École française d'Extrême-Orient
The first attempts at preservation outside the local "[[wat]]" occurred with both [[French people|French]] academics working in the early 1900s for the [[École française d'Extrême-Orient|École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO)]], and [[Phetsarath Ratanavongsa|Prince Phetsarath]] in the 1950s as part of the early [[Lao Issara|nationalist movement]]. International [[non-governmental organizations]] geared toward cultural preservation have been allowed to operate since the early 1990s, but are normally connected to a particular ministry or government organization so their activities can be monitored. Most of Laos’ cultural heritage is stored or protected in monasteries throughout the country. Museums are few, with the [[Haw Phra Kaew]] in [[Vientiane]], and the [[Royal Palace, Luang Prabang|Royal Palace Museum]] in [[Luang Prabang]] housing much of the remaining Lao art and cultural items of significance.