Chiang Mai, Thailand: 2008

The Getty Conservation Institute held its fourth Directors' Retreat for Conservation Education from June 1 to 5, 2008, in partnership with UNESCO's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and SEAMEO-SPAFA, the Southeast Asia Ministries of Education Organization for the Protection of Archaeology and Fine Arts, both based in Bangkok, Thailand. The retreat—held at the Kaomai Lanna Resort in Chiang Mai, Thailand—focused on built-heritage conservation and education in Asia and the Pacific and addressed discrepancies between the training received in academic programs and the actual needs of the field.

The Conservation Institute, UNESCO's Bangkok office, and SEAMEO-SPAFA share common values regarding the importance of conservation education and are committed to increased access to training opportunities and the development of new pedagogical models. The 2008 Directors' Retreat was a forum for exploring how these goals might practically be advanced.

The main objectives of the retreat were to:

• identify areas for academic program development through enhanced curricula and innovative pedagogical methods
• review existing conservation programs and their specializations and to make these better known to the existing network of regional colleagues

The retreat brought together eighteen participants from Asia and the Pacific region, many of whom are directors of conservation programs that focus on built heritage (i.e., architecture, archaeology, and the urban environment), and a few of whom are primarily conservation practitioners who also have significant experience with conservation education and training.

The retreat began with two presentations that analyzed the most pertinent needs of the field. Gurmeet Rai of the Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative, New Delhi, India, discussed how community involvement and development is integrated into conservation education and practice in South Asia. Laurence Loh, vice president of the Heritage of Malaysia Trust, focused on how local and traditional knowledge should be incorporated into conservation education, and described the challenges associated with conserving historic cities in Asia. These presentations were followed by focused discussions among the participants to identify core competencies for built heritage conservation in the Asia Pacific region.

During the retreat, participants visited several sites, including Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, Wat Pong Sanuk, Wat Ked, and the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre. The objective of these visits was to observe firsthand the way sites in northern Thailand are conserved and to provide a basis for discussion about how best to utilize historic sites for conservation education and training.

In the final portion of the retreat, participants discussed how the perceived gaps between the expressed needs of the field and the core competencies identified during the retreat could be better addressed in their conservation education curricula. Participants were pleased to have this opportunity to share ideas about conservation education, and the Institute learned firsthand how it could collaborate in the future with educators in the region.

One discussion explored the development of new pedagogical approaches through the use of fieldwork, and the need for didactic materials that relate more specifically to the Asia region. A result of the Directors' Retreat was the agreement among participants that the Institute could play a key role in creating teaching materials, particularly case studies that would be shared with regional academic programs. Although specific partnerships in this regard are yet to be developed, the retreat provided a positive foundation upon which future collaborative work can be based.

Participants

Mark Chang, Associate Professor, Institute of International Culture, Showa Women's University, Japan

Bill Chapman, Director, Graduate Certificate Program in Historic Preservation, Department of American Studies University of Hawai'i, USA

Manh Nguyen Hoang, Architect, Faculty of Architecture, Hanoi Architectural University, Viet Nam

Kulbhushan Jain, Emeritus Professor, School of Architecture, Centre for Environmental and Planning Technology (CEPT), India

Lin-Lee Loh Lim, Council Member, Penang Heritage Trust, Malaysia

Laurence Loh, Vice President, Badan Warisan Malaysia, Heritage of Malaysia Trust, Malaysia

Zuraina Abdul Majid, Commissioner of Heritage / Professor Emeritus, Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Malaysia

Gurmeet Rai, Conservation Architect / Director, Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative (CRCI), India

Ayesha Pamela Rogers, Academic Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management National College of Arts, Pakistan

M.L. Surasawasdi Sooksawasdi, Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Soubert Son, His Excellency / Professor, Constitutional Council of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Royal university of Fine Arts, Cambodia

Maria Cristina Valera-Turalba, Group Vice Chairman, Active Group Incorporated, Philippines

Elizabeth Vines, Partner, McDougall & Vines Conservation and Heritage Consultants, Australia

Fanny Vong, President, Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT), Macao SAR, China

Johannes Widodo, Professor, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Andrea Witcomb, Associate Professor, Research Institute for Citizenship and Globalization, The Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific (CHCAP), Deakin University, Australia

Facilitators

Lee Milstein, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, Global Diversity Management, Thailand

Dean R Phelan, Executive Director, Adesse, Australia

Getty Conservation Institute

Jeff Cody, Senior Project Specialist, Education

Kecia Fong, Project Specialist, Education

UNESCO

Supawut Boonmahathanakorn, Intern, Office of Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO Bangkok Office

Richard Engelhardt, Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO Bangkok Office

Takahiko Makino, Project Assistant, Office of Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO Bangkok Office

Inaciso Pang Chi Chan, Intern, Office of Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO Bangkok Office

Montira Horayangura Unakul, Programme Specialist, Office of Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO Bangkok Office

SEAMEO SPAFA

Pisit Charoenwongsa, Centre Director, SEAMEO SPAFA, Thailand

Kevin C. Kettle, Project Development Officer, SEAMEO SPAFA, Thailand

Patcharawee Tunprawat, Programme Specialist, SEAMEO SPAFA, Thailand

Tasana Phuphatum, Thailand

Anukul Siripan, Thailand

Vithi Phanichphant, Director, The Establishing Project of Lanna (Thai) Study in Cultural Development, Preservation and Continuation of Architecture and Tradition Institute, Naresuan University, Thailand

Woralun Boonyasurat, Assistant Professor, Thai Art Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Suwaree Wongklongkaew, Director, Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre, Thailand

Worrawimon Chairut, Wat Ket (Non-profit) Alliance, Thailand

Duangchan Charoenmuang, Researcher, Social Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Thailand