The GCI is pleased to announce that the next Directors' Retreat for the Advancement of Conservation Education will be held in partnership with the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne, Australia, with the involvement of the National Heritage Board in Singapore. Scheduled for July 2004, it will focus on conservation education and training in the Asia-Pacific region.

The retreat will provide a forum for examination and discussion on the future needs and directions for conservation education, explore suitable program models for the region, and allow for the creation of stronger inter-institutional bonds within Asia and the Pacific. Participants will include leaders in conservation education from Australia, East Timor, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

The July event is the second retreat for leaders in conservation education. Launched in 2002, the Directors' Retreats were initiated as part of the GCI's long-standing commitment to the development and advancement of conservation education. The 2002 retreat, organized in partnership with the American Institute for Conservation, focused on the needs and strategies for expanding a national program for midcareer professional development for conservators.

The Directors' Retreats program seeks to strengthen conservation education by encouraging strategic thinking and action among institutions engaged in conservation education, to increase the exchange of ideas and information, and to promote collaboration and collegiality. The retreats are opportunities for senior-level educators to assemble for reflection, discussion, and renewal in a congenial and quiet setting away from the duties and distractions of everyday work life.

Further information about the program can be found at: www.getty.edu/conservation/education/drsretreat/.