Built Heritage in Southeast Asia: Conservation Education and Training Initiative

Built Heritage in Southeast Asia sought to provide professionals involved in the conservation and management of built heritage with training and capacity-building activities targeting the specific preservation challenges of the region. Among the regional education and training needs identified by the project were: conservation and management of archaeological sites; integrated conservation and urban development; and conservation education in academic programs.

• The field workshop “From Risk Assessment to Conservation: Safeguarding Archaeological Complexes in the Mekong Region, Vat Phou, Lao PDR, 2008” brought together twenty-five mid-career professionals from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Lao PDR to effect a positive impact on heritage conservation in each of the participants’ home countries.
• The forum “Siem Reap: Urban Development in the Shadow of Angkor Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2008” assembled approximately twenty-five international and as many local experts to address urgent urban development issues arising from the complex interplay between the intensifying urbanization of Siem Reap and the conservation of the Angkor region’s cultural heritage.
• The field workshop “Conserving Heritage in Southeast Asian Cities: Planning for Continuity and Change Chiang Saen, Thailand, 2009” provided twenty-five mid-career professionals from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Lao PDR a structured framework to explore international principles and methodologies regarding the conservation and management of archaeological and historic sites.

Southeast Asia is a vibrant and culturally diverse region, linked by geography, religion, politics, and history. Composed of many nations, tribes, and cultures, the area has been home to some of Asia's most significant civilizations and empires. Evidence of the region's historic accomplishments remains visible in the architecture, sites, and traditions that are still visited, venerated, and practiced.

Lao Ministry of Information and Culture, Department of Museums & Archaeology; SEAMEO-SPAFA; Fondazione Lerici; Pacific Rim Council on Urban Development, Center for Khmer Studies; Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap