Present Situation and Challenges Regarding Human Resource Development for Cultural Heritage Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region

International Conference 2016
“Present Situation and Challenges Regarding Human Resource Development for
Cultural Heritage Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region”(13 – 15 December, Nara, Japan)

Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan

International Conference 2016
“Present Situation and Challenges Regarding Human Resource Development for
Cultural Heritage Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region”(13 – 15 December, Nara, Japan)

Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan

Edited and Published by
Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
Nara Prefectural General Office 1st Floor
757 Horen-cho, Nara 630-8113 Japan
Tel: +81 (0)742-20-5001
Fax: +81 (0)742-20-5701
e-mail: nara@accu.or.jp
URL: http://www.nara.accu.or.jp
Printed by KyodoseihanⒸ Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) 2017

Excursion: Toshodai-ji Temple

Preface
ACCU Nara Office was opened in 1999 as a base for promoting the protection of cultural
heritage. Since then, we have been promoting international cooperation concerning the protectionof cultural heritage through various projects such as three types of training courses for thedevelopment of personnel, international conferences, and the gathering and dissemination of
relevant information. Up to the current year, 2016, we have received the participation of 445
people from 37 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
In launching our training programs, we have coordinated from the very start with internationalorganisations such as UNESCO and ICCROM, along with research institutes and museums underJapan’s National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, and have also been carrying out these programs
while receiving the support of regional public organisations.
Over this period, conditions have changed both domestically and abroad with regards tointernational cooperation concerning cultural heritage protection. In 2006, a Japanese law called
the “Act on the Promotion of International Cooperation for Protection of Cultural Heritage
Abroad” came into effect. Based on this law, Japan aims for increased promotion of international
cooperation regarding cultural heritage, and its contributions are now required for advancing thevarious cultures of the world.
In the same year this law was passed, the Japan Consortium for International Cooperationin Cultural Heritage, or JCIC-Heritage for short, was established. In order to help achieveinternational cooperation, this consortium aims to gather and provide relevant information,
to conduct investigative research regarding international cooperation, and to publicize andpopularize the activities of international cooperation involving cultural heritage, in order toenable coordinated cooperation among various concerned parties, such as researchers, support
organizations, relevant government personnel, and private enterprises. The ACCU Nara Office is
carrying out this function as one of the organisations among the consortium.
Meanwhile, the establishment in May 2007 of WHITR-AP (World Heritage Training andResearch Institute for the Asia and the Pacific Region), a UNESCO Category 2 institute, at Tongji
University, Shanghai, was also a significant change in conditions. This meant that an instituteengaged in the training of heritage personnel in the same manner as the ACCU Nara Office has
emerged in a country that is geographically close by. As WHITR-AP Shanghai and ACCU Nara
Office share the same goal of contributing to the protection of cultural heritage in the Asia-Pacificregion, I am happy to inform you that since 2010 we have maintained a partnership of cooperationin areas where this is possible.
In this manner, the environment surrounding the ACCU Nara Office has been changing, but arechanges not happening also in conditions affecting the protection of cultural properties in thehome countries of all of the participants here? For example, issues that were extremely urgent
10 years ago have perhaps become lower in priority today. Changes in political and economic

conditions have also probably been involved. For our part, we would first of all like to sharewith you information on the latest trends regarding the issues and actual conditions of personnel
development.
I believe it is necessary for our training programs to adapt to such changes and always maintaintheir effectiveness.
On this occasion, with the participation of all of you at this conference, we would like to review
with you the issues affecting personnel development, and hear your opinions and requests withregard to such topics as the proper future direction of the ACCU’s cooperative projects for cultural
heritage protection. With your understanding of this goal of the conference, I look forward toreceiving your opinions and active participation.
Lastly, I would like to extend special thanks to all those who have given advice and support
in regard to holding this conference, beginning with the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan(Bunkacho); Independent Administrative Institution, National Institutes for Cultural Heritage,
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and Nara National Research Institutefor Cultural Properties; International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restorationof Cultural Property (ICCROM); the Japanese Association for Conservation of Architectural
Monuments (JACAM); Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage;
Nara Prefectural Government and Nara City Government.

NISHIMURA Yasushi
Director
ACCU Nara OfficeContents
Preface
Ⅰ．Keynote Speeches
1. Global Trends in Human Resource Development for Cultural Heritage Protection… ………………   3
Gamini Wijesuriya (ICCROM)
2. The 15-year History of ACCU Nara Office Programmes for Human Resource Development… …   14NISHIMURA Yasushi (ACCU Nara Office)Ⅱ．Papers by Participants
1. Human Resources in Nepal: Context of Cultural Heritage Conservation… ………………………   23Suresh Suras SHRESTHA (Nepal)
2. The Present Situation and Future Challenges Regarding Human Resources Development for the
Cultural Heritage Protection in Bangladesh…………………………………………………………   27Mst. Naheed Sultana (Bangladesh)
3. The Sri Lankan Experience…………………………………………………………………………    37Prasanna B. Ratnayake (Sri Lanka)
4. Human Resource Development on Cultural Heritage Protection in Viet Nam… …………………   42Tran Dinh Thanh (Viet Nam)
5. Present Situation and Future Challenges Regarding Human Resources Development for the Cultural
Heritage Protection in Bhutan………………………………………………………………………    50Nagtsho Dorji (Bhutan)
6. Museum Skills Attained Through Experience Gained or Qualification… …………………………    57Elia Robert Francis Nakoro (Fiji)

Ⅲ．Appendix
1. General Information of the Conference… …………………………………………………………    632. Schedule of the Conference …………………………………………………………………………    653. List of Participants… ………………………………………………………………………………    66I. Keynote Speeches

Gamini
Wijesuriya

Global Trends in Human Resource Development
for Cultural Heritage Protection
Gamini Wijesuriya
Project Manager,
ICCROM

Introduction
The aim of this paper is to present a brief overview of the global trends in human resources
development (HRD) for cultural heritage protection. It is well established that “human resources are
key organizational assets since organizational performance depends on the quality of the employee
effort, and, hence on their ability and motivation”. This is also true for the cultural heritage protection
sector organizations. There are many facets to HRD but assimilation of the changes occurring within
the heritage protection sector plays a decisive role. These changes or trends will be discussed in Part 1of this paper. These in turn help us to identify the human resources required for the sector, which will
be discussed in Part 2. The next task is to identify corresponding new learning areas and Part 3 of thepaper is dedicated to this discussion. Finally, the paper will conclude with a short discussion on HRD
methods and agencies involved, placing emphasis on national/site level institutions.
Part 1: Global Trends in the Protection of Cultural Heritage
In October 2016 I had the honour of delivering a keynote speech at an international symposium heldin Thailand. My theme was from the Venice Charter (1964) to Nara Plus 20 (2014). This covered thefifty-year period between these two contrasting documents. I used the opportunity to further reflect
and consolidate my previous work on global trends within the heritage sector over the last 50 years
in terms of contents and temporal terms. There have been major shifts in approaches to conservation
particularly during the last 20 years of the 50 mentioned above and the situation is still evolving. A
major part of this section is based on the above work.

3

GaminiWijesuriya

Trend Setters
Setters
Trend
The resources Manual on Managing
Managing World
World Cultural
Cultural Heritage
Heritagenow
nowinincirculation
circulationhas
hascaptured
capturedmany
manyofofthe
thelearning
areas
providesnecessary
guidance
to strengthen
the knowledge,
and awarenesslearning
areas
and andprovidesnecessary
guidance
to strengthen
the knowledge,
skillsskills
and awarenesstowards
towards
the newIt shifts.
It capturesideas presented
in Diagramand highlights
need tothe new shifts.
capturesall ideas allpresented
in Diagram
No.1 andNo.1
highlights
the needthe
to moveformoveformanaging
heritage.
Heritagemanagement
systems
conceptualised
necessary
guidance
given
managing
heritage.
Heritagemanagement
systems
are areconceptualised
andandnecessary
guidance
given

dealing with all aspects of heritage management in keeping with global trends. This provides basic
dealing with all aspects of heritage management in keeping with global trends. This provides basic
information on trend setters but there is room for further improvement. Most shifts can be attributed to
information on trend setters but there is room for further improvement. Most shifts can be attributed to
UNESCO and its World Heritage programme. The two Advisory Bodies to the programme, ICOMOS
UNESCO and its World Heritage programme. The two Advisory Bodies to the programme, ICOMOS andand ICCROM, were involved with these changes. For the last twenty years ICCROM has contributed
ICCROM,withthesechanges.
For theyears ICCROM
has contributed
to atoa major were
shift involvedof moving
from
‘care
of heritage
to lastthattwentyof pursuing
the well-beingof both heritage

major
shift ofasmovingfrom‘care ofitsheritage
to thatof pursuing
the well-being
both programme
heritage and andsocietyandsocietya whole’through
activities
relatedto the Living
HeritageofSites
as a whole’
its activities
related to
the Living Heritage
Sites programme
and later on
promotinglater
on by throughpromotingPeople-Centred
Approaches
to Conservationand Management
of byHeritage.
The
UniversitiesApproaches
have contributed
to a limited
to the philosophicalandUniversities
academic debates
People-Centred
to Conservation
andextentManagementof Heritage. The
have onmany
issuestoand
disseminatedthroughtheir educational
There
are some
contributed
a limited
extent tothe
the knowledge
philosophicaland academic
debates onactivities.
many issues
and disseminatedvery
interestingthroughchangestheiroccurringat national
levels,dueareto theinfluenceof globalchanges
changesoccurringand someat
the knowledge
educational
activities.
There
some
very interestingaccording to their own initiatives.
national levels, due to the influence of global changes and some according to their own initiatives.
Changes from ‘Conservation of Monuments and Sites’ to ‘Management of Heritage’The heritage sector is about moving from ‘conservation of monuments and sites’ to ‘management of
heritage’. Let me explain this. Conservation of monuments and sites was the focus of the conventional
approach which represents the foundation of the modern conservation movement developed in theWestern World from the middle of the 19th century as portrayed in documents like the Venice Charter.

4

heritage’. Let me explain this. Conservation of monuments and sites was the focus of the conventional
approach which represents the foundation of the modern conservation movement developed in theWestern World from the middle of the 19th century as portrayed in documents like the Venice Charter. See
Gamini
Wijesuriya

the figure below:
See the figure below:

CONSERVATION OF M ONUM ENTS & SITESM ONUM ENTS & SITESCONSERVATION PRINCIPLES (well established!)

PHYSICALFABRICIM PACTS(ON HERITAGE /ONLY NEGATIVE)

RESULTS(INTERVENTIONSON HERITAGE)

CARE(WELLBEING)FORM ONUM ENTS
& SITESCONSERVATION OF M ONUM ENTS & SITES: EXPERT DRIVEN

Diagram 1: Conservation of Monuments and Sites

Diagram 1: Conservation of Monuments and Sites

Its focus was on monuments and sites and in particular the fabric or the materials that constitutethem. The objectives of ‘conservation’ were to prolong the life of the fabric or the materials focusing
Itsprimarily
focus wasonon‘aesthetic’monumentsand
and‘historicalsites and inparticular
the fabricor the materials
Thevalues’.
These
are achievedby usingthat
an constituteanalyticalthem.
process
objectivesof ‘conservation’to prolong
the lifeof
of fabric
the fabricthe materials focusingonof identifying
the causeswereof thedeterioration
andorimplementing
various primarily
interventions‘aesthetic’and ‘historicalvalues’. These
are achieved
using anprocessof identifying
characterised
as consolidation,
restoration(some byof whichareanalyticalstill being
defined)and so on.theThe
ultimategoal
is to ensureofthewell-beingof the heritage(physical
fabric)characterised
or material remainsof thecausesof thedeterioration
fabricand implementing
variousinterventions
aspast. During restoration
its formative
stages,this philosophy
was defined)
rooted inandsecularof European
asconsolidation,(someof which
are still being
so on.values
The ultimate
goal issociety
to ensure

in ofthetheVeniceCharterand otherapproach
was promoted
propagatedtheportrayedwell-being
heritage(physical
fabric)documents.
or material Thisremainsof the past.
During its andformative
stages,throughout the world with the conviction that there is a sound theoretical basis with regard to
this philosophy was rooted in secular values of European society as portrayed in the Venice Charter andconservation issues. It was a process led by experts who identified and protected Monuments andother documents. This approach was promoted and propagated throughout the world with the conviction
Sites for the masses. This is still beneficial but not without consequences and criticism. This approachproduced both complementary and contradictory results and was criticised for trying to use the ‘onesize fits all’ principle. Consequently, this has led to many changes within the sector.
I highlighted one of the consequences of this approach during the above-mentioned meeting in
Thailand. The symposium was organized to discuss conservation of bricks and brick structures of theWorld Heritage site of Ayutthaya without taking into consideration the religious aspects of the site.
Ayutthaya is one of the largest heritage sites in the region and indeed in the world consisting of brickmonuments in varying condition. However, it was and still is considered to be one of the most sacredplaces for the majority (more than 90 percent) of the Buddhist community. Why did the conservation

5

GaminiWijesuriya

community focus only on bricks and fabric at an international symposium organized by UNESCO andThai authorities? I pointed out that this was the result of the conservation approach described above
and called this the ‘secularisation’ of heritage.
The term heritage ‘secularisation’ is used to describe the phenomenon of the separation of spirituality(and other human dimensions) from material conservation. A great deal of emphasis was placed on
fabric or material remains and advocating restoration aimed at retrieving aesthetics and historic values.
Safeguarding material authenticity was a primary concern. One of the consequences was the separationof people and heritage, which was due to the fact that the conservation philosophy at the formative
stages was rooted in secular values of the European society. Heritage places regardless of their wider
spectrum of values (eg. religious) became listed buildings and sites and places for tourist attractions
or parks devoted to leisure and education. Ironically, the heritage practitioners were compelled tofocus only on the material side or the condition of the fabric which could be interpreted as only taking
care of the body and ignoring the soul. This was the reason, which is not just limited to Thailand, forfocusing on bricks at the sacred site of Ayutthaya.
Ignorance of the people factor played a key role leading to changes towards a new approach–‘management of heritage’. Let me highlight some of the key aspects of this new approach and reasonsleading to this transformation. The term ‘heritage’ began to replace monuments and sites and widened
its scope and added a wide range of categories including landscapes. The re-introduction of theterminology of ‘values’ and significance specifically allowed ‘people’ to engage in the heritage process
and to question why something is important and for whom. Values and significance assessments werealso used as the basis for managing heritage within which ‘conservation’ (Burra charter process) was
one component. All these strengthened the linkages between people and heritage. People were given
the opportunity to discuss issues related to identities (posing confrontational issues as well), rights,
politics and more in-depth decision making processes.
The Living Heritage Sites programme of ICCROM (2003-2010) specifically addresses the living
dimensions of heritage. Consequently, ‘a living heritage approach implies a focus on people both
past and present and their cultural products and practices, both tangible and intangible, so that values
and relationships are considered and maintained through the process of sustainable development,
management and regeneration of heritage sites’. Living Heritage was characterised as those which
continue to perform the function for which they were created which in turn link to the continuity ofcommunity connections, expression and care through traditional or established means.
Although there was a clearly identifiable category called living heritage, it was abundantly clearthat the focus on people and the idea of continuity are valid determinants to define and manage allcategories of heritage. Hence, ICCROM implemented a programme to promote People-Centred
Approaches to Conservation and Management of heritage in its 2010-2017 programme and budget as
an extension to the Living Heritage programme. This was later extended to cover both cultural andnatural heritage and two training courses have already been implemented.

6GaminiWijesuriya

Parallel to this, new themes like Cultural Resource Management and Archaeological Heritage
Management began to develop. People factor being a key concern, two ideas linked to it were the needto respect diversity and context which were highlighted in the Nara Document on Authenticity (1994)
and began to play a crucial role in heritage discourse.
The Nara Plus 20 document (2014) further reiterated the importance of these ideas and emphasized that
more work is needed in order to help conservation and management of heritage cover the following
themes: implications of the evolution of cultural values; involvement of multiple stakeholders;conflicting claims and interpretations; role of cultural heritage in sustainable development. This clearlyshows that heritage conservation and management ideas are still evolving.
The immense popularity gained by the World Heritage Convention promoted many new ideas. The
anddiscussions
startedin orderto reconcile these
two approaches.
ICCROMcooperation
began to discuss
thegreateremphasisplacedon management,
monitoringand international
is a noteworthy

Sustainable
Development
paradigm
around1997 andnatural
thanks sites
to thethroughWorld Heritage
processand
thisvicehas now
development.
The existing
practicesof managing
cultural values
versa
began
to disappear
and discussions
startedin orderthesethetwoshiftapproaches.
began
been
introduced
officiallyin the heritage
sector.
This tohasreconcile
strengthened
discussedICCROM
here in whichto discuss
the Sustainable
paradigm
around as
1997
and thanks
to considered
the World within
Heritage
benefits
to heritage
as well as Development
benefits form heritage
to society
a wholeare being
theprocessprocesses.
this has now
introduced
in tothetheheritage
Thisnew
hasSDGs,
strengthened
heritage
The been
heritagesector isofficiallyalso linked
Agendasector.
2030 andand hasthe
alsoshift
discussed here in which benefits to heritage as well as benefits form heritage to society as a whole are
begun to respond to global challenges such as population growth, rapid urbanisation, increased
being considered within the heritage processes. The heritage sector is also linked to the Agenda 2030
development pressures, disaster risks and climate change by engaging with the global community andand new SDGs, and has also begun to respond to global challenges such as population growth, rapid
national authorities.
urbanisation, increased development pressures, disaster risks and climate change by engaging with theglobal community and national authorities.
I have tried to summarise the new approach using the same format of the diagram 1 presented earlier.
I have tried to summarise the new approach using the same format of the diagram 1 presented earlier.

Diagram 2: Management of Heritage

Diagram 2: Management of Heritage

7

GaminiWijesuriya

It is about discussing heritage as well as people without separation. All activities pertaining to the
management of heritage should be governed by the two overarching concepts diversity and culturalcontext formalised though the Nara document. Instead of fabric we talk about values which are held bypeople and identify the attribute that carry those values. We look at both positive and negative impacts
meaning impacts on heritage as well as of heritage. This leads to developing objectives or the results
we want to achieve for the protection of heritage and to ensure the benefits are delivered to people.
The overall goal of this process, as mentioned before, aims at focusing on the well-being of society
as well as heritage and not just heritage. We are managing continuity (a key concept missing in theheritage discourse explained before) and it’s a society driven process. Principles are still evolving as
best exemplified in the Nara Plus 20 conference (2014).
This is tantamount to a paradigm shift within the heritage discourse and has implications at alllevels: ‘care of heritage to that of pursuing the well-being of both heritage and society as a whole’.
We consider this as people-centred approaches to conservation and management of heritage which
is not simply a question of increasing participation within a given management system. It is about
addressing a core component of heritage management, who are the people connected to heritage. It is
about ensuring that this integral element of heritage is at the core of heritage management practice andensuring heritage has a dynamic and mutually beneficial role in society today and long into the future.
In order to develop HR for the protection of heritage under the new paradigm it is essential to identify
the type of human resources as well as both old and new learning areas.
Part 2: Human Resources Requirements for the Heritage Sector
HR development is a widely discussed subject and related to all sectors. It is the beyond the scopeof this paper to discuss details of HR development which is a highly developed discipline. The
heritage sector should pay more attention to this subject. As highlighted in the introduction, “humanresources are key organizational assets since organizational performance depends on the quality of theemployee effort, and, hence on their ability and motivation”. (Claydon 1997: 76). This has been further
highlighted by Stewarts and MacGoldrick who define Human Resources Development as:“[encompassing] activities and processes which are intended to have impact onorganizational and individual learning. …..The term assumes that organizations canbe constructively conceived of as learning entities, and that learning processes of bothorganizations and individuals are capable of influence and direction through deliberate andplanned interventions. Thus HRD is constituted by planned interventions in organizational
and individual processes.” (Stewart and MacGoldrick 1996)
The focus of this section is to review the HR required for effective conservation and managementof heritage. The shift or the trend discussed in the previous section compels us to rethink the humanresources requirements for the heritage sector. I would like to draw attention to the recently developed
Capacity Building Strategy adopted by the World Heritage Committee. This focuses on capacity8GaminiWijesuriya

resources requirements for the heritage sector. I would like to draw attention to the recently developed
Capacity
Building
Strategy adopted
by the World
Committee.
This focuses andon capacity
areas andareas and
their respective
target audiences
whoHeritage
can influence
the conservation
managementof
heritage.
Where
necessary,
it whois thecan
capacities
target audiencesthat haveoftoheritage.
be developed
theirrespective
targetaudiencesinfluenceof
thethese
conservationand management
Whereor strengthened.
The UNDP
development
as theprocess
throughwhich “individuals,
necessary,it is the capacities
of seesthesecapacity
target audiencesthat haveto bedeveloped
or strengthened.
The

organizations
and societies
obtain,maintainthe“individuals,
capabilities toorganizations
set and achieveown
UNDP
sees capacity
development
as strengthen
the processand
throughwhich
and theirsocieties
development objectives over time.” Inspired by this definition, ICCROM together with other partners,
obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives overdeveloped the World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy (2011) replacing its Global Training Strategy
time.” Inspired by this definition, ICCROM together with other partners, developed the World Heritage(2001) for the World Heritage Committee with the intention of serving the entire heritage sector. The
Capacity Building Strategy (2011) replacing its Global Training Strategy (2001) for the World Heritage
World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy was adopted in 2011 and is considered a major paradigm
Committee
withthe intentionof serving
the entire
sector.
World Heritage
Building
shift within
human
resourcesdevelopment.
As heritage
can be seenin Thethe diagram
below, Capacity
it identifies
three

Strategywasadoptedin 2011and is considereda major paradigm shift within human resources
capacityareas
and their
respective
target audiences.
development. As can be seen in the diagram below, it identifies three capacity areas and their respective
target audiences.

Diagram3:3:New
New Paradigm
Shift
DiagramParadigm
Shift9GaminiWijesuriya

Diagram
Areas
Diagram4:
4: Capacity
Capacity Areas
Diagram 4: Capacity Areas

Diagram 5: Where Capacities Reside and Respective Audiences

Diagram 5: Where Capacities Reside and Respective Audiences
Diagram
5: Where
Capacities
Respective
The next sectionof the paper
will focus
on the Residerequiredandlearning
areas inAudiences
keeping with the diverse
target audiences and advances of the heritage sector discussed in the previous section. HR
development has many facets. Human resources within the heritage sector, like any other sector,
require diverse skills, knowledge and awareness depending on their roles. For instance, a sitemanager needs the knowledge or heritage as well as other skills such as planning and programming,communications and interpersonal relationships for the effective management of their site. Althoughthese are essential aspects, the heritage sector has yet to embrace fully them. The focus of the next
section is limited to knowledge directly related to heritage as discussed in part1.

10GaminiWijesuriya

Part 3: New Learning Areas
Unfortunately, without sufficient data, the heritage sector is severely handicapped in making robust
decisions with regard to the new learning areas. Hardly any needs assessments are available except
various ad-hoc attempts understand the capacity building needs. In most cases, decisions are madetop down but the needs at bottom level are hard to identify. State of Conservation reports of World
Heritage (SOC) are perhaps the only data which provide a global snapshot of the present situation.
These reports (around 150 per year) are prepared annually by ICCROM and ICOMOS together
with the World Heritage centre for examination and action by the World Heritage Committee. These
contain factors affecting heritage (although they only look at negative impacts) and the responses andchallenges faced by the heritage authorities as well as decision makers at international level. Anothersource is the Periodic Reporting carried out by the State Parties every six years under the World
Heritage programme. All these highlight the learning areas both old and new based on which HRD
activities can be organized. For instance, the World Heritage Committee recommends 20-30 Heritage
Impact Assessments every year and ICCROM considered this as a new learning area and developed
training courses accordingly.
The following training activities (mostly top down) are now being organized which take into
consideration the above reports and other inputs from various ICCROM activities, according to thecontents of the Capacity Building Strategy:
1. Conservation of Built Heritage
2. Conservation of Materials: Wood/Stone/Other
3. Managing Archaeological Sites
4. Management Planning
5. Monitoring Heritage
6. Heritage Impact Assessments
7. People Centred Approaches to Conservation of Heritage: Engaging Communities
8. Linking Nature and Culture
9. Heritage and Sustainable Development
These focus mainly on heritage professionals with the expectation that they will play a lead role incommunicating the knowledge, skills and awareness they gain to the other target audiences. There arealso sources such as resources manuals which are accessible to all audiences.

11

These focus mainly on heritage professionals with the expectation that they will play a lead role incommunicating the knowledge, skills and awareness they gain to the other target audiences. There are also
Gamini
Wijesuriya

sources such as resources manuals which are accessible to all audiences.

Diagram 6: Components of Heritage Management System

Diagram 6: Components of Heritage Management System
The resources Manual on Managing World Cultural Heritage now in circulation has captured many ofthe learning areas and provides necessary guidance to strengthen the knowledge, skills and awarenessneededto facethe new
It captures
all the ideas
presented
Diagram 1has
andcaptured
highlights
the ofneed
Theresources
Manualon shifts.
Managing
World Cultural
Heritage
now inincirculation
many
the
to
changeinmanaging
heritage.
Heritagemanagement
systems
areconceptualizedandnecessarylearning areas and provides necessary guidance to strengthen the knowledge, skills and awareness neededguidance is provided for dealing with all aspects of heritage management in keeping with global
to face the new shifts. It captures all the ideas presented in Diagram 1 and highlights the need to change intrends. There are areas for further improvement but this provides a good foundation.
managing heritage. Heritage management systems are conceptualized and necessary guidance is provided

for dealing with all aspects of heritage management in keeping with global trends. There are areas forConclusions: Human Resource Development Methods and Agencies
further
this provides
a good foundation.
How improvement
do we share but
knowledge
to different
target audiences? Knowledge transfer was the key tool
used in the past. However, today we are talking about knowledge acquisition through various means
especially modern
information
A largenumberandof universities
Conclusions:
Human
Resourcetechnology.
Development
Methods
Agencies in almost every country

run different educational programmes offering degree/postgraduate degrees mainly for heritage
How do we share knowledge to different target audiences? Knowledge transfer was the key tool used inpractitioners. These provide foundation knowledge for those who wish to select heritage management
the past. However, today we are talking about knowledge acquisition through various means especiallyas their career with national and international organizations. There are other international and regionalmodern information technology. A large number of universities in almost every country run different
organizations such as ICCROM, IUCN, ICOMOS, ACCU Nara, SPAFA and UNESCO category 2

Centres (C2Cs) providing different levels of training for heritage practitioners. In addition to the main
educational and training programmes, there are diverse forms of transferring and acquiring knowledge.
These include workshops/conferences, publications, in-service training, internships and site based
activities. Details of some of these are included in the ICCROM training index which is perhaps the
only such resource in the world. The Capacity Building Strategy mentioned above and its follow-up
activities, including regional strategies, provide sources for training courses and institutions.
There is hardly any global platform to discuss emerging trends, resulting target audiences and the newlearning areas, except for a few international conferences such as the ICOMOS General Assembly andthe World Archaeological Congress which are focused on specific themes.

12GaminiWijesuriya

The heritage sector is moving forward and it is essential that human resources development issues are
addressed accordingly. HRD is key to the effective and sustainable management of heritage. It shouldtake into account the changes occurring, diverse target audiences and the new areas of learning indeveloping human resources. In this context, human resource development agencies have a key roleto play and they too need to focus on new and old needs and revisit their programmes accordingly. We
congratulate ACCU Nara for organizing this meeting with a view to asses future HRD needs.
Human resources are always linked to organizations. They vary from international organizations suchas UNESCO to national heritage institutions and to site based entities. However, the critical mass isthe national heritage institutions. It is their responsibility to develop their own staff in the first place
and to ensure the capacity development of other target audiences. This is perhaps the weakest aspectof national heritage institutions today and I would argue that it is one of the most critical issues in theheritage sector globally. Practitioners working in national heritage institutions should be provided with
opportunities to update their knowledge in keeping with the global trends, and mechanisms for inservice and site based capacity building activities should be developed. Institutions should proactively
engage in developing the capacities of all relevant parties who are not part of the regular staff ofheritage institutions. Heritage institutions can never attract or employ all the human resources required
to manage the heritage of a given country. On the other hand, communities and networks will neverbe an integral part of a heritage organization. Nevertheless, national heritage institutions should takethe responsibility for identifying them and developing their capacities, as appropriate. It is for this thatthe capacity building strategy mentioned above proposes that national institutions develop national
capacity building strategies. This will provide ample opportunity to revisit the existing situation,
identify needs and develop strategies and activities for human resources development.
A tribute to ACCU NaraIn presenting this paper, I wish to pay a tribute to ACCU Nara. I have devoted my entire professional life of nearly 40 years to
the heritage sector, holding numerous positions, engaging in a range of activities and above all witnessing and experiencing
the transformation since 1977. This was because I opted to work on conservation immediately after my graduation as
an architect in that year. I now realize that a major part of my professional life has been devoted to human resources
development, and ACCU Nara happened to be the international institution I served the longest - a journey which started in
2000. In this context, I am particularly delighted to make this presentation and express my deep gratitude to the organizers forselecting this theme and placing trust in me to deliver the lecture. It was also wonderful to work with my colleague Nobuko
Inaba, with whom the journey started in 2000. Let me pay a tribute to Dr. Nishimura who has directed the programme since2004. It is also encouraging to see several former (and young) participants sitting here who now occupy high positions intheir respective countries. This indeed is thanks to the unique participant selection process followed by ACCU Nara. This isalso a moment to convey the greetings from my Director General and the Director of Sites Unit at ICCROM to ACCU for its
long-term commitments to providing training to Asian Heritage professionals. I always say that the professionals in Asia are
fortunate to have a very generous neighbour like Japan. Thank you ACCU and its dedicated staff and last but not least to all
its partners including Bunkacho.

13

The 15-year History of ACCU Nara Office Programmesfor Human Resource Development
NISHIMURA
YasushiNISHIMURA Yasushi
Director
Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office
Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU Nara Office)Introduction
Concerning those training programmes, with regard to the beginnings of the ACCU’s projects as awhole, various issues were examined in two conferences held in succession in March 2000, titled the“Experts Meeting on Training Programmes for Cultural Heritage Protection in Asia and the Pacific”
and “Meeting of Experts on Regional Cooperation for the Development of Asia-Pacific Cultural
Heritage Website.” As a result, taking the 44 countries of the Asia/Pacific region including Japan as
the focus, in terms of the international aspects on the one hand it was decided to launch the “ACCUInternational Exchange Programme under the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust for the Promotionof International Cooperation and Mutual Understanding,” in addition to personnel development,international conferences, and the gathering and dissemination of information, while with regard toregional exchanges within the local areas of the city and prefecture of Nara, it was determined to holdInternational Conferences.
Subsequently, in response to changes in both international and domestic conditions, in the area ofinternational activities we have added the overseas workshop programme and the International
Correspondent, a bulletin featuring reports from former trainees. Also, as projects targeting local
audiences in the city and prefecture of Nara, we have developed the publication of a newsletter,
Cultural Heritage News, plus a series of “World Heritage Lectures” given in local high schools.
1. Personnel Development
At present, as personnel development programmes we run our group and individual training sessions,and overseas workshops. As of 2016, over the 15-year period up to the present the Nara Office has
hosted a total of 445 participants from 37 countries in our group and individual training, workshops,
and the International Youth Exchange Programme.
1-1. GROUP TRAINING
This is conducted with the joint sponsorship of ICCROM and the Agency for Cultural Affairs,
and initially invited 15 participants from 15 countries, but from 2002 this has been increased to 16
participants from 16 countries. Recruitment is conducted in principle through each country’s National
Commission for UNESCO. Selection is made by ACCU Nara Office, after first sharing informationand holding discussions with ICCROM. It is mostly experts already with several years of practicalexperience in the area of cultural heritage protection who are selected.

14

The training is on two themes, selected in alternate years, of “Preservation and Restoration of Wooden
Structures” and “Research, Analysis, and Preservation of Archaeological Sites and Remains,” and isNISHIMURA
Yasushiconducted for one month. In either case, the first and last sessions are held with the participation of
lecturers from ICCROM.
The introductory part of the training consists of lectures on international trends, plus the participants’“Country Reports” on conditions for the protection of cultural heritage in their home countries,
followed by discussion. The programme thus starts with a review of international charters, conventions,documents, declarations, and recommendations along with the various international organizations
relevant to cultural heritage.
Personnel of the Agency for Cultural Affairs serve as instructors for lectures on historical changes
in Japan’s system of cultural properties protection, including amendments to the laws and otherdevelopments to meet the needs of the time. Regarding the repair of wooden structures, lectures andpractical training sessions are requested from experts from the Japanese Association for Conservationof Architectural Monuments and technicians working on built structures mainly in Nara prefecture.
At worksites of restoration projects for buildings, while practical training is carried out consisting
mainly of scale drawings of the floor plan and elevation, this is for the purpose of providing experiencethrough actual hands-on tasks in the observation and recording of structures. In other words, it is notjust the making of drawings, but the observation and recording of the degree of deterioration or decay,
and the appreciation of how vital such basic data can be when utilized for future restoration, that are
the true aims of the training.
In recent years, the importance of using traditional materials and techniques in the restoration ofbuildings has become recognized, and in addition, it is thought that the existence in this connection of
intangible cultural properties, in other words the artisans possessing those skills, plays an importantpart. In investigations such as those for recording coloration, we have been conducting practicaltraining with this aspect in mind.
For archaeological tasks such as recording through the making of scale drawings or taking rubbingsof artefacts, we request the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties or the Nara City
Archaeological Research Centre to hold the practical training. For this training the participants get
support from senior volunteers, which makes it a valuable opportunity to have contact with membersof the local community. This is designed from a desire for the participants to realize that in the longterm view, links with the local region serve as a resource in the preservation of cultural properties.
In this training as well, making a drawing is not simply a matter of copying the shape of artefacts suchas pottery. The purpose is to observe traces showing what kind of technology was used in these objects’manufacture, and show the result in the form of a drawing. Such observations become vital clues when
considering the chronological age of artefacts, thereby making them useful as historical materials. This15

task is also fundamental to the work of inventory.

NISHIMURA
YasushiIn archaeological research, while lectures on related disciplines such as the scientific techniques andsurveying that comprise conservation science are indeed important, under current circumstances wemust admit that we can only provide a basic introduction.
Cultural heritage is greatly damaged in natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and typhoons
which have occurred frequently in recent years, and unfortunately this situation is shared acrosswide areas of the world. Because of this, the vital significance of tangible and intangible culturalproperties is becoming widely recognized through the processes of reconstruction and recovery, andwe are keenly aware of the need for adding some opportunity in the training programme for reflecting
concretely on what kinds of measures can be taken in this regard.
For the final session of the training, with instruction by a lecturer from ICCROM, the entire groupdebates ideals and plans of cultural heritage protection for the future. There is always some variety
depending on the lecturer, so the manner of this discussion is never the same. Participants might divide
into small groups of several persons and form their opinions, which are then presented to the entire
group. Or the entire group might hold a discussion as a whole from the very start. The instructor may
provide the group assistance in shaping their views by interviewing a handful of members, and soforth. As no method may be called perfect, and there will be differences in the level of the instructors’skills, we do not hold fixed ideas in this regard.

16

At the end, we obtain the participants’ reviews of the training directly from them, and we makeefforts to utilize this feedback when devising the next programme. As participants come from various
NISHIMURA
Yasushicountries, the programme is conducted in English.
1-2. INDIVIDUAL AND SPECIFIC THEME TRAINING
In individual training, two or three participants from a particular country are invited to Nara for a
maximum period of less than two months. Until 2014, the programme was conducted twice yearly,
making it possible to invite up to six individuals from two different countries. The theme of the
training is set according to the requests of the participants. Popular requests in the past have been forconservation science, site investigation methodology, museology, and restoration and repair of wooden
structures.
As the participants come from a single country, if they are not proficient in English, it is possible toarrange for a translator and use the language of that country. The characteristics of this training arethus the ability to concentrate on a particular theme, and the expectation that information will be
sufficiently transmitted, through translation if needed.
Participants are chosen from a wide range, including newcomers to those with a wealth of experience.
This is because the urgent needs of heritage protection differ for each country, and there are also
differences among personnel in their knowledge and experience. In individual training, because theparticipants are chosen first and the curriculum is put together afterward, the treatment can be flexible
including the provision of a translator.
From 2015, this individualized form of training was discontinued, and in its place we began to holdtraining that concentrates on specific themes. For the two years of 2015 and 2016, we chose the themeof “Museology.” Last year we invited two participants each from the Republic of Maldives, the Federal
Democratic Republic of Nepal, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and this year two
each from the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and the Republic of theUnion of Myanmar, for approximately one month of training.
As this training is not for participants from a single country as in the previous individual programme,
the training is conducted in English. Also, while the theme is limited to museology, we believe thatit gives a broad introduction, enhanced with some practical training, to various aspects such as thecollection, accession, investigation, preservation, management, and so forth of display items.
1-3. WORKSHOPS
Conducted overseas, these consist of the same points of training as done in Nara. At present, they are inessence held for a period of one week. The first workshops, held in 2007 in Siem Reap, Cambodia andin 2008 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, were on the theme of “Measured drawing of archaeological artefacts
and photography for documenting artefacts,” followed with a workshop on “Recording/documentation
and research methods for wooden structures; formulating conservation and management strategies”

17

NISHIMURA
Yasushiconducted in Hoi An, Viet Nam, in 2009. The workshop held in Bhutan in 2015 was the first example
of one specializing in photographic techniques alone.
The advantages of holding these overseas are as follows: (1) this makes it possible to have a large
number of participants at one time, (2) the artefacts and features of that country can be used as teachingmaterials, and (3) training can be conducted in that country’s language. Selection of the participants isdone by our counterpart in the home country. With regard to the selection, ACCU Nara Office always
requests that participants be chosen from as broad a range of regions within that country as possible.
While workshops up until now have been for only one week, the possibility of holding them for longer
will depend on the practical problems of whether the participants can be absent from their places ofwork for more than a week, or similarly whether the instructors sent from Japan can be abroad that
long. These are issues for us to consider in the future.

2. Changes in International and Domestic Conditions
2-1. DOMESTIC SITUATION
Since the ACCU Nara Office opened in 1999, the field of cultural heritage protection has beenchanging both domestically and internationally. In 2006, a Japanese law called the “Act on the
Promotion of International Cooperation for Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad” came into effect,and based on this law, Japan aims for increased promotion of international cooperation regarding18

cultural heritage, and its contributions are now required for advancing the various cultures of theworld.
NISHIMURA
YasushiIn the same year this law was passed, the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in
Cultural Heritage, or JCIC-Heritage for short, was established. In order to help achieve international
cooperation, this consortium aims to build a common platform that will enable coordinated cooperation
among various concerned parties such as researchers, support organizations, relevant government
personnel, and private enterprises, to gather and share information concerning international
cooperation, to conduct research on other countries’ international cooperation strategies, and to
publicly promote and popularize international cooperation activities involving cultural heritage.
ACCU Nara Offece is able to carry out its programmes utilizing information obtained by the
consortium. For example, when selecting participants for group training, we have begun to obtainrecommendations through members of the consortium for a small number of applicants from specificcountries. In our individual training, we are provided with information regarding countries and themes
for which there is urgency for conducting training, and we use this data in making our selections. For
the workshops as well, we receive information necessary for selecting the countries and themes.
2-2. INTERNATIONAL SITUATIONThe establishment in May 2007 of WHITR-AP (World Heritage Training and Research Institute for
the Asia and the Pacific Region), a UNESCO Category 2 institute, at Tongji University, Shanghai,
was a significant change in conditions. This meant that an institute engaged in the training of
heritage personnel in the same manner as the ACCU Nara Office has emerged in a country that isgeographically close by, and if possible we should mutually try to avoid activities which overlap, andengage in those that complement each other. This should work to benefit cultural heritage protection in
the Asia/Pacific region. For us, it was quite natural to aim for some form of coordination.
Subsequently, actual coordination began from 2010, and since holding the International Conferencein Shanghai in December 2011, we have continued to act as co-hosts, and in 2014 the conference
was held once again in Shanghai. For this conference we have the participation of Ms. Lu Wei as
representative for Mr. Zhou Jian, Director of WHITR-AP Shanghai.

19

Conclusion
As previously stated, in our group training at ACCU Nara Office, we select in alternate years the

NISHIMURA
Yasushithemes of “Preservation and Restoration of Wooden Structures” and “Research, Analysis andPreservation of Archaeological Sites and Remains.” This is because many historic wooden structures
and archaeological sites survive in Nara, and as we have the accumulated results of research on thesematerials over a considerable period, as well as the transmitted techniques of preservation, it is a
special feature of Nara that the concept of environmental preservation is firmly established. We wish
to continue making best use of this special feature of the Nara region in aiming to develop heritage
personnel.
In our specific theme training, as we can no longer offer instruction in the participants’ own language, afeature of our former individual training programme when participants came from a single country, we
fear that the range of participants has recently narrowed. It may be possible to make adjustments suchas increasing the number of participants while limiting the training to a single country as before. Or it
is conceivable that we could shorten the period of our specific theme training by having the focus be
more specialized in terms of expertise and technology. In other words, we can imagine that personnel
who would be suited for a high level course would also probably be proficient in English.
Regarding the workshops, I believe we may need to consider not having the programme end in a single
year, but repeatedly holding the training in a single country over time. It also seems that the likelihood
is growing of going back to a country with a different theme of training.
A Final Word
Last week the ICCROM-CHA Forum was hosted in Beijing by ICCROM and others on regional
capacity-building processes. For the future, would like to take into consideration the latest international
information regarding training programmes as discussed at that venue, and which we can obtain fromother sources.

20II. Papers by Participants

Human Resources in Nepal:
Context of Cultural Heritage Conservation

Suresh Suras
SHRESTHA

Suresh Suras SHRESTHA
Under-Secretary (Chief Archaeological Officer)/Head
World Heritage Conservation Section
Department of Archaeology
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
Nepal
INTRODUCTION
Nepal is very rich in its cultural heritage as Kathmandu is known as the city of gods, goddesses andtemples; most of them are continuously standing since at least seven hundred to thousand years.
Several artworks were developed during the Lichchhavi period, which is known as ancient period in
the history of Nepal, as the written records/inscriptions are found from this period. Especially different
built heritages – monuments, images of god, goddesses and other figures; paintings, music, literaturesand many other artworks are mentioned on the several inscriptions and also mentioned about theprotection and management of those things; however most of these artworks are not available now,
except these inscriptions. But fortunately similar artworks were continued in the Malla period,
which is known as the medieval period in the Nepalese history and some of them were developed in
the optimum limitation at that period, the currently available built structures, several artworks andinscriptions are the witnessing them. Most of them are continuing through the time and period up to
the modern period. Now, these all artworks are known as the treasures of Nepal gift from our ancestors
and widely known as the cultural heritage.
If can imagine that how skillful manpower were developed during these historical period in Nepal thatthey constructed these kind of prideful cultural heritage as there are several intangible activities in eachand every monuments and other objects as well, which we know as the intangible cultural heritage. Itof course needed huge quantity of skilled human resource, which was developed in the Nepal sincethat time/period.
During the time and context, some of them has been changed, as some research reports found thatsome built structures and some intangible heritages has been modified however; they are also thesignificant heritage which are still continued.
As the prone area of earthquake, Nepal has been facing big earthquake damages since a long history;
due to which the dwellers might developed the cyclical renewal system of built structures with thelocally available materials and also these structures has been modified slightly in accordance to thetime and context.
The highly skilled human resources were needed for conducting all these activities in the history of23

Nepal and available inscriptional evidences proved this statement. But due to many reasons, thesekinds of human resources are diminishing gradually and also several modern technologies has been
explored and invented, which could not connect properly in Nepalese context by the local professionals
as well.
In this paper/presentation, mostly human resources for built or tangible cultural heritage within theSuresh Suras
SHRESTHA

related government agencies in Nepal will try to figure out in the current post earthquake conservation,
reconstruction and rehabilitation context which represents the normal context as well.
CURRENT STATUS
In the post earthquake situation in Nepal in 2015, the emergency rescue of heritage, salvaging, storing,recording and many other activities were conducted through whoever available and whatever could
be done using maximum individual capacity and knowledge however; it was experienced that westill have lack of skilled and tactful human resources in many ways. First of all, in such emergency
situations no one knows how to assess the cultural properties, how to record, salvage, store and manage
all the matters as generally do for the rescuing cultural heritage. Even in such context, Department ofArchaeology mobilized its staffs for doing all these things however, it also has very limited humanresources with limited training and skills, but whatever done during that time, it was great.
Similarly, in the post earthquake scenario, it was felt to have some earthquake researches on culturalproperty through excavation, which needed a highly experienced and skilled expert but it was notpossible to find in Nepal that experts from Durham University agreed to conduct rescue excavation incollaboration with Department of Archaeology and UNESCO as well.
There are very limited human resources for conducting detail assessment (structural as well as otheraspect) of earthquake damage cultural property either movable or immovable. Due to which some ofthe significant monuments are still waiting for the detail and micro level study which can give an idea
on its real status that may lead for conservation, retrofitting, renovation or completely reconstruction.
Recording of the cultural property is most significant activity in the conservation and managementof cultural heritage, which is very limited that are also conducting through the inadequate skills andexperiences, that leads the poor documentation system. There are several systems and techniquesof documentation system for cultural heritage, but still we are far behind and preparing completely
manual recording only, which is very difficult to manage especially for the access, control andsecurity. Therefore, trained and skilled manpower is urgently needed in the process of post earthquake
conservation, reconstruction and rehabilitation.
It was felt that the training opportunities as well as the opportunity for the higher education on
documentation is most necessary for the staffs working in the DoA and other government agencies
who are engaged in this technical profession. The scientific documentation is the base of the proper
conservation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of any built heritage; without sound knowledge of24

documentation and keeping record adequately; it cannot go properly. Therefore, sufficient trainings
and academically build up the capacity of human resources is urgently needed in this process.
The experiences and high quality of conservation training and educational qualification is needed forthe post disaster conservation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of cultural heritage (built heritage). But
due to lack of training institutes and opportunity for training, professionals, experts and staffs working
Suresh Suras
SHRESTHA

in the government sector, especially in the Department of Archaeology and offices under it; areneeded to have sufficient knowledge through trainings and academic studies for improvement in theirprofessional knowledge; as well as through the experience sharing interactions with highly qualified
and experienced national and international experts.
Traditional knowledge and skills are very important in any locality in the world for the local heritage
conservation however they could be the national and/or world heritage. Since few decades, theprofessionals are fade up of their ancestral profession and diverting their profession rather thancontinuation; which is also a big problem that traditional mason, carvers (stone, wood and othermaterial), carpenters, roof-makers, designers and many other professionals in Nepal.
In this context, Government of Nepal (GoN), Department of Archaeology has been trying to train its
staffs from the different ways; i.e. conducting in house trainings as learning by doing - the excavation
training, training opportunity from the institutions of other countries (Japan, Korea, India, China,UK) regarding the training on overall documentation of cultural heritage; conservation of built
heritage; chemical conservation of heritage; management of world cultural heritage; conservation of
museum objects; management of museums, exploration and field excavation of archaeological sites
and several new aspects on cultural heritage; i.e. cultural landscapes, heritage impact assessment etc.
But still these is not sufficient opportunity available and most of them comparatively are very shorttrainings, not as academic studies as well; however, it builds at least capacity of the trainees better thanprevious professional capacity. Therefore, DoA/GoN has also been seeking such opportunities for the
better capacity building to its staffs for the best implementation of the post earthquake conservation,
reconstruction and rehabilitation of cultural heritage project.
CONCLUSION
Conservation and management of the cultural heritage is a long process and it needs huge skilledhuman resources and the other resources as well. In the regular process, keeping records, proper
documentation for the different managerial aspects, monitoring and evaluation process, and ultimately
for periodical conservation and maintenance purpose also needs the documentation of the culturalproperties. All the conservation, reconstruction and rehabilitation process also needs huge skilledhuman resources; which is not sufficient in this post earthquake conservation, reconstruction andrehabilitation context. Therefore, DoA/GoN is seeking and trying to build up the capacity of available
human resources enhancing their own knowledge and giving opportunity of trainings and otheroptions as well; but due to lack of budget and other constraints, it is not going smoothly however,
DoA has been conducting series of trainings in cooperation with the national experienced experts
within the country. DoA/GoN has recruited more 102 more human resources (Engineers, Architect,25

Sub-Engineers and other new staffs) and municipalities and universities have also been conductingsome training for the traditional construction human resources in general focusing to the challenges in
the context of post earthquake conservation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of cultural heritage.
In the mean time, different countries are supporting to this process as they are also supporting for thepost earthquake conservation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of cultural heritage of Nepal. To get
Suresh Suras
SHRESTHA

opportunity from outside is not sufficient for ever in this regard; therefore, using these opportunities,
it should be established within the country for its sustainability; especially for the advance courses
on different systems and techniques of documentation, conservation and rehabilitation of traditional
cultural built heritage and many other courses in the universities. However, all should have patience,cooperation, support and coordination in the post earthquake conservation, reconstruction andrehabilitation context realizing the fact that it should be developed the capacity of available humanresources and increase or product the new skilled human resources as well.

26

The Present Situation and Future Challenges
Regarding Human Resources Development for the
Cultural Heritage Protection in Bangladesh

Mst. Naheed
Sultana

Mst. Naheed Sultana
Regional Director (cc)Rajshahi and Rangpur Division
Department of Archaeology
Ministry of Cultural Affairs
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Introduction: Department of Archaeology as the Government agency of Bangladesh bears the main
responsibility for protection and preservation of cultural heritage in the country. Its prime function is
to take care of those cultural sites which have been declared as ‘protected monument’ and the objects
acquired by the regular excavation of cultural mounds or as surface finds. Before independence total
number of archaeological sites were 152 and now it has been increased to 455 which includes two
World Cultural Heritage sites: Paharpur, the largest monastery of the country of 8th century A.D. and agroup of monuments at Bagerhat of 15th century AD.

Paharpur Buddhist monastery

Sixty domed mosque

Movable antiquities are innumerable. This is increasing gradually as the excavations are going on at anumber of sites every year. The measures taken for the preservation of both type of cultural heritage,
movable and immovable, particularly for the architectural remains is not enough due to some problems
like shortage of trained and skilled manpower, lack of befitting policy and so on. So the preservation ofcultural heritage of Bangladesh needs proper planning in accordance with the available resources.
Present Situation: Bangladesh is remarkably rich in its cultural heritage. She is really fortunate
for her pride cultural heritage in comparison to many other countries of the world. The history of
its cultural heritage is about two thousand and five hundred years old. After liberation Departmentof Archaeology, Ministry of Culture and Sports started its organizational activities with the skilled
manpower for protection and promotion of cultural heritage of the country. Subsequently, the area ofactivities has been extended a new organizational set up was formed out. So it needed to increase its

27manpower. Therefore, the previous organogram has been corrected in1983 and enhanced the quantityof manpower. For more convenience of the activities 4 new regional offices with increased man
power were established in 4 administrative divisions for properly conduct the administrative, research,preservation and promotional works.
At present, we have 455 protected cultural heritages and number is increasing day by day. Therewith
some new museum buildings are being constructed through some projects. The manpower of the
Department of Archaeology is still working for the proper research of cultural heritage; recover theancient history, conservation of the protected monuments and properly presentation of the cultural
Mst. Naheed
Sultana

heritage for the future generation, researchers, tourists and visitors.
So to meet the present demand another organogram has been placed to the authority for Government
approval. After approval of the organogram activities of the department will be increased.
The appointed manpower need to learn modern training and obtain technological skills. Domestic andforeign training and workshop and seminar should be arranged to build up the skilled and experienced
manpower. After the training, the manpower would be contributed their skills and could play a vitalrole for the cultural heritage protection of Bangladesh.
Needs:The main three jobs of the Department of Archaeology are;
1. Exploration and survey
2. Archaeological excavation
3. Preservation, presentation and promotion of cultural heritage
Exploration and Survey: Exploration and survey are the vital work of the Department ofArchaeology. Though the department has got the manpower but they are not skilled enough andlacking technical know-how. Moreover, at present the department has a few modern equipment
required for survey. To build up skilled manpower a detailed training is needed and at the same timeit’s necessary to procure modern equipment for proper exploration and survey.

28

Excavation: Archaeological excavation, research, analysis, report writing and publication are themain tasks with the other two jobs of this organization. Many ancient protected cultural mounds arepossessed by the department of archaeology. Besides these, there are a number of cultural mounds
unprotected yet. Some of them are being declared as protected monument every year through the
Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Every year the department conducts excavations at different places of thecountry for reconstructing the past human history of the nation. But the department has a few experts
on excavation. So the department trying to increase the human resources and provide proper training
for the appropriate methodology of archaeological excavation and research.
Mst. Naheed
SultanaJagaddal Bihar excavation

Documentation: Documentation is an important aspect in the field of cultural heritage preservation.
It’s crucial needed to prepare a complete documentation before taking up any conservation programmeof an excavated site or a monument. Bangladesh is lagging behind to some extent in this regard.
Besides, in absence of skilled and experienced manpower and modern instruments many important
evidences are being lost during conservation. So training must be provided to the concerned for proper
documentation. Otherwise the improper conservation work will destroy many architectural elements of
the history.

29

Mst. Naheed
Sultana

Display System: The display system of museum is very weak as because there is lack of knowledge oflatest technique and method of display of the archaeological objects in the museums. The Museology
isn’t taught in any university in our country and there’s no such institution. As a result there is a lack ofexpert and skilled human resource. Consequently a weakness remains. It’s very essential to develop the
manpower of the Department of Archaeology providing higher degree, short training and long training
on Museology from abroad.

Archaeological Conservation: Most of the cultural heritages of Bangladesh are the architectural
remains and ancient archaeological objects. A large number of structures are still buried under theearth. Besides these innumerable ancient establishments such as old mosques (13th-17th century),hammams, shrines, Ghats, Zamindars house, forts, temples and roads are scattered everywhere. But the
department has a few skilled and trained manpower in this field. So it is very essential to increase thenumber of trained and skilled conservator for protect the cultural heritage of Bangladesh.

30

Mst. Naheed
Sultana

General view of the Chunakhola Mosque, Bagerhat.

Chemical conservation: A huge quantity of metal objects recovered from different sources requirechemical treatment. In this field also the department lacks of skill manpower as well. Alongsidebuilding of skilled manpower a well-equipped with modern laboratories are required.

31

Mst. Naheed
SultanaAcademy or Institution: For archaeological research as well as proper protection of the Cultural
Heritage of Bangladesh a full-fledged academy or an institution should be there. Only in one public
university the full course of Archaeology is taught. So a strong step should be taken to establish a fullfledged Academy or Institute to help protect archaeological resources and develop human resources.
Here people will take training about Tangible and Intangible cultural heritage and will be able to play arole in protecting Cultural Heritage of Bangladesh.
Awareness for Government Officials: Apart from the Department of Archaeology there are somany organizations of the government who have responsibility to protect the cultural heritage. Some
organizations are engaged in demolishing the age-old important buildings due to lack of awareness andare constructing new multistoried buildings in those places. Also private cultural heritage got throughancestral inheritance are considered abandoned and steps are being taken to demolish them and insome cases they are already being demolished. It needs to make arrangement of some workshops andseminars to create and enhance the awareness of the officers and employees of these institutions.

32

Awareness of Politicians and Civil Society: Politicians and civil society are important elements ofthe country. In many cases due to unawareness and ignorance common people destroy many important
heritage: buildings or cultural mounds. In most cases civil society or politicians don’t play any role tocheck this vandalism. So seminars, workshops, meetings etc. need to be arranged with the politicians
and civil society. When they will be well aware of the importance of protection of our age-old heritage
will come forward to safeguard them.
Awareness of Local Community: The role of local people or community to protect cultural heritageis very essential. Because most of the heritages sites are owned by them hence they are more deeply
Mst. Naheed
Sultanarelated to those sites spiritually and physically. Many religious sites like mosques, temples are being
safeguarded by the local community without any external assistance. If these people are given
training,

and involved in various activities like conservation of the heritage, development of

infrastructure and tourism : preparation of local crafts, food, souvenir and home stay arrangement etc.
they will play more actively to protect our heritage from different kinds of threats.

Educational Institutions: It is necessary to make the future generation of the country skilled andconscious. For this, students of primary schools, high schools, and colleges should have to be madeinterested to visit cultural heritage and museum without tickets. However since long the museums
under the Department of Archaeology have been encouraging the educational institutions to visit themwithout buying tickets. So that they can know about the Cultural Heritage at the beginning of theirlife and above all they might be aware of protecting it also. And finally they may be made a conscious
human resource in future. Over and above elaborate description about Cultural Heritage should be
included in text books of class III to XII.

33

Mst. Naheed
Sultana

Urbanization: Urbanization is a big threat to cultural heritage. Construction of new roads, houses,
widening the existing roads, creation of markets beside the roads and construction of new highrise buildings for various purposes without considering the values of heritage are very common.
Particularly encroachment of the heritage sites in the city is a major problem. To safeguard ourheritage a good urban planning is essential.

Natural Disasters: Earthquake, cyclone, typhoon, heavy rainfall, salinity etc. cause damage to thearchaeological sites of our country. It’s a big challenge to protect the archaeological resources ofBangladesh from these disasters. Ability to protect the archaeological resources from various kindsof disasters is to be achieved. For this reason it’s necessary to acquire the technical knowhow throughtraining programmes at regular interval.

34

Mst. Naheed
Sultana

Intangible Cultural Heritage: Alongside the Cultural Heritage in Bangladesh Intangible Cultural
Heritage is also very rich. ‘Zamdani’ has got recognition of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. Now
steps are being taken to establish ‘Moslin’ as a World Cultural Heritage. The traditional folk song,dance and musical drama in Bangladesh are very rich. Spontaneous patronage to the traditional Jari
Gaan (Folk song), traditional dance and musical drama are reducing day by day. Nevertheless Ministryof Cultural Affairs, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and some artist group are doing its best fromthe government level in this regard. However now it is necessary to bring back this traditional culture
through vigorous endeavor from individuals or other organizations and local community.

Ethnic Culture: The Ethnic Culture of this country is very rich. There are a good number of small
ethnic groups whose cultures are very rich. These communities have been bearing Tangible andIntangible Culture since very ancient times. To preserve this Cultural Heritage the people of thecommunity have to be trained and awareness. At the same time considering the importance of thematter law may be enacted so safeguard these cultures from disappearance. Many small ethnic groups
are being converted to other religions for their financial insolvency. As a result the multifarious cultureof these small ethnic groups is disappearing.

35

Mst. Naheed
SultanaFuture Plan: There are still many unprotected monuments and sites, which need immediate protectionin order to save them from further decay. It is, therefore, imperative that the Department is expanded
to cope with the responsibilities it shoulders. So the department submitted a revised organogram witha proposal for increasing the number of archaeologists, researchers, chemists and archaeologicalengineers and facilities of modern equipments. The department also plans to set up some new offices
and museums at several places in order to take care of the nearby monuments more effectively.
The Government have been implementing a large project entitled ‘Cultural Heritage Project’ forthe exhaustive conservation and protection of archaeological sites. It is also acquiring adequate
land around the cultural sites every year. So the department is becoming owner of the sites and thus
vandalism is being checked gradually.

36

The Sri Lankan Experience
Prasanna B. Ratnayake
Act. Additional Director General (Academic)
Director (Architectural Conservation)
Department of Archaeology,
Ministry of Education
Sri Lanka
Introduction
Sri Lanka is an Island south of Indian subcontinent with a written heritage of three millenniums, richin both tangible and intangible heritage. The social and cultural system is nourished by Buddhist
Prasanna
B. Ratnayake

philosophy and there were several regional and Global influences due to the central location in theancient world.
Traditional System
Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 3rdCentury BC and arrival of Arhat Sangamitta, daughterof Emperor Asoka, together with 18 men of different skills to serve the Sacred Bodhi tree is themost remarkable turning point in the development of Art and Architecture. The tradition of Art andArchitecture developed with the guidance of different texts, theories and traditions, throughout theHistory. The self surviving and mutually benefited traditional management system between the temples
and the community is a unique feature in the Local Heritage.
In this system, properties were allocated for the temples and people were allowed to live and cultivatein those lands. As a return, the community rendered different services to the temple depending on theirpersonal skills and social capacity. People were dedicated to serve the temple as it was considered
as meritorious act for their present and future lives. On the other hand they were able to develop
their skills and those skills were transferred generation to generation. Automatically the skills weredeveloped and the system was managed.
Regional and Global influences
Being located in the centre of the ancient world, both the regional and Global influences had caused insocio economic and cultural changes in the island throughout the history. India was the most influential
factor, being the closest neighbour, and it was spread up to Persia in the west and China in the east.
The maritime silk route that connected China in East and Persia in West was facilitated by the ports of
Sri Lanka, and several Chinese and Arabic explorers had witnessed the socio cultural situation of thisisland nation.
In the early 16th century, European nations began to explore the East and Portuguese were the first toconquer some coastal parts of the Island and there after Dutch took over the control of those areas. In
1815, Entire Island became under control of British and it was continued for nearly 140 years until the37independence in 1948. During the 450 years of period under the European ruling, entire socio culturaland economic situation was changed and there were several good and bad results.
Archaeology
Archaeology was a new subject area that was introduced by the British, as there was no tradition ofprotecting ancient structures in ruined state in the island. As per the Buddhist philosophy, dilapidated
structures are not suitable for the use of Monks. Therefore the monks were allowed to engage in the
repair works although they were not allowed to engage in certain tasks that ordinary people do. Even
though the capitals in dry zone were abandoned in the 13thcentury, a group of people were there toserve the sacred Bo tree in Anuradhapura. In addition to that various rulers ruled in the later kingdoms,
sent missions to repair those temples in Anuradhapura. It was considered that the religious value wasthere even the monument is in ruined condition.
Prasanna
B. Ratnayake

Archaeological Survey
In 1868, the first investigations of Archaeological ruins were commenced. The first profession
engaged in the field of Archaeology is photography. Joseph Lawton, a British photographer appointed
by the governor, did a photographic documentation in 1871 covering, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa
and Sigiriya. The Glass negatives that were used for the photography is still well preserved at the
Department of Archaeology. A copy of this document had been sent to the Secretary of State for thecolonies.
During the period of 1875 and 1879, an investigation on the ancient inscriptions was carried out by agroup of scholars.
S.M. Burrows, A Ceylon Civil Service officer, was appointed to supervise the works related to
Monuments in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, during 1884 and 1886.
Department of Archaeology
Finally, in 1890, the Department of Archaeology was established and H.C.P.Bell, a judge, wasappointed as the first commissioner. He was very keen on the Archaeological works and “ The Kegalle
report on Temples” was his first task, before becoming the Commissioner, as the Judge of Kegalle.
Legislation
In 1940, the Antiquities Ordinance came in to power as the legislative power to protect Archaeologicalremains, but until 1998, there were no powers on sites and buildings of historic value. Anyhow,
still there is no any protection to the Heritage as whole and the intangible heritage aspects are notconsidered here at all.
As per the provisions in the Antiquities Ordinance, the Department of Archaeology conducts
Explorations, Excavations, and conserve architecturally and chemically, the monuments and objects,
and maintains Sites and Monuments, for public awareness. In addition to the research works done38

on different Inscriptions, Promotional activities are conducted to publish the works done by the
Department.
There are 7 different divisions within the Department in addition to the Administration and Financial
divisions. These academic divisions are headed by Architects, Archaeologists and Chemists. Due to thelack of qualified professionals only one Director holds the position at present.
The Department of Archaeology gets funds from the annual Government Budget and Entire staff
is recruited through government recruitment procedures. The projects are planned according to
the standing orders and circulars prepared on the accepted international charters and conventions.
Materials and services needed for the projects are supplied through accepted Procurement procedures,and Expert advices are obtained from Professionals, from Govt Institutions and universities.
Prasanna
B. Ratnayake

Central Cultural FundIn the 1980s to overcome the bureaucratic red tapes within the government departmental procedures,
the Central Cultural Fund was established. It was initiated by the UNESCO and World Food Program,and conservation and restoration works of 6 world Heritage sites were commenced and later it was
expanded to other sites. At present, entrance fee charged from the visitors to the sites is the mainincome, which amounts about 25 million USD per year.
It is a different system that practiced in the CCF, compared to the Department of Archaeology. There
are no separate academic divisions, but different projects. Professional services are obtained throughcontracted architects, Engineers, Archaeologists and Historians. Architects and Engineers in the private
sector and Archaeologists and Historians from Academic staff of Universities are contracted to conduct
the projects. Skilled workers are employed according to the project requirements and most specially,
the students and Graduates are given training opportunities in these projects.
Through this system the private sector Architects, were able to practice conservation and they havetrained another group of Architects, Draftsmen, technical officers and Quantity Surveyors to continue
the works in the future. The academic staff of Universities, who were contracted as Archaeologists,
was able to practice their theoretical Knowledge practically in the field.
Most of the gtudents and Graduates who were given the training opportunities in these projects had
decided to continue their careers in the conservation field other than joining other fields such as
construction, Education and Management.
Unfortunately, both the institutes; Department of Archaeology and Central Cultural Fund, had
neglected the traditional Management Systems practiced within those sites. Even the UNESCO andICOMOS missions for some World Heritage Sites, highlighted the importance of respecting the
traditional management systems.

39Professional Education
University education in Archaeology was started in 1956 and architecture in 1969. But less attention
was paid towards the Heritage aspects in the curriculums. Unfortunately the other education streams
such as Chemistry, Biology, Sociology, engineering and Management didn’t see any connection
with Heritage although there were some aspects. Therefore those who were interested in heritage
management in their carrier, looked further education abroad, such as ICCROM in Italy and York
university in England. But there were fewer opportunities for most of the local professionals as it was
expensive.
Considering those requirements two institutions were started in 1980s, the PGIAR and ACOMAS
affiliated to Universities of Kelaniya and Moratuwa. The ACOMAS aimed to develop the professionals
in Architectural and Chemical conservation while the PGIAR aimed for Post graduate education in
Prasanna
B. Ratnayake

Archaeology.
Very recently, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, started a degree course in Heritage management.
Current situation
But in Generally, most of the Architects Engineers, Draftspersons and Quantity Surveyors, who werequalified at the relevant education institutes entered the construction Industry, while the majority ofArchaeologists and Historians, entering various other fields, outside the Heritage Sector. Unfortunately,
the Chemists, Sociologists, and Biologist don’t see any working opportunity in Heritage sector.
Foreign Training
Throughout the last 50 years, there were several foreign training courses, conducted by different
international agencies, for the Heritage sector professionals. ICCROM, ACCU Nara, SIDA,
WHITRAP, UNITAR, CHA Korea, NRICH Korea and HIST are some of them. Although these
institutes conducted annual courses, in Heritage Management, Conservation, Restoration, Artefacts
etc, there is no proper system in the local Heritage institutes for sending their staff to those trainings,
regularly. And also the attitudes among the administrative level officers and English language
proficiency is the most influential barriers, even for those who are interested in participation. On theother hand obtaining leave from the working places for long term courses and the outdated circulars
on foreign leave procedure are the main red tapes in the government sector. In addition to that thefinancial difficulties in providing tuition fees, Accommodation and Airfare block the participation, insome cases.
Difficulties
As a result of all these factors, the present Heritage Protection sector requires different specialists
in different Subjects. In the Sri Lankan context there are very few experts in Painting conservation,
Pottery, Brick conservation, Stone masonry, Cultural tourism, Archaeological Photography,
Inscriptions and structural Engineering. Although there are many engineers involved in StructuralEngineering in the construction Industry, they are reluctant to engage in heritage works as they see a40

high risk in getting decisions in the ancient structures.
On the other hand, there is no proper method of encouraging the professionals in training in these
sectors and serve the country. Even though they trained and qualified most of them (had to) leave thecountry, due to various bureaucratic harassments.
Conclusions
As a conclusion, it is proposed to,
Conduct training programs locally with international collaboration
Expansion of International training courses to the local level
Establish a proper system to encourage participants for applying and participation in foreign
training courses
Prasanna
B. Ratnayake

Enhance the importance of participation in training courses – both the administrators andparticipants
Program local training courses in the international level considering the local socio-culturalissues related to heritage
Methods must be developed to include the subjects related to community participation in
Heritage management as in the past
Developing language proficiency – English

41

Human Resource Development on Cultural Heritage
Protection in Viet Nam
Tran Dinh Thanh
Deputy Director
Cultural Heritage Department
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Viet Nam

I. Human resources in the field of cultural heritage in Viet Nam
1. In terms of quantity:
According to the survey data, the workforce of the cultural heritage sector (in museums, monumentcomplexes, relic boards /management centers) in Viet Nam has more than 7,000 people, including
museum system with more than 2,300 people (154 museums, including 123 public museums and 31
non-public museums; 1,800 people have professional qualification as Bachelors of Arts (BA); 200
Masters of Arts (MA) and Doctors of Philosophy (Dr)); monument complex, relic management boards/
Tran Dinh
Thanh

centers with over 4,000 people (8 world cultural and natural heritages, 72 special national monuments,
more than 3,300 national relics, over 7,000 provincial relics; 10 Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity and Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, 138
intangible national cultural heritages).
2. In terms of quality:
The quality of the human resources of each career depends on qualification and labor division in the
sector. In recent years, along with Vietnamese achievements on improving knowledgeable standard,
the quality of the human resources of the cultural heritage sector is also gradually improving. Base on
the statistics, the human resource has professional qualification from undergraduate to higher educationaccounting for more than 50% of the cultural heritage sector workforce. All sectors have 257 Masterof Arts (MA) equivalent to 3.5%, 42 Doctors of Philosophy (Dr) equivalent to 0.6% and 07 Associate
Professors (Assoc.Prof) equivalent to 0.1%. However, qualified human resources are not equallydistributed, in the Ministry and in big cities, the qualified percentage of the human resources fromundergraduate to higher education is much more than average. Some specific examples are as follows:− Cultural Heritage Department - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Viet Nam:from undergraduate to higher education accounting for 29 people (90.6%); including 17 MA (53.1%),
2 Dr (6.2%), 1 Assoc. Prof (3.4%).
− National Museums of Viet Nam:
+ National History Museum: 234 people, including 26 people from 21 to 23 years old accountingfor 27%, 98 people from 31 to 40 years old accounting for 40%, 65 people from 41 to 50 years old
accounting for 27% and 15 people from 51 to 60 years old accounting for 5%; from undergraduate
to higher education accounting for 140/234 (58%); including MA 44/234 (17%), Dr 3/234 (1%).
+ Viet Nam Ethnic Culture Museum: from undergraduate to higher education accounting for 48/78

42

(61.5%); including MA 6/78 (7.7%), Dr 1/78 (1.3%).
+ Viet Nam Ethnology Museum: from undergraduate to higher education accounting for 71/81(87.6%); including MA 16/81 (19.7%), Dr 7/81 (8.6%); Assoc. Prof 02/81 (2.4%).
− World Cultural and Natural Heritage management centers/boards of Viet Nam:
+ Ha Long Bay Management Board: 371 people including 152 Associate of Arts (AA), 138 BA, 15
MA.
+ Hue Monuments Conservation Center: 467 people including 408 BA, 30 MA, 3 Dr.
+ My Son Management Board of Relics and Tourism: 126 people including 37 BA.
+ Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Preservation Center: 49 people including 1 AA, 23 BA, 3 MA, 1 Dr.
+ Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Center: 145 people including 110 BA, 15 MA, 3 Dr.
+ Hoi An Center for Monuments Management and Preservation: 73 people including 50 BA, 6 MA.
+ Preservation Center of Trang An Landscape Complex: 84 people including 38 BA, 6 MA, 1 Dr.
Meanwhile, in many museums and provincial relic management boards, people who have BA degreeand higher education are only less than 50%; some units are below 25%.
The inequality is also shown in 2 systems of museums and relic management boards: While the relicTran Dinh
Thanhmanagement boards’ rate remains lower than the average of the sector (from undergraduate to higher
education only 44.4%, including MA 3%, 0.2% Dr and no Assoc. Prof), the museum system has quitea large difference (from undergraduate to higher education: 62.4%, in which MA 4.5 %, Dr 1.2% andAssoc. Prof 0.3%).
3. In terms of structure:+ By age: under 35 years old: 44.8%; from 35 to 50 years old: 40.4%; over 50 years old: 14.8%.
+ By gender: Ratio male/ female in the structure of the cultural heritage sector is fairly evenly, 52%
male; 48% female.
II. Actual situation of human resource training in the field of Cultural Heritage protection inViet Nam
1. Training human resource institutions in the field of Cultural Heritage protection in Viet Nam
A significant proportion of the human resources for Cultural Heritage sector in Viet Nam has trained
from two universities under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism which are University of
Culture of Ha Noi and Culture University of Ho Chi Minh City. Working people who are not trained
from these 2 universities have different expertise (history, architecture, chemistry...) but in general,they are in line with the functions, duties and activity scopes of the sector units.
However, the training institutions have not had unified framework programs yet at all training levels,
which lead to their own training curriculums. In general, physical facility system of the training
universities and units still lacks of equipment synchronized, they have focused only on theory, almost
no practical facilities. Students are often exposed to practical work only when learning to practice inthe final year ... Curriculum system has been improved quite much but it is still at the level of generalbackground which lacks of public documentation.

43

Most of faculty lecturers in the educational institutions are trained in specialized, but in general, theirknowledge is accumulated mainly through fostering training courses or self-study, not equipped as theoverall and methodical; teaching methods largely remains theoretical presentations. For many required
specialized subjects, the training units often invite visiting professionals and managers in the fields ofmuseology, conservation of monuments, antiques appraisal etc.
The fact that most of the institutions in the field of cultural heritage remain a bystander, they do notparticipate actively in the training activities of the human cultural heritage sector. When the newly
graduated students start their work, they still have been retrained before being assigned to a specificjob because of gaps between what students have been studied from training units and the practicalneeds of the work assigned.
2. Evaluation of the human resources in the field of Cultural Heritage protection in Viet Nam
recently− The human resources for the Cultural Heritage Sector in Viet Nam have made a progress but they
have not still met the requirements of fast and sustainable development. Reasons as following:
Tran Dinh
Thanh+ The workforce of the cultural heritage sector has not had equitably cultural and professional
qualification, limited in many aspects, especially in foreign languages and high technical expertise.
+ Not yet having high stability in the human resources. The proportion of trained students who do
not work properly or move out from their professional career tends to be increased.
+ The workforce of the cultural heritage sector is not yet fully equipped with necessary skills
and knowledge for the work they undertake; lacks of supplementary skills related to serving
international guests such as communication skills, foreign languages and ability to handle thesituation...
− The need for training and fostering of high-quality human resources for the cultural heritage sector
is huge, but the system of training institutions has not met it yet.
− The state management on human resources development for the cultural heritage sector still has
many limitations, manifested most clearly as follows:+ There was a general orientation for the training and fostering of human cultural heritage sector but
there were not proper programs, plans and solutions to implement effectively.
+ Having not established yet a database system of the human resources for cultural heritage
management for stable management and developing human resources.
+ State management agencies in training as well as specialized management agencies have notdeveloped specific criteria of expertise as a basis for the training institutions to set up programs
and curriculum that leads to inconsistency contents of the training institutions and no minimum
standard in the contents of specialized training programs. The supplement of updating knowledge
and teaching methods also depends mainly on each training units.
III. Organizing and managing scientific research activities; training and fostering experts on
Cultural Heritage in Viet Nam:
In recent years, research activities, application of science and technology, training and fostering

44

professional staffs and experts to serve the protection and promotion of cultural heritage values in Viet
Nam have increasingly achievements. In the coming period, in order to organize and manage scientificresearch activities; to train and foster professional staffs on cultural heritage for strongly developing,
to practically contribute to improve the quality of state management on cultural heritage, the Cultural
Heritage Sector of Viet Nam is concentrating to solve a number of tasks and solutions as follows:
1. Develop the science and technology development strategy in the field of protection and promotion
for cultural heritage values, an important part of the strategy to develop science and technology of
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to 2020, a vision to 2025.
2. Organize to complete the legal system, mechanisms, policies and specific regulations for the
implementation of research and application of science and technology for protecting and promoting
cultural heritage values.
3. Consolidate and improve the quality of professional training in conservation historical relics,
museums, open the system of specialized training on intangible cultural heritage at universities
under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, both higher education and postgraduate
education systems; simultaneously, build and implement the training and fostering plans, in order
Tran Dinh
Thanh

to build teams of highly qualified staffs on research and application of science and technology inthe protection and promotion for cultural heritage values .
4. Invest in construction of the Research, Application for Scientific and Technological Preservation
Monuments and Museum Artifacts Centers in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, at the sametime, continue to strengthen and improve the quality activities of the Institute of Conservation
Monuments (ICM).
5. Build and implement cooperation programs on research and application of science and technology
in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage values among the Ministry of Culture, Sports
and Tourism, the Viet Nam Academy of Social Science and the Viet Nam Academy of Science andTechnology.
6. Continue to implement the Program on Cultural Development Goal, in which, in the field of
cultural heritage, need supplementing the research goal, the application of science and technology
in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage values.
7. Strengthen exchanges and expand international cooperation in the field of research and applicationof science and technology in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage values.
IV. Building strategy of human resource development in the field of Cultural Heritage sector inViet Nam
1. Building the strategy of human resource development in the Cultural Heritage sector
To develop human resources to meet the requirements of both quantity and quality; to mobilize theresources for human resources development for the cultural heritage sector, a number of specificsolutions have been implemented by the authorities on cultural heritage in Viet Nam as follows:− Conduct a survey of human resource reality of the cultural heritage sector.
− Forecast study on human resource development for the cultural heritage sector, from the trend of45

volatility and the orientation of development to the quantity, structure of training levels; numbers
and types of training institutions, distribution of the human resources on the national scale.
− Identify development perspective, strategy goals, development process of human resources for thecultural heritage sector foreseeable and long term.
− Set up a feasible roadmap to develop human resources for the cultural heritage sector to meet thehuman needs for each period base on the forecast.
− Establish programs and specific action plans to achieve the goal of human resource development forthe cultural heritage sector.
2. Innovating for program and content training
Develop training content and fostering specialized cultural heritage training to correspond to thestandard management titles and standard profession titles of the cultural heritage sector, in appropriate
with practical requirements, construct and apply program framework and foster contents of cultural
heritage management knowledge for each title:− Program and content training, fostering knowledge for leaders of museums.
Tran Dinh
Thanh− Program and content training, fostering knowledge for leaders of monument complexes, boards/
centers of relics management.
− Program and content training, fostering knowledge for leaders of intangible cultural heritage
management units.
Programs, training and fostering contents for each particular field:− Develop programs and professional training contents of museums.
− Develop programs, professional training contents of monuments.
− Develop programs and professional training contents of intangible cultural heritages.
Research to compile the documentary instructions for applicable programs, training contents andfostering specialized cultural heritage knowledge, publish or translate and publish some books andprofessional materials in cultural heritage:− Documentations for program application, training and fostering contents.
− Publish, translate and publish some books on specific fields of museums, relics, intangible cultural
heritage.
3. Training and fostering human resources in a manner consistent with each title:
The human resource in the field of cultural heritage in Viet Nam is formed from a number of major
fields as following:Group 1: Leaders do the management work (directors, deputy directors of museums, relic management
boards; heads and deputy heads of cultural heritage divisions).
Group 2: Team makes professional work of history, culture, museums... (officials) in museums, relic46

management boards, cultural heritage divisions, provincial culture and information divisions.
Group 3: Team acts other disciplines directly related to the protection and promotion of cultural
heritage values (architectures, construction engineers, computer engineers, chemicalengineers, painters).
Group 4: Cultural officers of the Commune People’s Committee.
Group 5: Direct guards who take care and protect relics.
Group 6: Intangible cultural heritage artisans.
Group 7: Craftsmen (carpenters, bricklayers ...).
Regarding training, almost titles in groups 1, 2, 3 have educated in universities, many officials of them
have academic titles of professors, associate professors, doctors and masters. Qualification of this teamdepends primarily on the educative quality in schools. There are two problems faced by this team as
follows:− Create the link among training schools, state management institutions and professional units toimprove the quality of training, to cohere theory with practice, to narrow the gap between training
Tran Dinh
Thanh

and actual jobs. Last desire is that, after graduation, students can do immediate tasks at work, reducetime to familiarize work of new comers.
− Continue to update new and advanced knowledge. This kind of training can be taken place in manydifferent forms: participating in short-term training courses inside and outside the country, attending
scientific conferences, participating in scientific topics...
To the titles in groups 1, 2, 3, if they have specialized training in the social sciences, they should haveadditional training in foreign languages, computer science, and to the titles in group 3, they need moretraining about history, culture and cultural heritage.
The titles in group 4 and 5 play a very important role in preserving the monuments. The titles ingroup 4 and 5 can cause serious or little damage to the relics if they are lack of knowledge such asallowing to repair monuments without the detail projects, not be approved by authorities; arbitrarily
modify relics... Therefore, the contents of training this group should currently focus on the contents:
knowledge of the law and the basic principles relating to protection and care of monuments.
To the intangible cultural heritage artisans, the key need is to implement policies to support People’s
Artists, Meritorious Artists in teaching. In a team of artisans, craftsmen in the field of traditional crafts,
namely carpentry, masonry crouching, sheave paint, statuary, arts... who have highly skillful, needsupporting to facilitate for teaching younger generations (titles 7), as this is the direct human resourceand having significant decision to the success of the preservation, renovation, restoration activities ofmonuments and relics at all local provinces on the national scale.
The training of young workers in Viet Nam is now vacant, due to the particular characteristic activitiesof the renovating relic construction company. Initially, at some construction sites for repairing relics,

47

to raise awareness and consciousness of the skillful workers, Cultural Heritage Department, Culture,
Sports and Tourism Authorities and several renovation monument companies began implementing
programs to talk about cultural heritage and monuments which they participated in construction.
The training of workers for monument renovation works under traditional methods and traditional
techniques should soon be in place.
4. Developing a human resources database system of the Viet Nam Cultural Heritage Sector:
A system database on human resources for the cultural heritage sector will play a crucial role inassessing the quantity, quality and training structure to human resources of the Viet Nam Cultural
Heritage Sector. The time-series data is not only used to evaluate the change in quantity, quality andstructure of human resources of the cultural heritage sector but also is the basis for Viet Nam state
management agencies set up strategies, policies, programs and plans to develop human resources inline with demand and orientation development of the whole sector.
Viet Nam is now implementing and operating the system database on human resources for cultural
heritage sector as follows:
Tran Dinh
Thanh− Conduct a survey of human resources for the cultural heritage sector on the national scale.
The investigation is based on the close coordination between the units in the sector to plan forinvestigation and appropriate contents of surveys and questionnaire samples.
The content of the questionnaire includes 2 groups of criteria: The indicator group of reflecting
quantity (presented by numbers) and the target group of reflecting quality (indicated by the levels;
these indicators should be determined to reflect capacity, qualifications as well as the ability of thehuman for responding to the actual situation).
− Build update software and data processing of human resources for the cultural heritage sector: theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has assigned its Cultural Heritage Department to update
software and data processing of human resources for the cultural heritage sector of Viet Nam.
The tables which analyze the output of the software are considered to provide a good service
management requirements and development. In parallel to the analysis tables, the report forms on
situation of human resources fluctuation of the cultural heritage sector in Viet Nam are also designed
to release and update (annually) after having the original database.
The summary evaluation should be conducted soon after the successful operation of the electronic
database system. The information on human resources should be concluded together withrecommendations, specific proposals in order to have the appropriate policy development of humanresources for the cultural heritage sector.
− Construct and operate the database system:+Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Viet Nam is
responsible for building survey plans, survey templates, survey allocate funds; staffing specialist ofoperational database systems.
+The units in the sector periodic reports on the human resources reality for Cultural Heritage48

Department to monitor, aggregate and analyze the data for training and fostering foreseeable andlong term.
After more than half century of formation and development, from an under-developed country in
the field of cultural heritage protection, Viet Nam now has 08 world cultural and natural heritages,
thousands of national tangible and intangible culture heritages, 154 museums in some of which canbe compared with national museums of developed foreign country. Viet Nam has formed a crowded
professional team in the cultural heritage sector and systematic training with many people who
graduated from undergraduate to higher education, many managers and leaders have high academic
titles and status. This source of manpower in Viet Nam in the field of cultural heritage protection has
accessed to the advanced and modern science, engineering, technology, that has contributed to improvethe effective cultural heritage protection in Viet Nam for now and future.

Tran Dinh
Thanh

49

Present Situation and Challenges regarding Human
Resource Development for Cultural Heritage
Protection in Bhutan
Nagtsho Dorji
Chief Architect/HeadDivision for Conservation of Heritage Sites
Department of Culture
Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs
Abstract
This document presents a brief background on the Cultural Heritage Sector in Bhutan and the current
situation and challenges regarding Human Resource Development for Cultural Heritage Protection in
Bhutan.
Background and context of Department of Culture in Bhutan
Bhutan’s ultimate development goal is Gross National Happiness, as propounded by His Majesty the
Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, which is to be achieved through the four pillars: 1. equitable
and sustainable socio-economic development, 2.preservation of culture, 3.protection of environment,
NagtshoDorji

and 4.good governance. The need to preserve culture is not only to maintain the unique identity of thecountry but also for its role in sustaining the national security and sovereignty of Bhutan.
To this day, Bhutan continues to maintain a distinct identity of its own in current globalized world
largely due to the importance placed on the preservation of its cultural heritage. His Majesty the
Fourth King also laid the foundation by putting in place the necessary institutional arrangements togive culture its due importance. The Special Commission for Cultural Affairs (SCCA) was establishedthrough a Royal Decree on 31st July 1985 with a mandate to preserve and promote rich culturaland traditional heritage of Bhutan. Having declared preservation and promotion of national cultural
heritage as one of the cornerstone of the development philosophy of Gross National Happiness, theCommission took the responsibility of promoting and preserving thereof. Following the devolution of
the executive authority to the elected council of ministers in June 1998, the SCCA was reconstituted in
September, 1998 with 15 members for a term of three years with the Home Minister as its chairman.
The SCCA was again renamed as the National Commission for Cultural Affairs (NCCA) as result of
restructuring exercise carried out by the Government in 2000, which later became the Department ofCulture under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs in the year 2003.
Department of Culture
The Department of Culture under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs of the Royal Governmentof Bhutan is currently the central agency responsible for preservation, protection, development andpromotion of cultural heritage in Bhutan.

50

The core activities to be undertaken by the Department of Culture are as follows:
1. Inventorying and documentation of Cultural Heritage to inspire, promote appreciation, conservation
and research.
2. Framing of proper and relevant legislation and its management for conservation and protection ofCultural Heritage.
3. Promotion of cultural industries and vitalization of communities for poverty alleviation.
4. Conservation, development and promotion of performing arts
5. Training of communities to create awareness, appreciation and practice of culture.
6. Preserving and promoting national language, dialects and literature.
7. Promoting cultural tourism to ensure the safeguard of the country’s cultural heritage
8. Classifying and mapping of cultural sites and heritage.
9. Promoting and developing traditional architectural designs for use & commercialization.
10. Museum services
Based on the above core business, the Department of Culture currently has following Divisions
looking after various aspects of cultural heritage.
1. National Library and Archives: to collect, preserve and give access to published works andmanuscripts produced in Bhutan or written on Bhutan.
2. Royal Academy of Performing Arts: to preserve and promote the intangible cultural heritage, in
3. National Museum (Paro): to preserve and promote tangible cultural heritage through museum
display/exhibition and hosting symposiums.
4. Textile Museum: to collect, preserve, document and exhibit Bhutanese textiles and serve as an
educational outreach centre to both local and international audiences.
5. Royal Heritage Museum (Trongsa): dedicated to the Monarchs of Bhutan & its collection focusing
on research and preservation of historically significant cultural events and activities in Bhutan, andto share them with the younger generation.
6. Division for Cultural Property: to conserve and manage the movable cultural properties in Bhutan.
7. Division for Conservation of Heritage Sites: to protect heritage sites and manage the sustainabilityof cultural landscape in Bhutan.
8. Driglam Namzha: to preserve and sustain the age-old traditional code of conduct, which is mainessence of cultural heritage in Bhutan, without losing its relevancy in the modern days context ofliving.
DOC
Secretariat
AFD

National Library& Archives

Royal Academyof Performing
Arts

National
Museum, Paro

Textile Museum

Royal Heritage
Museum,Trongsa

Division for
Cultural
Property

Division forConservation of
Heritage Sites

Driglam Section

Present Situation & Challenges for the Department of Culture
The Department of Culture is expected to set down clear strategy to preserve and promote culture byinstituting a wholesome policy. However, due to inherent lack of human resource capacity and resources, 51
it has not been able to encompass the entire gamut of both tangible and intangible cultural activities.

NagtshoDorjiparticular folk songs, mask dances and traditional music.

Present Situation & Challenges for the Department of Culture
The Department of Culture is expected to set down clear strategy to preserve and promote culture
by instituting a wholesome policy. However, due to inherent lack of human resource capacity andresources, it has not been able to encompass the entire gamut of both tangible and intangible culturalactivities. Because of these limitation, the various elements of what would have been a holistic
program remained thinly spread out under various Ministries and agencies in the country. For example,
the establishment of Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC), Zorig Chusum (13 Arts and Craft
School), and the most recent, the Association for Protection of Indigenous Craft (APIC), demonstrates
the current piece-meal approach in dealing with preservation and promotion of cultural heritage in
Bhutan.
The current institutional arrangements that work towards preservation and promotion of culture
need serious review especially in the context of its effectiveness and professionalism. Currently, theprograms and activities of the Department of Culture are largely confined to conservation of movablecultural properties, heritage sites, performing arts and driglam namzha (traditional code of conduct).
Other important aspects of culture like language, arts, craft, sports, and other elements of culturalexpressions are being managed different Ministries and agencies, thereby not receiving the priority
attention it deserves from the Royal Government of Bhutan. In terms of its very important regulatory
functions, the Department has only two-legislation document (Movable Cultural Property Act and the
Nagtsho
Dorji

Legal Deposit Act), thereby making the entire regulatory function ineffective.
The preservation and promotion of different elements of culture is a very highly specialized area
requiring foresight, coherent policies programs and professionalism in the human resource sector. The
current system is not conducive for nurturing professionalism. Due to lack of comprehensive plan aswell as specialized professionals, it is currently lacks consistency and it is prone to more of an ad hoc
approach.
In the light of the above background, the Department of Culture under the guidance of the Royal Civil
Service Commission has recently proposed to the Government to revisit the intuitional arrangementof the Department of Culture. Given the vast and complex nature of the various elements of cultural
heritage in Bhutan, it is proposed that an independent Commission for Cultural Affairs be created andall elements of culture and cultural activities to be brought under this umbrella organization.
The office of the National Commission for Cultural Affairs (Gyalyong Soelzin Lhentshog) is to be
an independent and specialized agency under the Royal Government of Bhutan to meet the emerging
challenges of cultural heritage preservation and promotion.

52

The office of the National Commission for Cultural Affairs (Gyalyong Soelzin Lhentshog) is to be an
independent and specialized agency under the Royal Government of Bhutan to meet the emerging
challenges of cultural heritage preservation and promotion.

NagtshoDorji

Inorder toto strengthen
strengthen thethe regulatory
regulatoryfunctions
functionsofofthe
theDepartment
DepartmentofofCulture,
Culture,particularly
particularlyto to
manageIn ordermanagechangeschanges thatthat areare brought
brought about
about byby development
development toto preservation
preservation andand promotion
promotion ofof thethe cultural
cultural heritage
heritage in
Bhutan,thetheDepartment
drafting ofofthe
thefirst
firstever
ever
comprehensive
in Bhutan,
DepartmentofofCulture
Culturehas
hasalreadyalready succeeded in drafting
comprehensive
legal framework
frameworkononprotection
protection
culturalheritagein Bhutan.
The draft
Cultural
HeritageBill islegal
of of
culturalheritagein Bhutan.
The draft
Cultural
HeritageBill is proposed
proposed
to be the law
principal
law tosustainheritage
culturalandheritageand thelandscapecultural landscapeBhutanfortobe the principal
to sustain
culturalthe culturalof Bhutanoffor
the present
the present
and future generations.
This Bill,for tosubmission
to the in
Parliamentin the will
yearbeandfuture generations.
This Bill, proposed
forproposed
submission
the Parliament
the year 2017,2017, will be crucial for sustainable management of cultural heritage of Bhutan. While the Bill waits
crucial for sustainable management of cultural heritage of Bhutan. While the Bill waits to be enacted as
to be enacted as an Act, the Department of Culture has already started to implement the provisions inan Act, the Department of Culture has already started to implement the provisions in the Bill for effective
the Bill for effective protection of cultural heritage in Bhutan.
protection of cultural heritage in Bhutan.
Human Resource Development in the Department of Culture
Human
Resource
Developmentin the andDepartment
of Culture
Restructuring
institutionalarrangement
establishinglegal instruments are important milestones tobe achieved for efficient protection of cultural heritage in Bhutan. In order to achieve the above, it isextremely important that there is a continuous growth in building the technical capacity and capability
4 of 10
to overcome the challenges of protecting cultural heritage in Bhutan. Human resources are key players

in managing change and providing direction for the sustainability of cultural heritage in Bhutan,
and therefore it is pertinent that Department of Culture continuously works on specialization andprofessionalism of the institution by investing on the human resource capacity. Unfortunately, despite
the importance given to the preservation cultural heritage as one of the cornerstone of the development

53philosophy in Bhutan, the investment in human capital in the cultural heritage sector has been
insignificant. Based on the head count survey, 25% of the existing staff of the Department of Culture
has formal/informal training along with work experience to work for the protection of cultural heritage.
Out of this 25%, only 50% have formal degree certificate, which allows them to make progression in
their career as heritage professionals.
In Bhutan, the Royal Civil Service Commission is the agency responsible for managing and developing
the human resource sector of the Royal Government of Bhutan. This Commission, which was formallyestablished under a Royal Decree in 1982, intensified the recruitment of relevant professionals in thecivil service sector by sending high school students to study various subjects from universities abroad.
With limited universities offering undergraduate degree in the subject of cultural heritage, almost
everyone inducted to work as a civil servant for cultural heritage sector have no formal training or
background experience in this subject. Except for the Performing Art sector under the Department ofCulture, the various elements of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and the relevant protection
measures to be exercised is learnt after being inducted into civil service system.
One of the foremost programs that tremendously assisted in building capacity of the cultural heritage
sector in Bhutan was the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan’s Cooperation Project on Conservationof Historic Buildings. This project, which was for ten years starting from the year 1992 was
NagtshoDorji

instrumental in introducing survey, documentation, conservation principles and disaster prevention ofhistoric buildings. This program and the trainings provided by ACCU Nara from 2001 onwards was
instrumental for the capacity building of human resources particularly dedicated to conservation ofheritage sites. To this day, the Division for Conservation of Heritage Sites is comparatively better thanthe other Divisions under the Department of Culture when it comes to professionalism and efficiency
in protection of tangible cultural heritage. Starting from year 2000 onwards, several trainings provided
by ACCU Nara, UNESCO, ICCROM, UNITAR, NRICH Korea, etc. were attended by the staff of the
Department of Culture. These training programs brought about the capacity building in the humanresource sector of cultural heritage in Bhutan but as such opportunities could be availed by very few,
the gap in developing human resources continue to remain large, thereby affecting the efficiency andeffectiveness of protecting cultural heritage sites in Bhutan.
Challenges in Human resource development
The Cultural heritage sector is diverse and large, and the methodology of protecting and sustaining
cultural heritage is very complex. Therefore, the human resource development for this sector requires
continuous work with time mainly due to the dynamic relation between the heritage and its custodians(people). Currently, the challenges faced by the Department of Culture in developing human resource
are as follows:
1. Lack of specific standard trainings to develop professional skills related to protection of CH (includes
CSOs, community and craftsmen). For example, museum staff have no training on collection
management or object conservation, which is of absolute requirement when it comes to managing
this particular element of cultural heritage.

54

2. No scholarships grants for existing CH practitioners to improve skills or to further their careerin protection of cultural heritage. For example, the Department of Culture has only 1 PhD and 4
postgraduate professionals who have completed cultural heritage related course among 290 staff ofDepartment of Culture in the last 15 years.
3. Limited formal International Cooperation/Collaboration to provide training/internship with funding
Since the human resource development is not limited to Government only, the other pertinent
challenges related to developing human resource capacity within the custodians/stakeholders ofcultural heritage are as follows:
4. Sustainability of traditional craftsmen. This sector of human resource is necessary for thesustenance of cultural heritage. But the current trend of low remuneration and lack of pension
package does not attract younger generation nor does it allow continuing the traditional practice ofmaster apprentice skill building system.
5. Lack of programs to educate and instill stewardship in the custodians – local communities anddecision makers
6. Lack of curriculum related to Cultural Heritage in local vocational/technical Institute and Colleges
does not allow educational institution to encourage the younger generation to pursue career inprotection/management of cultural heritage.
Current/interim interventions for human resource development
NagtshoDorji

While the Department of Culture continues to avail training opportunities provided by International
agencies, the Department of Culture uses the following means to overcome the challenges of humanresources development:
1. Learning from Counterpart (through research based project/program).
The projects and programs implemented in Bhutan with technical and financial assistance from various
international organizations are usually initiated to address the challenges of protecting cultural heritagein Bhutan. Since these projects/programs involve international experts in cultural heritage sector, theprocess of implementing this project is used as a learning platform for the development of humanresource in the Department of Culture. Example of such programs are as follows:a) Core Centers Project for the Conservation of Traditional Buildings in the Kingdom of Bhutan
between Department of Culture and National Research Institute of Cultural Properties (NRICPT),Tokyob) Policy and Human Resource Development (PHRD) grant for “Bhutan: Improving Resilience
to seismic risk” project supported by the World Bank with funding from Government of Japan.
Under this grant, the Department of culture is implementing the component C: “Improving Seismic
Resilience of Traditional Bhutanese Buildings and in particular Rammed earth buildings”.
c) Structural Analysis of Traditional structures and structural designing with modern interventions
such as construction of “base isolation” for Wangduephodrang Dzong reconstruction project.
d) SATREPS Project for Evaluation and Mitigation of Seismic Risk to Earth Structure Including
Composite Structure (Earth and Stone) Buildings55e) Cultural Landscape and sustaining its Significance (CLASS) program
2. Institution of RITS (Research Institute for Traditional Structures). This institute will provide theplatform for scientific work on traditional structures, especially as an outcome of lesson learnt fromthe experience of recovery and reconstruction following the earthquake of 2009 and 2011. The
institute in collaboration with national and international research institute/universities will be usedas knowledge transfer centre for the Cultural Heritage professionals, in particular for structural
engineers and architects in heritage sector.
3. Initiate requirement driven training with relevant International agencies, which are practical andcan be attended by large groups of inservice cultural heritage staff and other stakeholders suchas CSOs and communities. The 2015 ACCU Nara Workshop for Photographic Documentation ofCultural Heritage and Management/Utilisation of Digital Data held in Bhutan and attended by 20participants is a good example for such human resource development in the cultural heritage sector.

NagtshoDorji

56

Museum Skills Attained Through Experience
Gained or Qualification
Elia Robert Francis Nakoro
Head
Archaeology Department
Fiji Museum

ABSTRACT
Situated within the Thurston Gardens in Suva1 , the Fiji Museum is home to an exceptional and diverse
collection of traditional iTaukei2 cultural artefacts and collections from other Pacific islands.
Established by a Trustee, the Fiji Museum exhibited its first collection in 1904. As the latter
grew, designated storage and exhibition space moved six (6) times until 1955, where a permanent
infrastructure was established. Complementing well established museums in New Caledonia andPapua New Guinea, the Fiji Museum is gradually gaining its status as a renowned cultural institution
in the region. It endeavours to be a hub of culture in the South seas. And government has been very
supportive of this and for the last three years, it has injected funds into expanding the museum
infrastructure.
Given the immense potential, there are several key areas that require development and one of which
Elia Robert
Francis Nakoro

include enhancing and strengthening of human resources of the institution.
The field of cultural heritage and museum studies is always overlooked in terms of scholarships andthere is general lack of interest amongst young people to explore this new field. Even local universities
and regional institutions in Fiji do not offer such studies in its curriculum. The Fiji Museum humanresource structure is therefore defined not by qualifications achieved but through on the job experience
gained.
STATUS QUOThe Fiji Museum implements its core deliverables through the eight (8) Departments establishedherein the institution. Personnel are assigned to carry out objectives of these Departments. Staff of themuseum are categorised according to the following:a) Government of Fiji Seconded Staffb) Fiji Museum Permanent Staffc) Fiji Museum Volunteers
1
2

The capital city of Fiji
The indigenous people of Fiji57

Total Number of
Permanent Staff

26%

Total Number ofGovenment
Seconded Staff

5%
69%

Total Number of
Volunteers

The eight (8) departments at the Fiji Museum are
Exhibition, Collections, Conservation, Education,
Archaeology, Marketing/Events, Fiji Museum Gift Shopand Administration.

1. 1.
ATTAININGQUALIFICATIONATTAININGQUALIFICATION

Undergraduate
DegreePostPost
and and
Undergraduate
DegreeSomeof themuseumstaff
haveattainedvariousqualifications
qualificationsincluding
includingDegree
Degreeininthe
thefieldSomeof themuseumstaff
haveattainedvariousfield of Geography,
Population
Studiesand Demography,
Marine PacificStudies,Studies,of Geography,
Population
Studies and
Demography,
Tourism,Tourism,
Marine Studies,
Pacific Studies, Sociology, Education. Two (2) received Post Degree qualifications: theSociology, Education. Two (2) received Post Degree qualifications: the most senior staff of themost senior staff of the museum’s Archaeology team received an Honorary Master’s
museum’s
teaminreceived
an Honorary
Master’s
Degree in Archaeology
in recognition
DegreeArchaeology
in Archaeology
recognitionof his wealthof knowledge
and contribution
to theof hiswealthof anotherknowledge
and contribution
to theDiploma
field; while
anotherStudies.
received a Post Graduate
field;
while
receiveda Post Graduate
in Pacific

Elia Robert
Francis Nakoro

Diploma in Pacific Studies.
With no archaeological courses in Fiji, the above field of study are closest one canto work at theFiji Museum.
Withpursue
no archaeologicalcoursesin Fiji, the above field of study are closest one can pursue to workat the Fiji Museum.
In July 2016 three (3) were seconded from the Ministry of Education to the Fiji Museum
and have been mandated to look into the museum education program, infrastructure
In July
2016 andthreemuseum(3) werefinances
seconded
from the Ministry of Education to the Fiji Museum and haveprojects
respectively.
been mandated to look into the museum education program, infrastructure projects and museum
Somerespectively.
of the Fiji Museum volunteers are also equipped with university degrees directly
financesand indirectly related to museum activities such as Sociology, Psychology, Politics,
Language and Literature, Diplomacy and International Affairs, Environment and Marine
Some of the Fiji Museum volunteers are also equipped with university degrees directly andAffairs.
indirectly related to museum activities such as Sociology, Psychology, Politics, Language andLiterature,
Diplomacy
International
Environment
and Marine Affairs.
Secondary
School andlevel,
Diplomas Affairs,
and Certificates(Vocational)

Other staff members hold secondary school level certificates while the rest receive
Secondary School level, Diplomas and Certificates (Vocational)
technical or vocational diploma qualifications from the Fiji National University.
Other staff members hold secondary school level certificates while the rest receive technical or
vocational diploma qualifications from the Fiji National University.

58

2. ON THE JOB TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
The limited provision of appropriate scholarships and courses offered at local institutions pertinent
to the enhancement of skills and knowledge in the field of anthropology, archaeology, ethnology,
museology, amongst others, the Fiji Museum uses training, workshops, and staff exchanges to build
local capacity. Majority of the staff have many years of experience in their respective roles. The
Fiji Museum often sends its permanent staff to relevant international capacity building training
workshops that are useful in their area of service. Such include Photography, Preservation of
Wooden Objects, Exhibitions, Underwater Heritage, Surveying, Archival Storage, Conservation,
Heritage Impact Assessment, Good Museum Practice, Museum Merchandising and Marketing.
These training workshops expose Fiji Museum staff to basic international standards of operation in
their various areas of speciality.
On the job experience and training workshops has enabled all staff to successfully carry out
their duties thus far but further development is required to enhance and broaden their skills andknowledge.
ACCU Nara has also assisted the museum through training of its various staff (approximately 4)
from 2000-2014. A timely learning experience for staff, areas taught included preservation of woodenbuildings, documentation of museum objects, basic surveying techniques, the use of GPS, GIS andPhotogrammetry. While equipment that were utilized during such training were hard to acquire initiallylocally now through a funding based to source from the Fiji Museum is able to procure a few.

Elia Robert
Francis Nakoro

Human Resources Development in the Fiji Museum
It is the role of the institution to implement development in all facets of its service whether it be humanresources, capacity building, or infrastructural extensions.
Human resources development is a vital component in any workforce. The Fiji Museum needs to planfor the development of succession strategy and the expansion of departmental human resources.
Thus the following recommendations can be used to guide cultural managers initiate discussions withgovernment for the development of agencies and Government departments in Fiji:
1. An in-depth Fiji Museum HR needs study pursued through the current consultancy (November,2016) identifying gaps and areas of need.
2. Mainstreaming museology, archaeology and cultural studies in the national school curriculum. This
is to compliment that which the Department of Heritage and Arts3 is looking at through its culture
and education program. This area will need to include ways of focussing the attention of students toendeavour into career paths other than mainstream white and blue collar jobs.
3This is the Head Quarters and Government arm for the three agencies, the Fiji Museum, the National
Trust of Fiji and the Fiji Arts Council.

59

3. The Fiji Museum to work with the Department of Heritage and Arts to enhance discussions withtertiary institutions on the inclusion of heritage and museum studies in their programs. This includes
discussions with the Pacific Heritage Hub, a UNESCO World Heritage Facility in the Pacific, tofacilitate this initiative.
4. The development of proper recruitment procedures for future museum staff by management.
This should include advertising of posts and screening of applicants for museum services such asconservation, exhibition, collections and archaeology.
5. The Department of Heritage and Arts to discuss with relevant Government Offices on the need toprovide scholarships for Fiji Museum staff to further their studies.
6. The development of personnel exchange with other neighbouring Pacific countries for current Fiji
Museum staff to develop their areas of expertise.
Discussions and commentaries – Mr. S. Nemani, Director, Fiji Museum
ANNEX 1:
Below is a list of all the overseas training and professional development attended by Fiji Museum
officers thus far:
1. Preservation and Restoration of
Wooden Structures, Japan, 2014
2. RE-ORGANISING, China, 2015
3. Heritage Impact Assessment, Fiji andPhilippines, 2015 & 2016
Elia Robert
Francis Nakoro

4. Application of GIS Course, Thailand,2010rd

5. 3 Foundation Course on Underwater
Cultural Heritage, Thailand, 2011
6. Museum Management in the US, 2012
7. Research, Analysis and Preservationof Archaeological Sites and Remains,
Japan, 2006
8. Preservation of Historical Photographs,
Canada, 1994
9. Care and Maintenance of Museum
Materials, India
10. Culture and Economy, China
11. Museums and Community Development,Japan
12. Audio Video Management, Vanuatu, 2001
13. Museology (Collection, Conservation,
Exhibition), Japan, 2003
14. Use of Technologies for Museums, Samoa,
1995

60

15. Archaeological Research Attachment,
Australia, 2011
16. Oral Tradition Recording & Storaging, NZ,
2000
17. Training Course on Survey & Restorationof Historic Monuments, Japan, 2000
18. Cultural Asset Preservation & Restoration
Technology, Japan, 2004
19. Pacific Museum Management, Australia,
2006
20. Paper Treatment, Fiji, 1999
21. Pacific Museum Curators Course, Australia,
1987
22. International Marketing & Global
Competitiveness, National Institute for
Entrepreneurship & Small Business
Development, India, 2012

III. Appendix

1. General Information on the Conference
International Conference 2016
“Present Situation and Challenges Regarding Human Resource Development for
Cultural Heritage Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region”(13 – 15 December, Nara, Japan)

1. OrganisersThis conference is jointly organised by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan (Bunkacho); Asia-Pacific
Cultural Centre for UNESCO; and National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Tokyo National ResearchInstitute for Cultural Properties and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in cooperation with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural
Property (ICCROM); Japanese Association for Conservation of Architectural Monuments (JACAM);
Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage; Nara Prefectural Government
and Nara City Government.

2. Background and Objective
The Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO established the Cultural Heritage Protection
Cooperation Office (ACCU Nara Office) in 1999 in Nara, an ancient capital of Japan. ACCU Nara
Office has been implementing various training programmes to contribute to the development of humanresources for cultural heritage protection in the Asia-Pacific region. As of 2016, more than 445 experts
from 37 countries in the Asia-Pacific region have participated in the programmes.
Many of them play an active leadership role in cultural heritage protection in their respective countries.
Accordingly, these representatives will be invited to attend the 2016 international conference, which
is being held to share information on the present situation and challenges faced regarding humanresource development in related countries.
The aim of the conference is to summarise future issues regarding human resources developmentin the region and exchange opinions on how to organise future ACCU cultural heritage protection
cooperation programmes. In addition, it will provide an opportunity to enrich the networks developed
through ACCU training programmes.

3. Dates and Venues
Dates: 13 to 15 December 2016
Venue: Hotel Fujita Nara (47-1 Shimosanjo-cho, Nara City)

4. ScheduleDay 1 Tuesday, 13 December
09:15- Opening Session
10:00- Keynote Speech I - II
13:00- Case Study Report I – III

63

Day 2 Wednesday, 14 December
09:30- Case Study Report IV-VI
13:30- General Discussion
17:00- Closing Session
Day 3 Thursday, 15 December
09:30-16:30 Participants visit to Horyu-ji Temple and Toshodai-ji Temple.

5. Working Language
The working language of the conference is English. Consecutive interpretation between English andJapanese will be provided when necessary.

6. Financial Arrangements
The organisers will provide each of the participants with:
1) Travel Expenses: A round trip air ticket (economy class) between the international airport nearest
to the participant’s residence and Osaka (Kansai) International Airport.
2) Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA): A fixed DSA from 12 to 16 December to cover theparticipant’s meals; and hotel accommodation (including breakfast), which will be arranged by
the organisers.

7. Correspondence
All enquiries and correspondence concerning the Conference should be addressed to

64

ACCU Nara Office
Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
Nara Pref. Nara Branch Office757 Horen-cho, Nara 630-8113 JAPAN
Tel: (+81) 742-20-5001 Fax: (+81) 742-20-5701
E-mail: nara@accu.or.jp

2. Schedule of the Conference
Day 1 (Tuesday, 13 December)
09:15 – 10:00 Opening Session
Welcome addresses by organisers and guests: Mr OTANI Keisuke, Director, Traditional Culture
Division, Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan and Mr NISHIMURA
Yasushi, Director, ACCU Nara Office
10:00-10:50 Keynote Speech I: Mr Gamini Wijesuriya (ICCROM)“Global Trends in Human Resource Development for Cultural Heritage Protection”
11:10-11:40 Keynote Speech II: Mr NISHIMURA Yasushi (ACCU)“The 15-year history of ACCU Nara Office programmes for Human Resource
Development”
13:00-13:50 Case Study Report I: Mr Suresh Suras Shrestha (Nepal)“Human Resources in Nepal: Context of Cultural Heritage Conservation”
13:50-14:40 Case Study Report II: Mst. Naheed Sultana (Bangladesh)“The Present Situation and Future Challenges Regarding Human Resources Development
for the Cultural Heritage Protection in Bangladesh”
15:00-15:50 Case Study Report III: Mr Prasanna B. Ratnayake (Sri Lanka)“The Sri Lankan Experience”
18:00-19:30 Reception

Day 2 (Wednesday, 14 December)
09:30-10:20 Case Study Report IV: Mr Tran Dinh Thanh (Viet Nam)
“Human Resource Development on Cultural Heritage Protection in Viet Nam”
10:20-11:10 Case Study Report V: Ms Nagtsho Dorji (Bhutan)“Present Situation and Future Challenges Regarding Human Resources Development for
the Cultural Heritage Protection in Bhutan”
11:30-12:20 Case Study Report VI: Mr Elia Robert Francis Nakoro (Fiji)“Museum Skills Attained Through Experience Gained or Qualification”
13:30-17:00 General Discussion: All participants“Present Situation and Challenges Regarding Human Resource Development for Cultural
Heritage Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region”
17:00Closing Session

Day 3 (Thursday, 15 December)
Excursion: Participants visited Horyu-ji Temple and Chugu-ji Temple and had an on-site lecture by
Mr HIRATA Masahiko, Assistant Director of Ikaruga Town cultural properties utilisation Centre,
Lifelong Learning Division, Ikaruga Town Board of Education. In the afternoon, they visited Toshodaiji Temple.

65

3. List of Participants
ICCROM
Gamini Wijesuriya

FIJI
Elia Robert Francis Nakoro

ICCROM (International Centre for the Studyof the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural
Property)e-mail: gw@iccrom.org

Archaeology Department
Fiji Museum
e-mail: rocksfel@yahoo.com.au

Project Manager

BANGLADESH
Mst. Naheed Sultana
Regional Director

Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisional Office
Department of Archaeology
Ministry of Culture
e-mail: nahid.sltn@gmail.com
BHUTAN
Nagtsho Dorji

Chief Architect/HeadDivision for Conservation of Heritage Sites
Department of Culture
Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs
e-mail: nagtshodorji@mohca.gov.bt
CANADA
Christina Cameron
Chairholder

Canada Research Chair on Built Heritage
Faculty of Environmental Design
School of Architecture
University of Montreal
e-mail: chiristina.cameron@umontreal.ca
CHINA
LU Wei

Executive Vice Director

World Heritage Institute of Training and Research
for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the
Auspices of UNESCO (WHITRAP Shanghai)e-mail: w.lu@whitr.org

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Head

JAPAN
INABA Nobuko
Professor

Faculty of Art and Design
University of Tsukuba
e-mail: inaba@heritage.tsukuba.ac.jp
NISHIMURA Yasushi
Director

Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU
Nara Office)e-mail: nishimura@accu.or.jp
NISHI KazuhikoSpecialist for Cultural Properties

Architectures and Other Structures Division
Cultural Properties Department
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan (Bunkacho)e-mail: kn@bunka.go.jp
KONDO Mitsuo

Senior Conservation Architect

The Japanese Association for Conservation ofArchitectural Monuments
e-mail:m_kondo@bunkenkyo.or.jp
TOMODA Masahiko
HeadConservation Design Section
Japan Center for International Cooperation inConservation
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural
Properties
e-mail: tomoda@tobunken.go.jp

KATO Masato
Head

Resource and Systems Research Section
Japan Center for International Cooperation inConservation
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural
Properties
e-mail: m_kato@tobunken.go.jp
YAMAGUCHI Isamu
Unit Chief

Designated Cultural Property Section
Cultural Properties Division
Nara City Board of Educatione-mail: yamaguchi-isamu@city.nara.lg.jp
NEPAL
Suresh Suras SHRESTHA
Under - Secretary (CAO)/Head

World Heritage Conservation Section
Department of Archaeology
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviatione-mail: sureshsuras@yahoo.com
SRI LANKA
Prasanna B. Ratnayake

Act. Additional Director General (Academic)
Director (Architectural Conservation)

Department of Archaeology
Ministry of Educatione-mail: prasannabratnayake@gmail.com
VIET NAM
Tran Dinh Thanh

Deputy Director

Department of Cultural Heritage
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
e-mail: thanh_thao022004@yahoo.com

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