lot ofthe vocabulary.
Learning languages is very difficult, but, touching
upon something that my Malaysian colleague has
mentioned, I think it stems from an innate sensethat you want to try something. If you were insular,
I think you would always be a little xenophobic andthink that only your culture exists, so you never actually venture to try something. But if you take timeand actually have an open attitude to learn anotherlanguage – and there are many ways to learn that language, such as through food. My Italian, for example,
has improved because I have been studying menus at
Italian restaurants. It is limited, but I also know a bitof Italian from studying piano, for example. In conclusion, it depends on how much you want to extend
yourself to actually appreciate another culture.
I just wanted to share on a personal note that I ate
my first sushi when I was nearly 30 years old because
I disliked fish and I could not imagine eating raw fish
as well, so it took me a lot of my initial dislike for it.
But when I was in New York with my sister, she said,“Look, I can only afford to buy you three pieces ofsushi because in this restaurant it is very expensive.
It is $20 for three small pieces of sushi, so if you do
not eat it, there will be no food for you today.” I had
to eat it, and after I ate it I thought, “Good grief. I
have been missing out all this time.” So it actuallychanged my whole life – and now it is one of myfavorite things to eat. If I had not taken that step, I
think I might still be missing out on something, so
ask yourself if that is also a situation that you face.
I think we all agree that the government plays arole. It has funding. It has the mechanism to reachout to people, and maybe we can look at how theplatforms to engage public in general market idea
might sell itself to some degree.

Session 2
Strengthening and Handing Down the Ties that
Help Transmit Cultural Heritage to the Future
At this session, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, which have anumber of tangible heritages such as historical buildings and archaeological sites, share
their vast experiences with international community in the safeguarding of cultural heritage. They speak how they will transmit their legacies to the future especially throughconservation and utilization showing some specific case studies.

[Moderator]

Masahiko Tomoda(Head, Conservation Design Section, Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation,
National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo)[Speakers]

Harry Widianto(Director, Directorate for Cultural Heritage Preservation and Museum,
Ministry of Education and Culture (Indonesia))

Bui Chi Hoang(Director General, Southern Institute of Social Sciences,
Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (Viet Nam))

Amara Srisuchat(Senior Advisor and Expert in Archaeology & Museum,
Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture (Thailand))

Kyaw Oo Lwin

(Director General, Department of Archaeology and National Museum,
Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture (Myanmar))Ly Vanna(Director, Department of Conservation of the Monuments in Angkor Park andPreventive Archaeology, APSARA National Authority (Cambodia))S e s sion 2

Cultural Heritage
Properties in Indonesia:
Safeguarding andCommunity-International
Cooperation
Harry Widianto

Director, Directorate for Cultural Heritage Preservation andMuseum, Ministry of Education and Culture (Indonesia)

Policies on Preservation of Cultural Heritage inIndonesia
As we already know, cultural heritage is divided
into two groups: tangible and intangible. Up to now
in Indonesia, we have more than 670 tangible cultural heritage and 170 intangible cultural heritage
registered nationally. Among them, we only havefour tangible World Cultural Heritage sites such as
Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, Sangiran
Early Man Site, and also Subak in Bali. We haveseven intangible cultural heritage inscribed on
UNESCO lists. The last one was inscribed on the
1st of December, 2015: Three Genres of Traditional
dance in Bali.
According to our law, the cultural properties are preceded over by Law Number 11 of2010 Concerning on Cultural Heritage. This Law
Number 11 was broken down into two government
regulations: Government Regulation on Cultural
Properties Preservation, and Government Regulation
on Museum Number 66 of 2015.
According to Article 1 in this Law Number 11
of 2010, it is stipulated that Cultural Property shallmean the tangible cultural heritage in the forms of
Objects, Buildings, Structures (part of the building
such as bridge), Sites, and Areas on land and/or
underwater, which should be preserved due to their
historical, scientific, educational, religious, and/or
cultural significance. There are two criteria for thedesignation; it is required to be more than 50 years
old and needs historical or scientific significance.

50
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

After studying archaeology at Gadjah Madha University,
he completed his PhD in paleoanthropology at the Institutde Paléontologie Humaine (Muséum National dʼHistoire
Naturelle), Paris, France in 1993. He served as directors
at various research institutions in archaeological andanthropological stydu, until obtaining his current position in
2013. He is also a researcher at the Ministry of Education
and Culture, and a temporary professor at Gadjah Mada
University. He specializes in paleoanthropology of the Javaislands, especially in their human evolution.

The Directorate of Cultural Property Preservationand Museum implements the preservation of cultural property in accordance with the mandate of
Law Number 11 of 2010. In the law, it is describedthat “preservation shall mean the dynamic efforts tomaintain the existence of cultural property and its
values by protection, development, and utilization”(Fig. 1).
When we unearth cultural heritage, it is very rarely
intact – most often, it is damaged in some way. It isvery important that we first protect the object: we
preserve it so that it is not damaged further. For instance, if we have an artifact that has only 40% of its
original parts left, we must take care to keep that 40%
and not lose any of the physical information that it
holds. If it is preserved, eventually we can restoreS e s sion 2

SCOPE of Cultural Property Preservation in Indonesia

1. PROTECTION

2. DEVELOPMENT

3. UTILIZATION

Undertaken by:

Undertaken by:For:• salvation• safeguarding• zoning• maintenance• restoration• reasearch• revitalization• adaptation• education dan
technology• religion• economy• tourism• etc

National Registration• Registration• Stipulation

Preservation• Protection• Development• Utilization

ON LAND

UNDER
WATER

Fig. 1 Scope of Cultural Property Preservation in Indonesia (1)Fig. 2 Scope of Cultural Property Preservation in Indonesia (2)it. After that, through development and research, it
is possible to increase the information we can readfrom it. Finally, the object, once it is preserved andresearched, should be utilized by the community,
through education, tourism and religious activities.

interesting for the scientists but not for the people.
One of the effective ways to attract people is to makea museum to hold the information from the site andpresent it to the community.

Heritage education for the future generations is
one of our main focuses. At every site, every area ofcultural heritage that has a national potency to add to
our knowledge of human life in the past, we make a
museum because museums transfer the informationfrom the site to the community, to the people. The
existence of the museum on the site is very importantbecause it makes the site attractive for the community. For example, the Sangiran Early Man Site, now
inscribed as a World Heritage site, is, by itself, only

For this site, a Master Plan and Detail Engineering
Design are prepared by technical team of Directorate
General of Culture with support by the local government, stakeholders, and local communities. It is very
important that we involve the communities in thisprocess. They must get the benefit from the construction of the new museum.
An MoU for the management of Sangiran was
signed by the central government, provincial government, and regional government. The tasks of eachgovernment are divided as follows:• Central Government: building construction andfacilities, interior and furniture, public museum,and human resources.
• Provincial Government: promotion and community empowerment.
• Regional Government (regency): provision of51
Cultural Heritage Properties in Indonesia: Safeguarding and Community-International Cooperation

As shown in Fig. 2, the scope of our culturalproperty preservation covers material from land or
underwater, and it is divided into two grids: national
registration and the preservation.
Once an object is found, the regency registers itin the national online system. In Indonesia, we have
550 regencies.
After the object is registered at national level, we
transfer the object to the cultural heritage expert
team in respective regencies. The team will examine the object using the criteria of cultural heritage,
which is (1) more than 50 years in age and (2) has asignificant value in terms of history, science, religion,or culture. If the object fits well with the criteria of
the cultural heritage, the team will make an inscription into the national cultural heritage.
After the object is registered as national cultural
heritage, it will be preserved in accordance with thescope of cultural property preservation as shown in
Fig. 2.

Sangiran Early Man Site: the Homeland of JavaMan
Now I will speak about the Sangiran Early Man
Site as a case of cooperation in the international
community.
This is a site from the early man which dates
back to more than two million years ago in the areaof 56 square kilometers (Fig. 3). This site is very
informative about evolutions of human (Fig. 4), environment (Fig. 5), culture (Fig. 6), and also fauna(Fig. 7). However, there are only a few people – mostscientists – visiting the site, so we decided to build an
on-site museum.

S e s sion 2
Kab. Sragen

Kab. Karanganyar

Fig. 3 Location of the Sangiran Early Man Site

FOR HUMAN EVOLUTION
Goes to 1.5 mya
NOTOPUO
Formation

Progressive Homoerectus0.2 – 0.1 mya

0.25 mya

52

KABUH
Formation

Typical Homoerectus

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

0.73 – 0.3 mya
0.73 mya
GRENZBANK
0.9 mya

Archaic Homo

PUCANGAN
Formation

erectus

1.5 – 0.9 mya
1.8 mya© Senckenberg & Semenanjung (pour HOPsea)

Fig. 4 Evolutions of human

FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EVOLUTION
Goes to 2.4 mya

Continental
Environment

Swamp
Environment

MarineEnvironment
2.4

Fig. 5 Evolutions of environmentS e s sion 2

land, and also infrastructure development.
Also, the site is protected by the following laws:• Declared as a protected archaeological reserve
by National Decree number 070/1977• Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List in
1996• Declared as heritage site by the National Decreenumber 5/1992, revised to number 11/2010• Declared as National Vital Object in 2008 by
Minister Decree

We began to construct the museum with different
themes of presentations and all kinds of facilities including the library (Fig. 8).
Within the framework of UNESCO, there areinternational cooperation activities with the twinning site Zhoukoudian in China (Fig. 9). Also, with
the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, andthe National Museum in the Philippines, we implemented a project for managing prehistoric heritage
in Southeast Asia, which was sponsored by UNI

Goes to 1.2 mya

mya

RecentNOTOPURO
Formation

Goes to 1.8 mya
NOTOPUO
Formation

0.25 mya

KABUH
Formation
KABUH
Formation

PUCANGAN
Formation

0.73 mya
GRENZBANK
0.9 mya

KALIBENG
Formation

PUCANGAN
Formation

1.8 myaFig. 8 Sangiran Museum

Fig. 7 Evolutions of fauna

53
Cultural Heritage Properties in Indonesia: Safeguarding and Community-International Cooperation

Fig. 6 Evolutions of cultureS e s sion 2
Fig. 9 International cooperation with the Twinning Site Zhoukoudian in China

SANGIRAN meeting
February 5-7, 2013

54
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

TV report, Quezon meeting, July 2012

Tabon cave visit
Fig. 10 International project for managing prehistoric heritage in Southeast Asia

Europa (Fig. 10). Sangiran is also one of the sites
for field studies in the Erasmus Mundus intensive
program, and other international field schools andseminars.
In 2017, the Center of Human Evolution,

Adaptation and Dispersal in Southeast Asia is to belaunched during the UNESCO’s General Conference.
Once this project is accepted by UNESCO, we will
begin our research with all countries in Southeast
Asia. Thank you very much.

Bui Chi Hoang

Director General, Southern Institute of Social Sciences,
Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (Viet Nam)

S e s sion 2

Po Dam Tower Temple
Architecture:
Archaeological Studies
and Conservation of Relic
Value

In the South Central region of Viet Nam (NinhThuan and Binh Thuan provinces), there are many ancient Champa structures such as Po Klong Garai, Hoa
Lai, and Po Dam at which are currently being conserved, restored, preserved, and studied (Fig. 1). Thesesites were originally researched by H. Parmentier in1909 (Fig. 2), and were further excavated in 2013
and 2014 by the Center for Archaeological Studies,Southern Institute of Social Sciences in collaboration
with Binh Thuan Provincial Museum.

1. Po Dam temple site
1.1. Architectural remains
The Po Dam site consists of six archaeological

55

Drawings of H. Parmentier (1909)

Northwest
Northeast

French scholar surveyed and published drawings of
Po Dam
6 architectures recognizedSince his graduation in 1979 from the University in Ho Chi Minh
City in Archaeology, Dr. Hoang has been working continuously
at the Center for Archaeological Studies, Southern Instituteof Social Sciences. Based on his knowledge and experience
gained during this research, he completed his Ph.D in 1994 in
the study of late-bronze to early-iron period in the East Nam
Bo at the Institute of Social Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City. His
specializes in the prehistory and proto-history of Archaeology
in Southern and Central Viet Nam, including the transition
from prehistory to proto-history, the immigration of ancientpeople from the highland to the lowland in Nam Bo and theestablishment of ancient nations in the region.

Most of them face to the South, only one face tothe East

CentralCollapsed

South
Southwest
Southeast

Fig. 2 Research of Henri Parmentier

Po Dam Tower Temple Architecture: Archaeological Studies and Conservation of Relic Value

Fig. 1 Map of Viet Nam

S e s sion 2

structures, which H. Parmentier named Northeast,
Northwest, Central, South, Southeast and Southwest
towers. Recent excavations have revealed the initiallevel of tower area, showing that there were manybuildings associated with these towers.

* Northwest structure (Fig. 3)
The building has a square plan (3.54 m x 3.55 m),with doors opening to the south. Part of the structural foundation was removed in the early 21st century when the eastern wall of the building was fully
destroyed.

56
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 3 Northwest and Northeast architectures exposed

Fig. 4 The stair way (East toward from the South Tower)

Extension

Mandapa(N-S direction)

GopuraExtension

Mandapa(E-W direction)

Fig. 5 Gopura and Mandapa

The whole structure is surrounded by a large wallwith side lengths of 9 m to 11 m. A set of stairs leads
directly to the center of structure from the east side.
The outside of the walls are made by repeated foundation steps with evenly spaced decorative columns.
The floor is textured by layers of clay, and the southern side is expanded using reused bricks. We foundcolumns of various stages along with roof tiles, indicating that the roof had been changed multiple times.
Furthermore, to the north of the Northwest structure, we newly discovered a small square building (4x 4 m) whose walls still retain four layers of bricks.

* Northeast structure (Fig. 3)
The Northeast structure is built on an earth basereinforced in later stages upon construction of theNorthwest architecture. This structure has similarfeatures with the Northwest structure, and half of theeastern part and most of northern side and northeast corner of the enclosing wall has broken down,with wall edges in the west half and floor. Based on
structural characteristics and size, the damaged section of the enclosing walls was restored using bricks
and stones collected from the collapse of the initialstructure.
*Stairs of Po Dam architecture (Fig. 4)
The staircase of the tower is about 13 m in length,
about 3.5 m to 4.0 m in width, and about 7 m inheight. Both sides of the stairs are built with barriersof two fortified brick walls. Barriers on the two uppersides of the stairs have been destroyed and replacedby two walls of rock embankment. The rocks are of
relatively uniform size, and are very secure. As thisstaircase connects with eastern side of South tower of
Po Dam site, it shows the important position of tower
in the overall system of architecture at Po Dam site.
* Gopura (gate tower) (Fig. 5)
Gopura is a gate tower located to the south of thesouthern group of structures, and north of Mandapa(long house). It has a square, coaxial plan with a door
directly opposite Mandapa. It is built on the bedrock
foundation of mountain slope, and is 4.5 m x 4.4 m.
We identified two constructural stages. In the initial stage Gopura was a square shaped building, withan entrance to the south; in the later stage it was
expanded to the east and west which is identified asa Mandapa, or a long house to the east - west axis

S e s sion 2

Mandapa (North – South direction)

Two phase of construction:(1) First phase: North – South direction(2) Second phase: East – West direction

North

FloorsExtended Architecture(Later phase)

Original Architecture(Thinner bricks)

Fig. 6 Two phases of construction

Fig. 7 Mandapa (North – South direction)

57
631 Śaka (710 AD)

Fig. 8 Stele

whose corners were decorated with fake columns(Fig. 6). The Gopura was built with the method ofmounding bases and corner ended.

* Mandapa (long house) (Fig. 5, 7)This structure is located immediately south of
Gopura, at the southern end of the site. Mandapa
extends north - south, on a building terrain that has
been extended by chiseling part of the mountainslope and evened by layers of bricks. It is an open
structure of 16.2 m x 7.8 m, with walls as much as
16 layers thick. It has two doors, one each on thenorthern and southern walls. The symmetrical axis
through these two doors aligns with the entrance hallof central tower.
2.2. Archaeological artifacts* Stone artifacts
A yoni was unearthed in the group of northernarchitectures of the site. It was broken into pieces,
and appears to be one of the two yoni artifacts mentioned by H. Parmentier. There was also a mashingtable (pesani - rasun batau) of very different shapecompared to those often found in Champa sites.

* Stele (Fig. 8)
We discovered a stone with a Cham inscription
which dated the construction of Po Dam site to 710
CE.
* Metal artifacts (Fig. 9)
The collection of metal artifacts includes items
used in religious activities made from many different
materials such as gold, brass and iron. We discovereda Linga with an open cut bottom in order to mounton a yellow pedestal (yoni) beneath. Other finds include bells, cymbals, tambourines, a bronze mirror,
rings, and an iron axe and spear.

Po Dam Tower Temple Architecture: Archaeological Studies and Conservation of Relic Value

Translated by Arlo Griﬃths

S e s sion 2* Pottery (Fig. 10)
Pottery finds include a large number of roof tiles
and shoe cap shaped tiles. The roof tiles are thosecommon to the Champa Culture. Ceramic artifacts
are found in small quantity, but are very diverse in
type, materials and origin. Preliminary analysis initially shows that the ceramic artifacts include items
such as vases, pots, bowls, earthenware plates, plain
terracotta, glazed terracotta, and porcelain. The ceramic, terracotta, porcelain are of various dates andare from ancient Champa, China, and Viet Nam.

58

3. Hoa Lai site and Po Dam site - new issues
3.1. Architectural planning
The Po Dam site is divided into two groups – agroup of Southeast and Southwest towers in front
and South tower in the back; and a group of one large
Central tower in front and two small Northeast andNorthwest towers in the back.
Our excavation discovered that at Po Dam, theeast gate of site is directly connected with other architecture by steps onto the tower area. This trait
is shared by other Champa structures along central
Viet Nam, as they also consist of a gate tower, longhouse, altar and a system of paths connecting architectural sections together into a religious center.
Analysis of materials (bricks and tiles) along withconstruction techniques identified two phases of development: an early stage with architectures constructed on the north - south axis (with Northeast,
Northwest, Central, Southeast, Southwest structures,
Gopura, and the first stage of Mandapa), later stage
is planned to east - west axis (south tower, the second
stage of Mandapa) (Fig. 11).

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

3.2. Dating of the site
P. Stern dates Po Dam and Hoa Lai to the end of
the 8th century to first half of the 9th century based on
the Hoa Lai art style. Our excavation enabled a more
specific dating of these two sites. First, an inscribedstele discovered at Hoa Lai site in 2006 dated Hoa
Lai to 778CE and 838CE. The epigraph which was
unearthed at Po Dam site in 2014 dated the site to710CE (Fig. 8). Not only clarifying the age, but also
uncovering the complete appearance, size, generaland specific characteristics of site made us aware of
the value of these relic sites. These archaeologicalstudies will be fully disclosed in scientific works inthe future. However, the overall type of site is in needof further study and must be compared with othersites in the South and Central Highland region thathave been influenced by the Indian civilization.
3.3 Conservation of Po Dam tower
The Po Dam site, located on the eastern side of thehill is very susceptible to environmental conditions.
In recent years, heavy rains caused a huge landslide,

Fig. 9 Metal artifacts

NEW DISCOVERY
Northwest

Northwest

Northeast

Northeast

Early phase: North – South direction

CentralLater phase: East – West direction
CentralSouthSouthwestSouth

StairsSoutheast

Southeast

H. ParmentierSouthwest
GopuraDATING

Philip Stern: “Hòa Lai Style” (late VIII - ﬁrst half IX century)
2006: Stele of Hòa Lai → “778 CE and 838 CE” (Arlo Griﬃths)
2014: Stele of Po Dam → 710 CE (Arlo Griﬃths)

Mandapa

Fig. 10 Pottery

Fig. 11 New discoveries by the excavations in 2013 and2014

S e s sion 2

which damaged the wall of the site. In 2014, in parallel with archaeological research, Binh Thuan ruin site
administration agency built the permanent embankment to prevent the drifting of entire site by heavy
rain (Fig. 12).
In addition to the construction of embankment,
Binh Thuan province also conducted restorationof structures such as Central tower and Southwest
tower. Remaining architecture is in dangerous condition and even the path leading to the architecture area
is severely eroded. Most of the above architecture isin urgent need of preservation, especially considering
its early dating and special historical value within thecomplex of Cham towers in South Central region.
After the Po Dam site is further investigated, conserved, and restored, it will be showcased with otherarchitectural heritage of South Central region suchas Po Naga (Khanh Hoa), Hoa Lai, Po Klaung Garai,
Po Rome (Ninh Thuan), Po Sanu (Binh Thuan) as
cultural heritage of the Champa dynasty.

Fig. 12 Embankment to prevent the drifting of the site

Fig. 13 Discussion with a local community on the protection solutions
References- Hoang, Bui Chi, Nguyen Khanh Trung Kien, Le Hoang
Phong, 2012. Report on Hoa Lai tower excavation in 2012,
Centre of Archaeology (Southern Institute of Social Studies).
- Hoang, Bui Chi, Nguyen Xuan Ly et al, 2015. Report on
excavation of Po Dam Tower (Tuy Phong District, Binh Thuan
Province), Center of Archaeology (Southern Institute ofSocial Sciences).
- Ngo, Van Doanh, 1994. Cham ancient tower, myths and facts,
Culture and Information, Hanoi.
- Ninh, Luong, 1996. “Golden Lotus and cultural exchanges
in Southeast Asia”, Archaeology Magazine No. 2/1996, pages
67-74.
- Le, Dinh Phung, 2015. Dialogue with ancient Champa civilization, Social Sciences Publisher, Hanoi.
- Parmentier, Henri, 1909. Inventaire Descriptif des Mone­ments
Cams de L’Annam, Imprimerie Nationale.
- Stern, Philippe, 1942. L’Art du Champa (Ancient Annam) et
son evolution, Les Frères Douladoure, Maitres – Imprimeurs.
- Vo, Van Thang (eds), 2014. Cham ruins in Danang and new
discoveries, Da Nang Publisher.
- Vu, Quoc Hien, Le Van Chien, Do Tran Cu, 2006. Report on
result from archaeological excavation of Hoa Lai temple, towerruin site (Ham Thuan Bac, Thuan Phong Districts, Ninh Thuan
Province - 2005), Museum of Vietnam History (Hanoi).

59
Po Dam Tower Temple Architecture: Archaeological Studies and Conservation of Relic ValueIn Viet Nam, there are many cooperative archaeological research projects with other countries such
as Japan and Australia. Most of the projects focus
on prehistoric and protohistoric sites. Conservation
and restoration are generally done by us, but some
important sites have cooperated with other countries
such as My Son Sanctuary or Thang Long Citadel.
Our conservation work is centered around developing ties between scientists from many fields of research, the Culture Management Office of provinces
and local communities. For example, some of theChampa relics in Central Viet Nam are still owned
and used by the Cham people in annual festivals,
which is considered one of the good conditions forconservation of the site.
During conservation and restoration, scientists
and local government conducted the meetings withlocal communities to discuss the history of the site
and the importance of cultural heritage they inheritedfrom their ancestors (Fig. 13). The purpose of this is
to keep their past and save it for next generations.
After discussion, Cham communities help the local
government to protect the site as they understand theimportance of conservation and restoration.

Build the revetment to protect thefoundation of architectures

S e s sion 2

Thailand’s Current
Missions and Prospect ofStrengthening Cultural
Heritage
Amara Srisuchat

Senior Advisor and Expert in Archaeology & Museum,
Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture (Thailand)

60
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Dr. Srisuchat holds her current position since 2015 as senioradvisor and expert in archaeology and museum within Thailand's
Ministry of Culture. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Srisuchat
was the first senior expert in art and antiquity, overseeing all
museums in Thailand and supervised archaeological excavations
and served as director of three major national museums. She iscredited with significantly improving the operations of regional
museums in Thailand, receiving the Prime Minister Award in2013 as the best government officer in Thailandʼs Ministry of
Culture. As a scholar, Dr. Srisuchat lectures widely, participatesin international forums, and teaches university courses inThailand and abroad. Dr. Srisuchat holds a PhD in Sanskrit and
BA in Archaeology from Silpakorn University and a certificate
in executive cultural management from Thammasat University
and conservation of cultural property from National ResearchLaboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property, India.

The Fine Arts Department (FAD) under the
Ministry of Culture of Thailand is the government’s
agency with the responsibility for safeguarding art
and cultural heritage and promoting public awareness of the importance of heritage. The strategicplans of FAD place great importance on collaboration at national, regional and international levels.
New initiatives that were made available to facilitate
the implementation of these strategies are as follows:

Strengthening Material Cultural Heritage
through Cooperation with the Custom
Department of Thailand on Combatting
against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property
The FAD has the task of protecting cultural heritage. Thus, it has jurisdiction over the import andexport of art objects and antiquities under the Act on
Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art andNational Museums.
We do not give licenses to export parts of images or incomplete images, such as Buddha images,
Hindu images, and iconic items of Christianity. Thisis because the image is a venerable item which must
be complete for worship; it must not be regarded asmerely an item for decoration or for collection. Any
ancient object or antiquity without a license of authority from the country of origin is prohibited fromentering Thailand.
Every day, the FAD’s personnel have to inspect
all objects of art or antiquities before determining
whether or not to grant a license to export or import.
From the 21st century the number of imports andexports of illegal items have continued to increase.
We realized that a slow process of manual inspection
is not enough to overcome the difficulties.
As our new initiative, current measure is aimed
to mitigate the present arduous job and to solve theproblem of scarce personnel. We are co-working witha custom house of the Department of Custom byusing a 3-D computerizing scanner detector in order
to initially identify objects (Fig. 1).
We have a second new initiative; i.e. adopting the
networking ‘National Single Window (NSW)’ system of exchanging data of objects of art and antiquity
that are going to be imported into or exported out of
the country (Fig. 2). Right now, the system is going
to be developed into the ‘ASEAN Single Window(ASW)’ system for exchanging data among ASEAN
countries on the issue.

S e s sion 2

Fig. 2 National Single Window (NSW) System

Basically, the NSW is an electronic system tofacilitate trade by enabling secured, safe and efficient electronic exchange of trade-related documents
through a single point of entry in order to expedite
the smooth flow of information of goods either forimport, export or transit. As previously mentioned,
FAD is a responsible unit that controls the import/
export of objects of art and antiquities; it is also alicensing agency of the national single window.
As a member of ASEAN, Thailand has made anagreement to establish and implement the ASW by
the ASEAN Economic Ministers, cosigned at Kuala
Lumpur. Six countries are permitted to have the national single window and are preparing for the ASW
in the near future.
By this system, there will be a decrease in paperwork; information of an object would be accessed
online. Hence, details that would be required for alicense of import or export into or out of the country,
including a photo of each object, would be sent andseen on a computer in advance.
The information would be accessed, shared andcross-checked by the organization of the ASEAN
members who are responsible in the same task; they
could see, on their screens, whether the import-export object is their own national property with a legal
or illegal license. Requesting the return of the object
through the ASW system is possible and promoted.
The NSW and ASW systems would be a way toprevent the illicit import and export of cultural objects into and out of a country. The challenge using IT
for strengthening safeguarding of heritage is that it isnecessary to carry out a co-working by the ASEAN
unit of authority of this field as the common format
of exchanging data online in the near future.

In future, the ASW will be designed to connect
with any Single Window of countries outside theASEAN region. It will be one of preventive measuresthat will be taken against illicit trafficking of global
cultural property as a whole.

Handing Down the Ties by Reaching a Bilateral
Agreement about Strengthening Utility of
Cultural Heritage
For reciprocal safeguarding and restitution ofcultural property, we have bilateral agreements cosigned by Thailand-Cambodia and Thailand-Peru.
Ideal Conception is that not only our national
heritage would be protected, but cultural heritageof other countries should be protected as well, for itis the source of the knowledge of humankind thatmakes people proud of humanity’s dignity and value,
reduces discrimination of races and nations, and uplifts our minds.
In 1997, a number of stone sculptures that were illegally imported to Thailand by truck from the ThaiCambodian border to Sakaeo Province of Thailand
were seized by Thai authorities. One of them wasa part of a relief that was found from the Banteay
Chamar, an ancient temple of Cambodia.
Banteay Chamar’s relief was sent back to Cambodia
and exhibited at the National Museum, Phnom
Penh. This is a representation of cultural linkage andcompanionship of Cambodia and Thailand, as wellas co-working on fighting against illicit trafficking of
cultural heritage. Afterwards, a bilateral agreement,
co-signed by Thailand and Cambodia on protection
and restitution of cultural property of both countries,
has been followed up (Fig. 3).
These cultural objects are displayed in museums

61
Thailandʼs Current Missions and Prospect of Strengthening Cultural Heritage

Fig. 1 An art object inside a container through a spot of
inspection with the 3-D scanner-detector

S e s sion 2of their homeland as a means of encouraging audiences to become aware of the importance of cultural
heritage and they would be made aware of the typeof threat to cultural properties (Fig. 4). This incident
may inspire those who will help to protect heritagefor younger generations in the future.

Reaching a Bilateral Agreement about
Strengthening Utility of Cultural Heritage
FAD has signed the collaborative research & reciprocal promotion with bilateral agreements with
National Research Institute for Cultural Properties,
Tokyo (NRICPT) ( Japan), Kyushu National
Museum ( Japan), Asian Civilizations Museum(Singapore), the Metropolitan Museum (MET)(USA), World Monuments Fund (WMF) (USA),and Department of Heritage (Lao PDR).
With Japan, the co-research activities between
FAD and NRICPT, at the Ancient site of Sukhothai,and Ayutthaya were conducted (Fig. 5). We also haveco-research activities for conservation and exhibition
between FAD and agencies of promoting cultural
heritage of Japan: Kyushu National Museum, Tokyo
National Museum and Sumitomo Foundation. The
result of the co-research and exhibition is publishedin three languages: Japanese, Thai and English (Fig.
6). The project of exhibition of the conserved wooden
carving of door-panel, the artwork of His Majesty
King Rama II of Thailand, in Japan as a part of thecelebration of the 130 anniversary of Japan-Thailand
relationship in 2017, is supported by Sumitomo
Foundation (Fig. 7).
To enhance the collaborative activities between
Japan and Thailand, we need to gain more knowledgeof cultural heritage of both countries for creating an
informative exhibition for celebrating the incoming
130th anniversary of Japan-Thailand diplomatic relations and disseminate the knowledge to all visitors.
Also, we need to gain more knowledge on conservation of architecture and fragile artwork that are made62
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 3 Ceremony of restitution of the seven objects from Thailand to Cambodia
in 2009

Fig. 4 Exhibition of the restituted relief and stone sculptures in the museum of the homeland of their origin (Cambodia)

S e s sion 2of brick, stucco and wood, and share the knowledge among researchers and conservators in order toutilize the methods for better treatment of culturalproperty.
We are also co-working with Singapore: theAsian Civilizations Museum and National Galleryof Singapore. The purposes of the collaboration are
to educate Singaporeans and foreign visitors on
Thailand’s art and cultural heritage, to strengthen
relations between the two countries, and to promoteand develop co-working of personnel on cultural
heritage of the two parties.
As for the cooperation between FAD and the
MET in New York, we have organized an exhibition‘Lost Kingdoms’ to educate the USA’s local andforeign visitors about the glory of Southeast Asia
(Fig. 8). The four museum’s leaders from ASEAN:
Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and the Philippines,
were invited to be members of Global Museum
Leader Colloquium in 2014 and 2015, and then to
share experiences and to further exchange information and strengthen collaboration among the museums, regionally and globally.
Funded by the WMF, we conducted research on
the monument damaged by a severe monsoon floodand utilized the results to conserve and restore themonument in Ayutthaya, the World Heritage site.
The research’s result and information will be useful toother countries that have monument heritage madeof bricks. The co-working between FAD and WMF

63

Fig. 6 Publication of the result of
co-research in three languages

Fig. 7 Conservation project of the door-panel of Wat Suthat supported by Sumitomo Foundation

Thailandʼs Current Missions and Prospect of Strengthening Cultural Heritage

Fig. 5 Co-research activities between FAD and NRICPTS e s sion 2

was published with the US Ambassadors Fund.
There are incoming bilateral agreements between
Thailand and neighboring countries: Department
of Heritage in Lao PDR and Department ofArchaeology, National Museum and Library in
Myanmar.
With Lao PDR, we are now in the process of
preparing the MoU which includes co-research, exchange data, co-developing personnel and co-working on safeguarding both countries’ heritage.
As for Myanmar, we are now preparing to send
experts on a mission to teach museology to the newmuseum in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. A workshop program for Myanmar’s personnel in Thailand is also inprocess.

64
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Undertaking Mission side-by-side with
Regional and International Organizations on
Protection and Promotion of Utilization ofCultural Heritage
We participate in ICCROM Assembly Meetings.,
and in the 2015 ICCROM Assembly Meeting, theThailand representative proposed ICCROM to establish a long-term research and training program onbrick monuments for member countries.
As for Asian National Museum Association(ANMA) which was founded by the initiatives ofChina, Korea and Japan, Thailand’s representative
proposed to be the host country of the 6th ANMA
Meeting in 2017 in Bangkok and requested to increase members of ANMA so that it would include
all national museums of Asia.

Fig. 8 Exhibition “Lost Kingdoms” at MET, New York

Public Awareness Campaign to Transmission
and Utilization of Cultural Heritage
In 2011-2015, the FAD has undertaken short andlong term-activities to strengthen community andeducate people on value of cultural heritage.
Monuments are revived as historical parks andtourist sites, which aids development and the economy. They serve not only as tourist sites, but also
educational centers for students. The active event by
utilizing tangible and intangible heritage is promoted
accordingly (Fig. 9).
The National Museum, Bangkok exhibits the masterpieces of cultural heritage emphasizing aesthetic
value and hidden meanings of the sculptures for education, and it can also become a tourist destination.
Several National Museums of Thailand are the place
for housing, protecting and learning material cultural heritage. Knowing that younger generations arefond of film and entertainment, we organized an
animated film and short-film contest of the theme of‘Museums for ALL’ (Fig. 10). We have received very
good feedback from groups of film-producers andaudiences of younger generations.
Educational activities on cultural heritage shouldbe created to strengthen individual self-confidence
and to promote the reciprocal working of participants. They must be designed to eliminate discrimination of race, nation or religion and to promote
universal value of mankind.
Cultural heritages of other countries are not ourcompetitors in a race to utilize them as tourist destinations. We should share our knowledge and bestpractices on research and management with othercountries of the same level and learn from countries

Fig. 9 Promotion event on tangible and intangible heritage at SukhothaiS e s sion 2

Fig. 10 National Museum, Bangkok

of a higher level to improve our management and aid
the better utilization of our own heritage.
Cultural heritage must provide audiences not
only with joy and happiness, but also with lessons ofhuman sufferings and how to overcome it without
fear. “When walking along this path you shall makean end of suffering. This is the way made known byme after having learnt how to remove defilements.”
This is the Buddha’s teaching.

65
Thailandʼs Current Missions and Prospect of Strengthening Cultural Heritage

References
Srisuchat, Amara. 2013. Thailand’s Preventive Measures: From
Manual Operation to National Single Window, paper presented in the UNESCO Symposium on illicit trafficking ofCultural Objects, Kathmandu, Nepal, 16-17 December 2013.
— 2013. Museum’s Educational Role: Thailand’s Museums:the Educational Centre beyond Schools. Hanoi: theVietnamese Museum of Ethnology.
— 2015. Lost Kingdom of SEA and GMLC met at the Met in
New York. Bangkok: The Silpakorn Journal Vol. 58 No. 4.
— (edited). 2015. Thailand’s Past. Bangkok: Fine Arts
Department.
Wajvisoot, Manatchaya. 2016. The Implementation of Inter­national Collaboration Projects on Ancient Monument
Conservation. The Silpakorn Journal Vol. 59 No. 1.

S e s sion 2

Safeguarding of Cultural
Heritage in Myanmar
Kyaw Oo Lwin

Director General, Department of Archaeology andNational Museum, Ministry of Religious Affairs andCulture (Myanmar)

66
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

After completing his MA degree at University of Yangon, he
attended an excavation training at Nara National ResearchInstitute for Cultural Properties, Japan in 1996. As an
excavation leader, he has worked at many ancient sites suchas Sri Ksetra Ancient city, Beikthano Ancient city, Shaw Bo
city, Pinya Ancient city, Hathawatty Ancient city, Dinnyawadi
Ancient city and Vesarli Ancient city in Rakhine State. He
has also participated in the conservation projects of Bagan,
Mrauk-U and Sriksetra. Based on his experiences, he gives
lectures at workshops and field schools internationally.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture
and the Department of Archaeology andNational Museum
Firstly, I would like to present a brief accountof the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture has
three departments and two libraries: The Depart­
ment of Fine Arts, oversees the performing arts. The
Department of the Historical Research and National
Libraries, manages the research and rating of historical monuments. It also has two national libraries.
The last department, which is where I work, is the
Department of Archaeology and National Museum,
governs the protection, preservation, and researchof tangible and intangible cultural properties ofMyanmar.
The Vision of the Department of Archaeology andNational Museum is revelation of cultural heritage
sites in Myanmar and preservation and conservationof cultural heritage sites, monuments, and culturalproperties. This means the Department pertains to
the entirety of archaeological evidence. Also, we have
two missions: the exploration, excavation and protection of our historical sites, monuments, antiquities,
and the cultural center of the Myanmar nationalities, and the preservation of tangible and intangible
cultural heritage and understand and promote thenational culture locally and abroad (Fig. 1-3). There
are at least six functions in our department as follows:• To explore and excavate historical sites.

Fig. 1 Excavation of Rakhine Ancient CityS e s sion 2

Fig. 2 Conservation work at Nanphaya Temple, Bagan

67

Fig. 3 Conservation work of mural paintings at Ananda Temple

located in Yangon and another one has just openedin 2015 at our new capital Naypyidaw. The second
type is the cultural museum. We have 18 cultural
museums in the whole country, one in each of thestates and regions. They showcase their regional heritage and culture. Finally, we have 14 archaeologicalmuseums, so there are a total of 34 museums under
the control of our department.

Preventive Measures and Legal Basis
In our country, we take preventive measuresthrough enactment of laws, return of cultural properties by dutiful citizens, seizure and handing overby security force, collection made by giving cash

Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Myanmar• To preserve and promote Myanmar culturalproperties and cultural heritage sites.
• To preserve inscriptions, ancient mural paintings, and published books.
• To establish Archaeological museums, National
museums and Cultural museums of the Stateand Division level, and to collect Myanmar
cultural heritage materials for preservation anddisplay.
• To promote Myanmar culture throughout theworld through tourism, cultural museums, andlibraries.
Our department is responsible for archaeologicalresearch, the preservation, conservation, protection
and safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural
heritage, the preparation of museum displays in regional libraries, and data collection.
The archaeological work the department has done
can be summarized as follows:• Research and excavations: primary research of
the Bronze and Iron Ages, historical sites, andexploration of the whole country (such as the
excavation of Rakhine Ancient City (Fig. 1)• Antiquities: collection and preservation, research,
excavation, and epigraphy.
• Preservation, conservation, and heritage safeguarding: structural conservation, scientific conservation, protection of 45 heritage zones, andthe upgrading archaeological or historical sites ofour heritage monuments and sites.
Finally, Museum exhibition is a top componentof our department. Under the control of our department, there are three kinds of museums: National
museums, Cultural museums and Archaeologicalmuseums. We have two National museums. One isS e s sion 2

rewards, surveillance of antiquities shops and collectors, and the testing of the authenticity of the antiquities. There are currently four laws in effect:• Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage
Regions Law (1998, amended in 2009)• Rules and Regulation of Protection and Preser­
vation of Cultural Heritage Regions Law (2011)• Protection and Preservation of Ancient Monu­
ments Law (2015, for immovable cultural heritage).
• Protection and Preservation of Antiquities Law(2015, for movable cultural heritage).

68
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 4 the Pyu Ancient Cities

Fig. 5 Mahalawkamarazein or Kuthodaw Inscription

UNESCO’s World Heritage and Memory of theWorld in Myanmar
We have already submitted the eight properties
below for World Heritage since 1996:• Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar: Innwa,
Amarapura, Sagaing, Mingun, Mandalay• Badah-lin and associated caves• Bagan Archaeological Area and Monuments• Inle Lake
• Mon cities: Bago, Hanthawaddy• Myauk-U Archaeological Area and Monuments• Pyu Cities: Beikthano-Myo, Halin, Tharay-Khit–taya (Sri Ksetra) ( Inscribed to World Heritage
List in 2014 )• Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period: Ohn
Don, Sala, Pakhangyi, Pakhannge, Legaing,
Sagu, Shwe-Kyaung (Mandalay)
Just recently, last year, the Ministry of Environ­mental Conservation and Forestry submitted sevenproperties for the World Heritage list, so the fulltentative list has 15 properties. Among them, Pyu
Ancient Cities was inscribed in UNESCO World
Heritage list in 2014, and became our first World
Heritage (Fig. 4).
We have also taken part in the Memory of theWorld Program. Among the six on the tentative
list, two were inscribed in 2013 and 2015. The former is Mahalawkamarazein or Kuthodaw Shrine,
which have 729 stone slabs on which was inscribedin 1868 the entirety of Buddhist literature (Fig. 5).
We are cooperating with the University of Sydney
to digitalize this 14.5-million-character Memory of
the World. The latter is the Myazedi or Yazakumar
Quadrilingual Stone, currently located in Bagan
Archaeological Museum. There are two stones. One
quadrilingual stone is located in another pagoda (Fig.
6). Created in 12th century AD, it is the earliest
Myanmar language document with a chronologicaldate, and is inscribed in four languages (Pyu, Mon,
Myanmar and Pali). We are now preparing to submit
Bayintnaung Bell for nomination of the Asia-Pacific
Memory of the World Regional Register in 2016
(Fig. 7).
International Cooperation Programs
We have conducted numerous international cultural cooperation programs. We preserve and promote Myanmar cultural heritage in accordance with
the international standards and promote cultural

S e s sion 2

Fig. 6 Myazedi Quadrilingual Stone Inscription

Current Situation for the Preservation ofCultural Heritage
Now, our policy of the preservation of cultural
heritage is as follows. We have some challenges notjust for present but for future:• The balance between preservation of cultural
heritage and local development. The priority ofcultural heritage preservation is difficult, as while
it is irreplaceable, urban development is also important (ex. Lat Pa Daung Taung Issue, Myitsone
Dam Issue, etc.). Control of development withincultural heritage regions is essential, and in needof survey.
• The need to redefine the boundaries of the protection area and buffer zones.
• The need for the government to legally and systematically manage and solve problems with theparticipation of stakeholders.
• Businessmen buying land which existed in cultural heritage zones and fencing it off, thereby
destroying the natural view of cultural heritage.
• Encroachment problems arising from construction, use of land for other purposes, and increased population.
• The difficulty of taking legal actions; many feelthat we should prioritize the lives of living people, not cultural heritage.
For research, conservation and management of
cultural heritage, we need to develop a management
and monitoring system for museum display and museum management, libraries, intangible cultural heritage, and expert exchange and student exchange,
world heritage nomination process, and other cultural activities. We seek international cultural
cooperation and assistance for the protection, preservation, conservation and promotion of Myanmar cultural heritage, and to promote cultural cooperation,and to build network among cultural professionals.
Myanmar is looking for cooperation and collaboration for future system with ASEAN+3 countries.
Thank you very much.

69
Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Myanmar

cooperation with international cultural organization.
We work with many international organizations, anexample being the ASI (Archaeological Survey ofIndia) in India, in the nine-year conservation projectof Ananda Temple. Another example would be the
Myanmar-French and Myanmar-Japanese primate
research programs that were launched in 1997.
We have many cultural cooperation programs withJapan, not only with the National Research Institutefor Cultural Properties but also other research institutes and universities. We have some activities done
by Korea, France, India and Australia, cultural cooperation with the United States of America, Colombia,
Singapore, Thailand, and SPAFA.
With the assistance of UNESCO, we are currently implementing the Capacity Building for
Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Myanmar program; Phase I and II are completed, and we are currently proceeding to Phase III.

Fig. 7 Bayintnaung Bell Inscriptionto be submitted in2016S e s sion 2

How to Maintain
National Identity and toStrengthen Autonomy:
Experience from Two
Decades of International
Cooperation in Angkor
Ly Vanna

Director, Department of Conservation of the Monuments in
Angkor Park and Preventive Archaeology, APSARA National
Authority (Cambodia)

After more than 20 years of international collaboration in the field of the cultural heritage preservation in Cambodia, especially in Angkor, how
could Cambodia maintain its national identity andstrengthen its autonomy in terms of technical andother financial responsibilities? More specifically,
what has Cambodia achieved, what issues have been
faced, and how have international cooperations for
cultural heritage preservation been managed, to whatlevel Cambodia has become autonomous either inconservation skills, techniques, and in financial responsibilities, and how has the national identity of
the country been maintained or promoted?
After the appeal of His Majesty the King Father
Norodom Sihanouk to UNESCO to safeguard
the Angkor monuments, the Director General of
UNESCO announced immediately to the international community to “Save Angkor”. In 1993, theFirst Intergovernmental Conference for Safeguard­
ing and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor
and Its Region was held in Tokyo. Since 1995, 24
major monuments of the 91 inscribed on UNESCOWorld Heritage list have been well preserved andrestored untill today. So far, we have 31 international
teams from 17 countries working in Angkor in orderto safeguard the temples (Fig. 1).

70
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Following the completion of his PhD in Area Studies at Sophia
University in 2003, Dr. Ly served as a Postdoctoral research
fellow at both the Kanazawa Universityʼs COE program andFar Eastern Research Center of Paris IV- Sorbonne. Serving
as Director of Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum,
APSARA Authority from 2008 until 2014, he conducted a large
variety of archaeological research, especially prehistoric shell
midden sites in the floodplain of Tonle Sap River. Since 2014
he serves as Director of the Department of Conservation of
the Monuments in Angkor Park and Preventive Archaeologyof APSARA National Authority of Cambodia. He is a memberof the National Committee for World Heritage and of thePermanent Committee for Museum Management in Siem
Reap Province. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty ofArchaeology, Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia.

Current Issues in Angkor
There are currently three challenges in Angkor:
conservation, tourism management, and community
involvement.
Conservation Issues: As I mentioned earlier,the 24 large monuments have been restored andwell-preserved, only the rest remains to be done in
the future. The only main issue is the structural instability by causes such as tree roots, water infiltration, soil subsidence, and also human activities. In
the last 10 years, with reference to the 1994 Nara
Document mentioning about authenticity, we havestarted to consider what is authenticity and values ofthe built heritage during the process of conservationand implementation.
Tourism Management Issues: Every year, thenumber of international and national visitors to the
Angkor site are increasing. In 2014, the number offoreign visitors hit nearly two million, and the local
visitors reached approximately the same number. We
found that a lot of erosion have been caused by

S e s sion 2

visitors every year, and the steps of the monuments
have become rounded because of this. In general, themonuments are built of sandstone, which is a kind of
sedimentary rock that are composed of organic materials, and it erodes very easily from friction. We also
observed that there has been a lot of improper behavior by visitors. A few months ago, the APSARA

Authority in collaboration with private sectors, created the Angkor Visitor Code of Conduct (Fig. 2).
This is a very useful instrument to instruct visitors
before coming to visit the temples.
Community Involvement Issues: Until now,around 120,000 inhabitants in 113 villages live in

71
How to Maintain National Identity and to Strengthen Autonomy: Experience from Two Decades ofInternational Cooperation in Angkor

Fig. 1 International Cooperation in Angkor

S e s sion 2

Angkor. The problem now is housing extension andland use in cultivation or other crop-related activities.
The APSARA National Authority is in charge ofconservation, preservation, and management of thearea; it has selected and/ adopted a plot of land of
about 1,000 hectares, called ‘Run Ta Ek Eco Village’,located about 30 kilometers from Angkor as a location reserved for those who voluntarily live in the
area.

72
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Management of International Cooperation forMonument Conservation
When the number of international projects forconservation and restoration increase, how should
we manage them? Each international team brings
into Angkor different techniques of conservationand preservation. They have even been using different kinds of materials. Until now, there has been
no detailed research on the consequence of the materials used in the process of intervention or conservation. Besides the current projects as shownin Fig. 3, we have Cambodian teams which havebeen performing conservation and restoration works
under my department, in charge of the built heritage
conservation.
In order to manage this large and very complicatedinternational cooperation, we established an international coordinating committee for preservation andmanagement of the all activities in Angkor, based on
one of the criteria requested by the World Heritage
Committee when we proposed Angkor complex tobe registered in 1992. This is called the International
Coordination Committee for Angkor (ICC-Angkor).
We have Japan and France serving as the co-chairs
and UNESCO as the scientific secretary. We holdconferences twice a year in order to check all the activities conducted by either national or international
teams in Angkor (Fig. 4).
In order to follow one of the criterions requestedby the World Heritage Committee, we also established a national agency competent in managing
and preserving the World Heritage sites of Angkor.
I have been working in the department called theDepartment of Conservation of the Monuments in
the Angkor Park and Preventive Archaeology. The
main roles of the department are protection, conservation, design, and leadership management in thedevelopment of culture and tourism in the region.
Contributing to the implementation of the national

Fig. 2 Angkor Visitor Code of Conduct

protection law of heritage and ensuring human capacity building are also important responsibilities.
As I mentioned earlier, each international teamhas different methods, techniques, concepts, andeven materials. Some have been trying to introduce
modern materials and technology because they focus
mainly on safety issues and consolidation issues ofthe monuments. After the first 10 years of experiencein conservation of Angkor, the ad hoc experts of the
ICC-Angkor and other relevant scholars extended
the Angkor Charter to Guidelines for Safeguarding
the World Heritage Site of Angkor (Fig. 5). Therefore,
if you plan to conduct any restoration or intervention
in Angkor, you have to follow the Angkor Charterand the guidelines.

Gradually Becoming Autonomous
We have more than 20 large scale structural conservation projects conducted exclusively by Cambodianarchaeologists, conservators, architects, and engineers(Fig. 6). In the current position, we are a leading teamin brick conservation in Angkor because there are
no structural conservation of brick monument to be
conducted by any international team so far.
There are also technical exchanges with international experts. We have become one of the key
teams in exchanging and learning from internationalS e s sion 2

Germany (GACP)

China (CSA)The USA (WMF)

Italia (IGeS)

France (EFEO)

Japan (NARA)

73

Fig. 4 ICC-Angkor

Fig. 5 Angkor Charter

How to Maintain National Identity and to Strengthen Autonomy: Experience from Two Decades ofInternational Cooperation in Angkor

India (ASI)
Japan ( JASA)
Japan (Sophia)Fig. 3 Ongoing National and International Cooperation for Monument Conservation

S e s sion 2

74

Fig. 6 Structural conservation projects implemented exclusively by the local experts

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 7 Technique exchange with international experts

teams and other Southeast Asian countries (Fig. 7).

Maintaining the National Identity
I am not aiming to discuss the political issues
which are currently being mentioned, but I would
like to ask: how can we use the conservation andrestoration campaign of the built heritage of Angkor
to contribute to the maintenance of the national

identity of the country if the question of authenticity
and values of Angkor are not fully considered? If you
look at the 1994 Nara Document, you will understand that a great deal of discussions and detailed
arguments related to the authenticity and values ofthe built heritage could be served as the means tomaintain the national identity of our country. Thankyou very much for your attention.

Masahiko Tomoda

Head, Conservation Design Section, Japan Center forInternational Cooperation in Conservation, National ResearchInstitute for Cultural Properties, TokyoS e s sion 2

Summary75
Summary

Regrettably, we have run out of time for this session. I wish we could hear more from the speakers,
but I need to summarize this session before closing it.
Session 1 introduced political initiatives for theconservation of cultural heritage, which is an effective means of development for people as well as thecountry. In Session 2, the speakers introduced more
specific activities conducted in their countries for thepreservation, utilization and dissemination of cultural heritage. Their reports covering a wide range ofactivities were very informative.
In their presentation, I found some key points, but
the most important of them all is the need for theparticipation of diverse stakeholders. For example,
the speaker from Indonesia reported an educational
initiative that helps local communities familiarize
themselves with cultural heritage. The representative from Viet Nam introduced an activity that encourages an ethnic minority to participate in thelocal community for the conservation of that ethic
group’s cultural heritage. In the latter part of thesession, cases of international cooperation between
the ASEAN member states, as well as specific casesof multifaceted international cooperation with othercountries, including Japan, were presented. In any
initiative, whether conducted by one country or
through international cooperation, the key to success is to smoothly and effectively work with various
stakeholders.
We also found, as Dr. Ly Vanna lastly mentioned,
that there are various issues with regard to cooperation. For instance, when multiple international teams
visit a site, the question of technological integration arises. Myanmar is also faced with the similar
problem. There is a risk that various programs could
be implemented without any coordination. We werealso made keenly aware that parties extending cooperation must keep in mind many issues, including
how to protect the country’s identity. At the sametime, all speakers reiterated that it is very beneficial
for all countries to further strengthen cooperationand learn based on other countries’ knowledge andexperience with regard to various initiatives.
Now I would like to close Session 2 by applauding
all presenters from the five countries. Thank you.

Session 3
Multilateral Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
Based on the reports of Sessions 1 and 2, experts from China, the Republic of Korea andJapan will share the status and issues concerning their cooperation activities in Southeast
Asia. At the latter half of the session, representatives from Cambodia, the Philippines andSingapore will join the discussion as commentators and exchange their opinions such as
how the donor countries should recognize the common issues in ASEAN region while
respecting the cultural diversity.

[Moderator]

Kunikazu Ueno

(International Goodwill Professor, Nara Women’s University ( Japan))[Speakers]

Song Zhang(Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University (China))

Jae Eun Yu(Director, Restoration Technology Division, National Research Institute ofCultural Heritage of Korea (the Republic of Korea))

Yoshiharu Tsuboi(Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University ( Japan))※ The record is unpublished.

[Commentators]

Ly Vanna(Director, Department of Conservation of the Monuments in Angkor Park andPreventive Archaeology, APSARA National Authority (Cambodia))

Milan Ted D. Torralba(Executive Council Member, National Committee on Monuments and Sites,
National Commission for Culture and Arts (the Philippines))

Jean Mei-Yin Wee(Director, Preservation of Sites and Monuments,
National Heritage Board of Singapore (Singapore))S e s sion 3

Chinese Practice inTerms of Multilateral
Cooperation in Cultural
Heritage Conservation
Song Zhang

Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
Tongji University (China)

I am teaching urban planning and conservation
planning of historical cities at a university. My presentation today consists of three parts: first, an introduction of the basic situation and the system ofcultural heritage conservation in China; second, theeffects of China becoming a State Party of the World
Heritage Convention in 1985; and third, China’s
conservation activities over the past several years interms of multilateral cooperation.

1982, Law on Protection of Cultural Relics
1984, The Regulations on City Planning

1985, To accede to World Heritage Convention
1989, Law on City Planning

2002, Law on Protection of Cultural Relics (amended)

2003, Regulation for the Implementation of the Law ofProtection of Cultural Relics”
2003, Administrative Measures for the Protection Engineering of Cultural Relics

2004, Administrative Measures for the City Purple LineManagement
2005, ICOMOS Xi’an Declaration

2006, Interim Measures for the Protection and Administration of National Intangible Cultural Heritage

78
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

2006, Measures for the Protection and Management ofWorld Cultural Heritage
2008, Law on Urban and Rural Planning

2008, Regulation for Historic and cultural cities, towns andvillages Conservation
2008, Interim Measures for the Protection and Administration of National Intangible Cultural Heritage
2011, Law on Intangible Cultural Heritage

2014, Measures for the Examination and Approval of theHistorical and Cultural City, Town ,Village Protection Planning
2015, Regulation of Museums

Fig. 1 The Chronology of Legislative Progress and others(After 1980)

Administration ofCultural Heritage

Dr. Zhang completed his masterʼs degree in engineeringat Tongji University in 1992, and doctorʼs degree in urban
design and protection of historical environment at the
University of Tokyo in 1996. He has been teaching at Tongji
University since 2003. His research theme is the theories
and methodologies of urban planning and conservation
planning of historical cities.

Ministry of
CultureMinistry of Housing
and Urban-Rural
Development

mainlyResponsible

protection of cultural
relics and museum
management

mainlyResponsible

protection of intangible
cultural heritage
promotion

mainlyResponsible

planning and managementof the historical andcultural cities

Fig. 2 Administrative Departments Related to Protectionof Cultural Heritage in China

S e s sion 3

Laws

Heritage, which corresponds to the Agency for the
Cultural Affairs of Japan, protects cultural relics andmanages museums and other facilities for cultural
relics. The big difference between the Chinese system
and Japanese counterpart is the direct managementof intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of
Culture, although the budget for the ministry is notas large as that of the Administration of Cultural
Heritage. Urban planning related to historical cities
or streetscapes of historical or cultural importanceis mainly managed by the Ministry of Housing and
Urban-Rural Development.
Let me briefly explain the laws, regulations andpractices on cultural heritage (Fig. 3). The Law on
the Protection of Cultural Relics, which is the mostimportant law, was revised in 2002. Various otherlaws and regulations have also been established. In
2008, the Law on Urban and Rural Planning contained some stipulations about the conservation ofhistorical and cultural heritage. Currently, the mostimportant law for the protection of historical cities
is the Regulation for Historic and Cultural Cities,
Towns and Villages Conservation of 2008.
Fig. 4 is a map of the 128 cities of historical andcultural importance, designated by the country. The
map is divided into eastern, western and central parts,
each in a different color. Cities in the eastern part are
well conserved, while development in the western

Regulations

Administrative Measures
Administrative Measures for the Protection ofCultural Relics (2003)

Law on Protection ofCultural Relics (2002)

Regulation for the Implementation of
the Law of Protection of Cultural Relics (2003)
Regulation on Museums (2015)

Interim Measures for the Administration of Cultural Relics (2009)
Administrative measures for the National Archaeological Site Park (for Trial Implementation)(2009)
Interim Measures for the Protection and Administration of National Intangible Cultural Heritage(2006)

Law on Intangible Cultural
Heritage (2011)

Law on the Urban and
Rural Planning (2008)

Measures for the Protection of World Cultural
Heritage (2006)

Interim Measures for the Identification and Administration of the Representative of the National
Intangible Cultural Heritage Project (2008)
Regulation on Historic and culturalcities, towns and villages Conservation(2008)

Fig. 3 The Laws, Regulations, Implementations on the Cultural Heritage

Administrative Measures on City Purple LineManagement (2004)

Measures for the Examination and Approval of
the Historic and Cultural City, Town, Village Protection Planning (2014)

79
Chinese Practice in Terms of Multilateral Cooperation in Cultural Heritage Conservation

1. Progress and System of Cultural Heritage
Conservation in China
You may think of China as a big country. It is acountry with a 5,000-year history, a population of 1.3
billion, and 56 ethnic groups. However, it was only
after reform and opening-up in the 1980s that China
seriously started to engage in conservation of cultural heritage. Since then, laws on cultural heritage
protection have been legislated, and various typesof conservation activities using methods according
to these laws have been carried out. Initially, China
invited experts from Japan to learn from them andabsorb Japan’s experiences. In 1982, the Law on theProtection of Cultural Relics was established. In aneffort to protect and conserve a total of 4,295 cities
and streetscapes in China, the State Council has registered 128 historic cities on the list since 1988.
China has developed a series of regulatory systems
for cultural heritage protection, as shown in Fig. 1. In
1982, the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics,
which is similar to the Cultural Assets Preservation
Act of Japan, was enacted. The Law on Urban and
Rural Planning was established in 2008, and the Law
on Intangible Cultural Heritage was enacted in 2011.
The Regulation of Museums was additionally established this year (2015).
China’s administrative system is very similar to
Japan’s (Fig. 2). The Administration of Cultural

S e s sion 3
Fig. 4 The Location Map of Historic and Cultural Cities

80
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

HangzhouSuzhouBeijing
Fig. 5 Historic and Cultural Cities (Beijing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou)S e s sion 3part has been delayed, with only adequate conservation. The most problematic are probably cities in thecentral part. The eastern part includes Hangzhou andBeijing (Fig. 5). Just for your information, the West
Lake in Hangzhou, the Imperial Palace in Beijing,
and Classical Gardens in Suzhou have been designated as World Heritage.

2. The Effects of China’s Participation in World
Heritage Protection
Since China became a State Party of the World
Heritage Convention in December 1985, the country
has maintained a system that is relatively independent from the cultural relics protection system andthe international cultural heritage protection system.

In the past thirty years, China has continued to absorb concepts of world heritage outside of China,
and developed its own practical and effective system for world heritage protection and conservation.
China has a total of 48 sites inscribed on the World
Heritage List, which is the second highest in theworld. In five years, China may become first in theworld in terms of the number of inscribed sites.
Among these sites, particularly famous World
Heritage sites include the Old Town of Lijiang and
the Ancient City of Ping Yao (Fig. 6), which were
inscribed together in 1997. In 2008, Fujian Tulou
was designated as World Heritage (Fig. 7). Fujian
Tulou is a housing complex built with traditional
construction technology. One building houses 30 to81
Ancient City of Ping Yao (1997)

Fig. 6 As of 2015, 34 World Heritage cultural heritage of China are in the list.

Fig. 7 Fujian Tulou (2008)

Chinese Practice in Terms of Multilateral Cooperation in Cultural Heritage Conservation

Old Town of Lijiang (1997)

S e s sion 3

50 families. Fujian Tulou in the mountains looks very
special, but only a part of it is currently conserved as
World Heritage.
The Jiangnan Water Town (Fig. 8) is currently
nominated and will be designated as World Heritage
in several years. In 2004, the 28th Session of theWorld Heritage Committee was held in Suzhou(Fig. 9), in which the Suzhou Declaration on World
Heritage Youth Education was passed. The session also discussed the establishment of the World
Heritage Institute of Training and Research for
the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITR-AP).
From October 17 to 21 in 2005, the 15th General
Assembly of ICOMOS was held in the ancient cityof Xi’an at the invitation of ICOMOS China. The
assembly adopted the Xi’an Declaration and proposed a new concept of cultural heritage protection
with an interest in spiritual and social backgrounds,
rather than simply conserving buildings, sites and theenvironment.

3. The Practice in Terms of Multilateral
Cooperation in Conservation
Since 2000, China has founded three facilities
that fall under UNESCO’s Category II institutes:
WHITR-AP, the International Centre on SpaceTechnologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage
under the auspices of UNESCO (HIST), and the82
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 8 Jiangnan Water Town

The 28th World Heritage Committee in 2004 was the largest
and highest level conference of the UNESCO, operated by
Chinese government.

Passing of Suzhou Declaration on World Heritage Youth
Education.
Discussion the Establishment of World Heritage Instituteof Training and Research for the Asia-Pacific Region.

WHITR–AP formally executes education and training activities of world heritage conservation in China and in the
Asia and the Pacific region. WHITR–AP is to enhance capacity of protection, conservation and management of world
heritage in the Asia and the Pacific region through training,
research, conferences and workshops, and most of the students come from the ASEAN countries.
Main Functions:• execute education and training activities in China and in
the Asia and the Pacific region.
• undertake research on investigations of particular heritage
resources in cooperation with relevant conservation centres in the Asia and the Pacific region;• facilitate the relevant introduction in universities, colleges
and research institutes in China and in the Asia and thePacific region.

Fig. 9 The 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee

Fig. 10 World Heritage Institute of Training and Research-Asia and PacificS e s sion 3

International Training Center for Intangible Cultural
Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP).
Tongji University, where I teach, houses WHITRAP Shanghai. The center has conducted various research projects on World Heritage in the Asia-PacificRegion (Fig. 10). In Battambang, Cambodia, which
is one of the historic cities, the center has continued

Domestic Projects:• Major cultural relics protection projects and scientificresearch projects in China， the Imperial Palace, Dazu
Rock Carvings, etc.
Aided to Conservation and Restoration Program in South
East Asia:• Restoration project of Chau Say Tevoda of Angkor Wat
in Cambodia• restoration project of Ta Keo Temple of Angkor Wat inCambodia• restoration project of the nine storey Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal

Aid international action for the protection• Since 1989, UNESCO began the organization of protection• Angkor was listed as a world cultural heritage site in 1992
• A conference culminated in the Tokyo Declaration, which
decided to launch an international-aided conservation
and restoration program for cultural heritage in Angkor.
Condition before restoration of Chau Say Tevoda• A Hindu temple built in the year of twelfth Century• Buildings are damaged seriously• Cangjingge and the north reserve only baseCondition before restoration of Chau Say Tevoda
Fig. 12 Aid Cambodia project: Restoration Project of Chau
Say Tevoda of Angkor Wat

Conclusion
I have briefly introduced the basic situation andmovements of cultural heritage protection in China.
To put it simply, the history of cultural heritage conservation in China is not as long as that in Japan.
Currently, China’s conservation and restoration activities focus on absorbing global-standard advanced
concepts and technologies in connection with thecurrent situation in China. While stepping up efforts to establish conservation and restoration activities through multilateral cooperation and exchange,
China aims to actively build a totally new framework
for cooperation with ASEAN countries.
The prerequisite for common heritage preservation

83
Chinese Practice in Terms of Multilateral Cooperation in Cultural Heritage Conservation

Fig. 11 Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage

the HUL approach.
CRIHAP is an international organization that wasestablished in February 2012 through cooperation
between China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
Key roles of CRIHAP consist of organizationallypreparing training plans to implement courses andfield research on intangible cultural heritage, as wellas carrying out cooperation at the international andregional level together with organizations related tointangible cultural heritage, particularly UNESCO.
The Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage(CACH), which is playing a central role in China
under the direct control of the Administration ofCultural Heritage, is a non-profit organization dedicated to training for research, conservation andrestoration related to cultural property. CACH conducts research on the state of preservation of culturalproperty and on materials used for its conservation
and restoration, as well as research on traditional
techniques and modern technologies that help topreserve cultural property. Currently, CACH is also
participating in a project for conservation and restoration of cultural property in Asia (Fig. 11). For
instance, it is taking part in a project for the conservation and restoration of Angkor Wat in Cambodia(Fig. 12), which Dr. Ly Vanna introduced earlier. In
this project, CACH incorporated China’s accumulated experiences, as well as international concepts.
Fig. 13 shows the site before and after the restoration
efforts.
Following the earthquake in Nepal, the government of China supported a project for restoration ofhistorical heritage in Nepal. Fig. 14 shows Dharahara
tower restored after its collapse due to the earthquake.

S e s sion 3
Schedule of restoration of Chau Say Tevoda• 1997, project approved• 1998–1999, preliminary investigation• 2000, project begun• 2008, project completed

Effect of restoration of Chau Say Tevoda• First aided-international Conservation and Restoration
Program of China• recognized by the Kampuchea government and experts andscholars of all countries

Condition before restoration of north gate

Condition after restoration of north gate

Condition before restoration of South Tibetan temple

Condition after restoration of South Tibetan temple

84
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 13• As a world cultural heritage, it has very artistic value and historical value• Affected by the earthquake, the whole building and its ancillary building seismic damage• Oct. 2015 ,officially launched the restoration project, Conducted research• Conduct digital survey, Seismic vibration characteristics test
• Master the damage of the building structure and the reasons, to prepare for the follow-up restoration work

Fig. 14 Aid Nepal project: restoration project of the nine storey Temple, Kathmandu

is respect for the cultural diversity of any country. We
must further enhance mutual understanding and join
forces to carry out activities. We have many challenges to overcome, including capacity-building forthe conservation of diverse cultural heritages in Asiaand other regions.
Thank you.

Jae Eun Yu

Director, Restoration Technology Division, National ResearchInstitute of Cultural Heritage of Korea (the Republic of Korea)

S e s sion 3

International Cooperationof Korea for Conservationof Cultural Heritage in
Asian Regions

I would like to introduce Korean international cooperation projects. I will focus on projects by Cultural
Heritage Administration (CHA) and National
Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH),
and present the role we can take for cultural heritagein Asia.

The projects by CHA and NRICH can be divided
into three types. The first type is comprised of equipment support projects which have been providing
equipment for conservation, monitoring, excavationand survey since 2010. The second are restoration
projects for conservation of cultural heritage in Asian
regions. Presently, there is the on-going project doinga survey for excavation and restoration at Hong Nang
Sida in Laos. Lastly, the third are international training programs. There is the representative program
which is called ‘ACPCS’ that has been carried by
NRICH since 2005. It has two types of training, one
is the invitational domestic ACPCS in Korea, theother is On-site Technical Training Program whichis called OTTP. NUCH is planning to select foreign
students for academic degree courses from 2016.
Dr. Yu is deeply committed in protecting cultural heritage
through the field of conservation science. Following her
MA in Archaeology at Dankook University, she completed
her PhD in 2002 specializing in the conservation of metal
objects. After serving as various research fellows, including a
postdoctoral position at Kongju National University, she wasappointed to her current position in 2014.

In Korea’s working system between institutes (Fig.
1), the International Cooperation Division of CHA
manages the whole ODA. CHF conducts restoration
projects planned by CHA and KOICA, and is alsoin charge of installing equipment provided by CHA.

85
International Cooperation of Korea for Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Asian Regions

International cooperation projects are charged in
CHA and NRICH that aims to build capacity forconservation of cultural heritage in Asian regions.
For that, it has been contributing to cultural heritage by actively cooperating with international communities. With CHA and NRICH as the center,
Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation (CHF), Korea
National University of Culture Heritage (NUCH),
and Korea International Cooperation Agency(KOICA) perform projects together. The major projects are equipment support for conservation, excavation and restoration of sites, international training
and education.
Besides that, there is a project to support Korean
National Commission for UNESCO by sharing information from workshops to support the designationof important cultural heritage. In 2015, workshops
for world cultural heritage including the intangible
heritage were held in Fiji, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

S e s sion 3

ACPCS is its own business in NRICH and receives
opinions from CHA and CHF about selection ofparticipants and target countries for OTTP whennecessary. NUCH plans to open degree courses forforeign students and now in progress.
ACPCS, which is one of the projects run by
NRICH, started in 2005 for the purpose of building capacity of conservation for cultural heritage in
Asian regions. Each cultural heritage in each country
has its own identity. In order to protect the invaluable
cultural heritage of Asian regions, it is very importantto build the capacity of each area before everything.
ACPCS has been focusing on that point.
As shown in Fig. 2, the target countries of ACPCS
are 20 countries including countries in Central Asia,
and 10 participants on average are selected eachyear. There are two three-month-long sessions, one
from April to June, and the second from August to
October. Research fields are conservation science, archaeology, artistic heritage and architectural heritage.
The field of intangible cultural heritage used to beoffered, but it does not accept anymore because of86
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

CHA

NRICH

is managing the whole ODA- By Securing Budget, Supporting
Projects etc.
- And Collaboration with NRICH & CHF

is in charge of comprehensive research.
There are programs such as- ACPCS: Domestic Training by Inviting Participants
OTTP: On-site Technical Training Program- And it shares workload with CHA, CHF

KOICA

CHF

NUCH

is the affiliated body under
Ministry of Foreign Affairs- It supports ODA projects
for Cultural Heritage

is conducting projects- By providing Equipment & Installation- Restoration of Cultural Heritage Sites(Ex. Laos Hong Nang Sida site)is the study of cultural heritage
with Academic degree courses
for foreign students(from 2016)

Fig. 1 Organizations & Working System

intangible heritage division was separated and integrated into the Intangible Cultural Heritage Center.
To qualify, participants must be researchers and staff
practically working with cultural heritage for morethan three years, and the average age is limited to 45
years old.
ACPCS Planning is prepared from December ofthe previous year by the demand survey of each division. After the official announcement of ACPCS,
the participants are examined by their research plans,
telephone interviews and careers and are selected bydiscussion with each division. Once selected, participants do individual research, which is carried out by
mentor-mentee system in each division and the final
outcome is officially reported at the end of year (Fig.
3).
ACPCS is managed with the cooperation of eachdivision, headed by the Restoration Technology
Division. There is no independent section only forinternational cooperation in NRICH. Restoration
Technology Division launched ACPCS in 2005 andstill manages it. We originally started ACPCS for
conservation science but research fields increased andtook a form this way.
ACPCS is a training program divided into orientation lectures and an individual intensive course.
In the orientation period, there are introductions
about each division and cultural heritage in Korea.
Eight week individual research is overseen by eachdivision and it is accompanied by mentors fromdivisions until the end of training (Fig. 4). In thelast week, participants submit research reports andmake presentations to finalize training. Fig. 5 shows
poster presentations by participants from Mongolia
and Laos this year. The posters pictured were about
Planning on ACPCS (Previous Year, December)(Research Field, Number of Participants of Each Field etc. are set)

Official Announcement & Application Distribution(12. 23. ~ 2.7)
(It is cooperated with Foreign Affairs, UNESCO, KOICA etc.)
Participant Selection & Announcement(2. 7. ~ 2. 24)(Priority on ACPCS Target Countries
and List of ODA Recipients by Korea Government)

ACPCS Session Period(1st: 4.1.~6.30, 2nd: 8.1~10.30)(Mentor-Mentee System by help of Each Division)

Annual Outcome Report & Planning for the following year (11~12)

Fig. 2 ACPCS

Fig. 3 Annual Procedures of ACPCSS e s sion 3

analysis and monitoring. Some participants preparedideas for joint projects.
In 2012, there was an ACPCS Workshop and it
was a good opportunity to have various discussions
on participants’ activities after ACPCS, sharing information, human networks and future plans (Fig. 6).

Opinions from that workshop have been utilized forlooking back on international cooperation projects
and planning directions for ACPCS and OTTP.
OTTP is a different type of program from ACPCS
which visits target countries to give on-site technical87

Fig. 5 Poster Presentations by participants

International Cooperation of Korea for Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Asian Regions

Fig. 4 ACPCS Activities

S e s sion 3
Fig. 6 ACPCS Workshop

TargetInstitutes

PeriodParticipants
FieldsContents

OTTP was held for2013: Archaeological Institute under Mongolia Science Academy (Equipment
Support by ODA in 2011), Bagan Archaeological Museum under Ministry of Cultureof Myanmar (Equipment Support in 2013, ODA recipients countries by Korea
Government)
2014: Myanmar, Cambodia
2015: Bhutan, Myanmar
It takes 1~2 weeks

Participants are staff involved cultural heritage of the country
Training fields are metal, ceramics, stone, textile, urgent treatment at excavationsites, photography etc.
Contents include practical exercise, usage of supported equipment etc.

Fig. 7 OTTP

88
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Fig. 8 OTTP Activities

training for conservation. Targets are countries underequipment support projects by CHA, ODA recipient countries by the Korean Government, and former ACPCS participant countries. OTTP is carriedout for one or two weeks and training subjects areprepared on request from target countries in advance, focusing on conservation treatments by materials, monitoring for museum environments, andobject handling. The training is intended for sharing
methods, materials use and techniques which can

S e s sion 3

Fig. 9 Restoration Project at Champasak Hong Nang Sida Temple, Laos

89
83 participants from 19 countries as of 2005 attended ACPCS andthey are taking a role to regional supporters for international

International

cooperation of NRICH.

Network

Participants are expected to take a leading role as important humanresource for conservation of cultural heritage in Asian regions.

Participants’ Statistics
Kazakhstan 2

The next is the on-going restoration project. The
excavation and restoration for Champasak Hong
Nang Sida Temple, a World Heritage Site in Laos,are in progress (Fig. 9). It was planned by CHA, andCHF has been in charge of conducting this projectsince 2011. This project was connected to training
policies, and staff from Laos attended ACPCS. The
restoration projects for cultural heritage will be extended in future gradually. Besides it, there are restoration plans for Angkor Thom of Cambodia and
Myanmar.
As major achievements of ACPCS, 83 participants from 19 countries as of 2005 attended ACPCS(Fig. 10). Participants are expected to take a leadingrole as important human resources for conservationof cultural heritage in Asian regions.
As for the future of the two training programs,
we have received feedback that ACPCS needs to

Kyrgyzstan 1
Cambodia 10

Philippine 2

Tajikistan 1
Nepal 5Thailand 2
China 2

Laos 2
Mongolia 13

Indonesia 5
Myanmar 5

India 4

Uzbekistan 3

Sri Lanka 7

Bhutan 9

Bangladesh 3

Afghanistan 2
Vietnam 5

Fig. 10 Major Achievement

try to diversify the program structures and OTTP
needs to be concentrated. Based on those suggestions, ACPCS and OTTP can move forward as aninternational cooperation project with internationalorganizations.
The way of international cooperation for cultural
heritage of Asian regions will be diversified. Today
I focused on introducing of the training in this presentation, but we would like to be in charge of more
active involvements and roles like joint research, restoration, and something in common for cooperation.

International Cooperation of Korea for Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Asian Regions

be applied to on-site situations in target countries(Fig. 7).
From 2013 to today, the program has taken placein Mongolia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Bhutan.
The training fields are metal, ceramics, stone, textile,
treatment and photography (Fig. 8).

S e s sion 3

Discussion[Moderator]

Kunikazu Ueno

International Goodwill Professor, Nara Women’s University( Japan)[Speakers]

Ly Vanna, Milan Ted D. Torralba,
Jean Mei-Yin Wee, Song Zhang,
Jae Eun Yu, Yoshiharu Tsuboi

90

Ueno Today, we heard presentations in Sessions 1
and 2 from Southeast Asian countries, and speakers
from China, the Republic of Korea and Japan havejust made their presentations introducing various
collaborative activities with ASEAN countries. Now
I would like to ask Ms. Jean Wee, Fr. Milan Ted
Torralba, and Mr. Ly Vanna, to give us some comments on the subject of international cooperationand human resource development in response to thevarious presentations.

Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Wee I think we can acknowledge the excellent momentumof capacity building and cooperation that has been spearheaded by China, Japan, andthe Republic of Korea. Eachhas reported existing cooperation programs, and the pointis these started in the 1980s and have been active
since then. This is something that I think the restof Southeast Asia perhaps has not picked up on.
Certainly Singapore is way behind on this level, so it
is a great inspiration to us.
This forum was a vision that was inspired byProfessor Ishizawa who mentioned that this was inresponse to the blatant damage by cultural terroriststhat are still engaging in this sort of action. I recently
met a very prominent museum director who said
that he received a phone call when the destruction in
Palmyra was happening. It was a very spontaneous
cry for help by the chief curator, who said he did notknow what to do. The director was just standing withhis staffs, hearing almost minute-by-minute updatesof the destruction.
On the other hand, in this sense we are in a comfortable situation in sites where countries like China,
Japan, and the Republic of Korea have invested a lotof time in technical aid, such as Angkor Wat andother famous sites in Southeast Asia. I think you
might also wonder what we can do to help the international community. Do we leave the countries in
the Middle East to solve the issues at hand? Are we
too far away? Is there a strategy to choose what weneed to prioritize? There is so much culture to save.
I do not know about the other countries, but in
Singapore there is certainly not a lot of government
budget set aside for this. Our own economy is always prioritized over saving other cultures. Then,S e s sion 3

which culture should we prioritize? Which key areas
should we focus on? Who will choose them?
There are many young people sitting at the backof the hall today, and I cannot help feeling that thisis your future. The people of my generation think weare saving culture for future generations. But I met a
19 year old girl who asked me, “who are you saving itfor?” We had always made the assumption that it wasfor them, so it struck me how much we need to makean understanding. There is a Chinese proverb thatsays, “one generation plants the trees and anothergets the shade.” Do our future generations want toactively participate in this discussion? This is their
future and we hope the rest of the world comes together in a concerted effort to actually restore whatever we can.
Ueno Next, could you give us some feedback, Fr.
Torralba?

Ueno Now I would like Dr. Ly Vanna to give us
some comments.
Ly To be frank, if we listened carefully to thetalk of Professor Tsuboi, we could understand thatJapan plays the chief role in international cooperation compared with China and the Republic ofKorea. Therefore, Japan’s project to safeguard theWorld Heritage sites of Angkor is a very historicalcontribution.

91
Discussion

Torralba Common to the ini­
tiatives of the three East Asian
countries of Japan, the Republicof Korea, and China, training in
the art and science of heritage
conservation is generously open
for heritage workers of ASEAN
member countries. These technical trainings are taking place in workshops. Of
course, there are conferences such as those in therespective facilities in sites of the host countries.
They are very inspiring to the rest of the ASEAN.
These trainings intend to capacitate heritage workers
by raising their level of recognition and experiencein heritage conservation and echo in the respective
home countries the knowledge of the participantsacquired in these trainings. Heritage conservation
as we know needs to be conducted through scientificstandards. I agree with the proposition that responsibility for the preservation and restoration of cultural sites belonging to a people or nation lies with
its own skilled technicians and competent heritage
practitioners.
However, the final responsibility thus belongs to
the people who created the culture, who live it andexpress it through their heritage. I say this because
we subscribe to the paradigm that heritage is value-based. It is people, the stakeholders, and users
themselves, who draw out the significance of theirheritage resources. It is people who attach value
to their heritage resources; a people’s competentauthority, be it embodied in their government or
through some other accepted instrumentality or leadership entity, elicit the people’s significance and value
through time-tested and best practice mechanisms.
This is the reason why heritage awareness-raising or
cultural sensitivity-raising is an important activity forthe people or the general public.
Meanwhile, the nations’ heritage workers alsoneed to undergo their training as essential and urgent
in articulating the people’s heritage value and in elaborating the significance that is objectively embodied
in their heritage. There exists therefore dialogue between the people as stakeholders and end-users andthe trained heritage practitioners. The art and scienceof heritage conservation hence is scientific. I used
this word ‘negotiative’. I think that bilateral and/or
multilateral cooperation become fruitful when thenegotiative or shared aspect of conservation rooted indialogue between the stakeholders and the conservators is afforded its adequate consideration.
Through the three sessions, we all see that the
topic shared converge on international cooperation in
cultural heritage conservation, transmission, and utilization in the context of the ASEAN+3 Countries.
Well, this is given, and I am sure with this would be
advanced by all countries involved in maintaining
our respective national identities and pride of place.
What can still be suggested, in my humble opinion,
is to develop a mechanism to measure the effectiveness of the use of the cultural elements and heritage
resources by its stakeholders. We would like to advance therefore the framework of cultural statistics
mentioned earlier in session one, which I mentioned,
as a baseline tool in also determining the successin quantitative and qualitative terms of the international cooperation efforts already in place.

S e s sion 3

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Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

When restoring temples, we
often compare the built heritageof Angkor – for example, theAngkor complex – with a groupof sick people. That means they
have a lot of symptoms. The
monuments have been curedby their own doctors, meaning local experts or local conservators. We use ourown methods of “medical treatment”, or traditional
techniques to restore the built heritage. When thetemples of Angkor became listed as World Heritage,
there were doctors coming from Japan, France, China,
the Republic of Korea, and other countries. These
doctors use their own medical techniques to cure thetemples of Angkor. With multiple doctors operatingon the damaged temples, they need to work together
with a common plan. How should we treat them? If
we use methods from other countries, sometimes theresult is unsatisfactory because there could be contradictions between doctors. This is the most important
thing to remember in the process of conservation.
I do agree with what Professor Tsuboi said thatmutual understanding and prioritizing conventionally accepted techniques are most important. At thesame time, it is equally important to have local doctors trained by international doctors. This is one of
the leading missions performed by Sophia University.
If you go to Angkor you will see a lot of international
teams, as I mentioned, from 17 countries. I am surethat Japan, especially Sophia University, is regarded
as the leading international team since the beginning of the growing importance of capacity building.
Sophia University conducted two large projects in
Angkor, including the structural restoration of theWestern Causeway of Angkor Wat, which measuresa hundred meters in length. The second phase of therestoration project will be started from 2016.
At the same time, Sophia University plays a main
pioneering role in cultivating local doctors. We did
not understand what conservation is. We did notunderstand what the charter was. We did not understand international laws. Why? It is because
we never got trained in these kinds of fields. Afterbeing trained for a certain period of time, we know
the general concepts, methodology and philosophyof conservation. Only then can we bring this knowledge back to our country, knowing how to manage
heritage.

Ueno This forum is the first of this kind, so awide variety of issues and problems were reported.
As Professor Ishizawa said at the beginning, the ultimate goal is to build a network or trusting relationships between experts in this region. In light of thisgoal as well as the presentation by Dr. Ly Vanna, I
would like to hear comments about ideals or visionsof multilateral cooperation in this region from threereporters from China, the Republic of Korea andJapan.
Zhang WHITR-AP at Tongji
University, which I mentioned
earlier, offers various training
courses, including an ongoing course in Historic Urban
Landscape (HUL). In thiscourse, architecture and conser­
vation experts launch workshops together with locals not only in classrooms but
also in the field.
China’s economic development is now drawing
global attention, but will definitely level out in the
future. China is populous and developing. For instance, the goal of Shanghai’s urban planning toward2040 is to become a city more global than Tokyo
or Seoul. While there is high interest in preserving
rural cultural heritage, interest in ordinary historicalbuildings is not strong enough. That is a big problem.
Cities other than Shanghai are also focusing on
economic development. Only a few leaders are seriously working on the preservation of cultural heritage. All local governments hope for the designationof World Heritage, but not all buildings that are 100
years old or older, for instance, can be inscribed in theWorld Heritage List even if they are rare in a sense.
There is another question of how to conserve andprotect historical relationships with local residents.
Therefore, China must learn from Japan’s experiencein preserving cultural heritage with the participationof residents or the use of private funds. The challenge
for the future remains to be overcome.
Yu I heard that all three countries, The Republic ofKorea, Japan and China, met for the first time today.
Since I didn’t have much detailed information, I am
afraid that my report on the international education
program that our institute started providing ten years
ago was not sufficiently in line with the theme of thisS e s sion 3

about how to teach. In recent years, the Republic ofKorea has participated in the preservation of cultural
heritage in Southeast Asia, including Angkor Thom,
Laos and Myanmar. In the process, we are concentrating on research and education. I hope that thisforum will provide an opportunity to discuss good
opinions and proposals if there are any, and to hold aforum every year or on a regular basis.
Ueno We have heard various
comments. Does anyone haveanything to add?
In that case, I would liketo offer my final comments. I
have conducted research andexcavation of cultural heritage
in Southeast Asia. Naturally, I
worked with young people, and I have always said
this to them: “I teach Japanese methods and theJapanese way of thinking. But they are based on
my experience. Please establish your own researchmethod and way of thinking to figure out how topreserve cultural heritage in your country.” I will notchange this idea. To that end, I hope many people incharge of cultural heritage in this region will build
strong trusting relationships and networks.
I regret that although we invited so many experts
with rich experiences, we were only able to give 15
minutes to each speaker. As they have come a long
way to attend this forum, I would like to hear moreof their comments and opinions. With this extremely
tight schedule, this session was designed to give timeto each speaker to raise various issues for the future.
And because of that, there is no time allocated toreceive questions from the audience. Along with myapologies for that, I will close Session 3. Thank you.

93
Discussion

forum. Cooperation among thethree countries undoubtedly involves political issues, but cultural heritage is very importantfor mankind. It is great to get
together to discuss basic issues
other than politics.
Let me introduce my experience. Three years ago, in December 2012, I visited
Angkor Wat. At an institute for Angkor Wat culturalproperties in Siem Reap, there are several people whohave participated in our Asia Cooperation Programof Conservation (ACPCS) program. What surprised
me during my visits to various sites was that many
countries were carrying out activities at Angkor Wat
and Angkor Thom, each of which used totally different methods and technology. Even at the same site,
conservation and restoration methods varied slightly
between countries. I am not sure that is right for
preserving sites.
What our international training programs value
the most is not restoration but the education and development of local people. I am sure that the cultureof any country has incorporated the tradition of thecountry. Therefore, it is crucial to nurture locals toimprove their abilities. That is the focus of our international training. Of course, there are also Koreanstyle conservation and restoration technologies. Our
institute invites people to provide training, so trainees
can learn Korean-style conservation and restoration
methods and technologies, but these consist only ofbasic knowledge. We ask trainees to think and study
by themselves after the conclusion of the training.
Undoubtedly, international cooperation among
the three countries is very important, and their content and subjects are very good. But I am not sureConcluding
Remarks

Concluding Remarks
Yoshiaki Ishizawa

Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/Professor, Sophia University ( Japan)

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Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

Frankly speaking, I had difficulty concluding today’s forum because not only
were the discussions very active and deep, but also future plans were proposed. I am
supposed to make concluding remarks, but what I would like to do is to thank all
the participants and make some proposals as I summarize many future scenarios andissues presented during the three sessions, such as how we should actually materialize
the scenarios proposed in symposiums like this, and how we can connect them.
For the earlier-mentioned Sophia University Angkor International Mission(Sophia Mission), I serve as Head and Professor Tsuboi serves as Deputy Head. I
am in charge of maintaining the organization and external affairs, and ask Professor
Tsuboi to provide theoretical explanations. Professor Ueno, who moderated Session
3, is also an important member of our mission. He has long instructed young
Cambodian archaeology students in Angkor. Such voluntary service with humanresource development has encouraged people in Cambodia.
I am picking up the case of Angkor Wat because in Cambodia, which went
through many difficulties, reconciliation following the civil war was triggered by thedesire of the Cambodian people to restore Angkor Wat. Restoration of Angkor Wat
commenced with no objections from any sects.
Now, I would like to summarize today’s forum, which may not be as grandiose as
the Concluding Remarks.
First of all, we shared issues related to cultural heritage in the region covering
ASEAN, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, and discussed the common issues.
Many issues were presented. These issues should be shared among us all, and each
person should stand by his or her issues and bring them back to his or her country forfurther discussion. I think that is the first thing.
Second, human resource education is an urgent issue. What forms the basis ofrestoration technology is to train good human resources. Duly-trained people will
become responsible for protecting cultural heritage in their own country.
Third, activities to preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage are closely
related to each other and are connected to the national identity and pride of thecountry or community. This is an important issue.
Fourth, each country should respect traditional restoration techniques or local
techniques, and at the same time, construct meaning as to why restoration is needed
now from a grand perspective. Each country should make known the Venice Charter,
the Nara Document and so on, one by one, together with their individual methodologies and reasoning.
Fifth, we have not yet fully fleshed out the issue of how to cooperate as a rescue
team during crises such as the flooding in Ayutthaya and the earthquake and tsunami
in Sumatra. We must address this issue in the future. I think it has been confirmed

Concluding
Remarksthat trusting relationships can be built through cooperation between people.
The three sessions provided specific scenarios, so we will enter the second stage
based on these scenarios. The best achievement of this forum must be having heateddiscussions and sharing issues about Asian cultural heritage between ASEAN, Japan,
China, and the Republic of Korea. I am so happy that for the first time, people fromJapan, China, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN were able to discuss together.
I would like you all to extend your continued cooperation in various ways. JCICHeritage is a group of nearly 400 experts with diverse specialties. It may be possible
to send a “rescue” team in the event of emergency. I would also like our consortium tohave deeper discussions about joint rescue efforts.
I wish to express my appreciation to you all for attending this long forum fromearly morning to early evening. Thank you very much for coming from ASEAN,
China, the Republic of Korea or Japan to participate in these enthusiastic discussions.
Thank you.

95
Concluding Remarks

Closing
Remarks

Closing Remarks
Yasuyoshi Okada

Vice-chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/Head, The Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq,
Kokushikan University ( Japan)

96
Potentiality of International Cooperation–Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

I am serving as Vice-chairperson of the JCIC-Heritage under Chairperson
Ishizawa. In closing this forum following Professor Ishizawa’s concluding remarks,
I thought I would just express my appreciation to you all. After listening to all the
discussions today, however, I would like to say one thing.
The last session mentioned about cooperation between Japan, China and theRepublic of Korea. Just ten years ago, I was serving as an Executive Committee
member for ICOMOS. I am proud that I have since built good cooperative relationships with ICOMOS members from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.
Additionally, for nearly two decades, I have been participating in joint meetings onarchitecture held by these three countries. In the field of preservation and restoration,
which is the specialty of Professor Nishiura here at this venue, these countries havealready established a framework for cooperation within East Asia. If we take advantage of various frameworks like these, we may be able to carry out cooperation in
many forms.
While becoming aware that we have already entered this new era, I was amazed bywhat the speaker from Singapore said, namely, information about the devastating situation in Palmyra, which was reported by the minute. The level of the concept of cultural heritage or technological advance in Southeast Asia is beyond my imagination.
The current situation is that primarily Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea arevisiting ASEAN countries to extend cooperation. However, when countries in disastrous situations such as Syria and Iraq enter the process of reconstruction in the near
future, like in the case of Angkor when it entered the restoration process, I strongly
hope to work together with today’s speakers to further expand the framework forinternational cooperation.
Finally, from around the beginning of this year, various messages have been
sent out via UNESCO. The representative from Laos referred to the UNIDROIT
Convention. The name is rather difficult, but the convention aims to prevent the
distribution of looted cultural property. Japan used to take the stance that such a convention could be signed in the distant future, but in response to a call by UNESCO,
the Security Council that focuses on military affairs referred to cultural property andadopted the resolution for facilitating international cooperation according to thespirit of the UNIDROIT Convention. In line with this, we provided the statementon the prevention of illicit trafficking in the cultural heritage of Western Asia on page
41 under the name of Chairperson Ishizawa (See JCIC-Heritage Website: http://
www.jcic-heritage.jp/doc/pdf/20151028.pdf ). Please read that statement to deepen
your understanding of the Consortium.
Today’s program was rather long, and I thank you all for your attention. I also
wish to express my appreciation to the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and theJapan Foundation Asia Center for their support, including financial support. My appreciation also goes to the interpreters, who had to overcome various difficulties. Dr.
Yu from the Republic of Korea has said that opportunities like this should continue.
With my strong hope for a similar forum to be held in the near future, if not within
one year, I would like to close today’s forum. Thank you.

ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015

Potentiality of International Cooperation

Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia
Organizer: The Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, the Japan Foundation Asia Center, andJapan Consortium for International Cooperation in cultural Heritage ( JCIC-Heritage)
Date: 13th of December, 2015 9:30-18:00
Venue: Heiseikan-Auditorium, Tokyo National Museum
In association with:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties Tokyo,
Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Japan International Cooperation Agency,
The Sumitomo Foundation, The Mitsubishi Foundation, The Toyota Foundation, Foundation for
Cultural Heritage and Art Research, Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office Asia-Pacific
Cultural Centre for UNESCO, National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, National
Museum of Ethnology, JAPAN ICOMOS National Committee,( Japan Broadcasting
Corporation), The Asahi Shimbun Company, The Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo Shimbun, Nikkei Inc.,
The Mainichi Newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Number of audience: 203

Program
9:30-10:00

Opening Remarks
Mr. Masanori Aoyagi(Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Agency for Cultural Affairs [ Japan])
Mr. Hiroyasu Ando (President, The Japan Foundation [ Japan])Prof. Kosaku Maeda(Vice-chairperson, JCIC-Heritage / Professor Emeritus, Wako University [ Japan])

10:00-10:30 Keynote Lecture 1 “Cultural Heritage Is a Crystal Exemplifying Ethnic Identity:
Towards a Cultural Development Strategy for ASEAN+3”
Prof. Yoshiaki Ishizawa (Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage / Professor, Sophia University [ Japan])
10:30-11:00 Keynote Lecture 2 “The Conservation of the Sukhothai World Heritage Site andCultural Management: A Case Study from Thailand”
H.E. Mr. Vira Rojpojchanarat (Minister, Ministry of Culture [Thailand])
11:10-12:35 Session 1 “Diverse Cultural Heritage: Ideas and Measures for Its Effective Use”
[Moderator] Prof. Koji Miyazaki[Speakers](Professor, Research Institute for Language and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University ofForeign Studies [ Japan])

Mr. Viengkeo Souksavatdy(Deputy Director, Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Tourism and Culture [Laos])Mr. Khalid Bin Syed Ali(Director, Heritage Enforcement Division, Department of National Heritage, Ministry of Tourism
and Culture [Malaysia])

Fr. Milan Ted D. Torralba(Executive Council Member, National Committee on Monuments and Sites, National Commission
for Culture and Arts [the Philippines])

Ms. Jean Mei-Yin Wee(Director, Preservation of Sites and Monuments, National Heritage Board of Singapore [Singapore])12:35-14:35 Lunch Break
14:35-16:00 Session 2 “Strengthening and Handing Down the Ties that Help Transmit
Cultural Heritage to the Future”[Moderator] Mr. Masahiko Tomoda[Speakers](Head, Conservation Design Section, Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation,
National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo [ Japan])Dr. Harry Widianto(Director, Directorate for Cultural Heritage Preservation and Museum, Ministry of Education andCulture [Indonesia])

Dr. Bui Chi Hoang(Director General, Southern Institute of Social Sciences, Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences [Viet Nam])

Dr. Amara Srisuchat(Senior Advisor and Expert in Archaeology & Museum, Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture [Thailand])Dr. Kyaw Oo Lwin

(Director General, Department of Archaeology and National Museum, Ministry of Culture [Myanmar])Dr. Ly Vanna(Director, Department of Conservation of Monuments in Angkor Park and Preventive
Archaeology, APSARA National Authority [Cambodia])

16:00-16:20 Break
16:20-17:35 Session 3 “Multilateral Cooperation in Cultural Heritage”[Moderator] Prof. Kunikazu Ueno (International Goodwill Professor, Nara Women’s University [ Japan])[Speakers]
Dr. Song Zhang(Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University [China])

Dr. Jae Eun Yu(Director, Restoration Technology Division, National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage of
Korea [Republic of Korea])Prof. Yoshiharu Tsuboi(Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University [ Japan])[Commentators]
Dr. Ly Vanna, Ms. Jean Mei-Yin Wee and Fr. Milan Ted D. Torralba
17:35-17:45 Concluding Remarks
Prof. Yoshiaki Ishizawa
17:45-

Closing Remarks
Prof. Yasuyoshi Okada(Vice-chairperson, JCIC-Heritage / Director, Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan
University [ Japan])ASEAN+3 Cultural Heritage Forum 2015

Potentiality of International Cooperation
Transmission and Utilization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia
Published December 2016
Edited and Published by:
Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
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Email: consortium@tobunken.go.jp
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