24 March. One of the main aims of the CollAsia 2010 programme is to address the challenges facing conservation of collections of material culture within the wider context of the heritage sector and society at large. In past years the programme has addressed such current issues as the relationship of collections and heritage sites in Angkor Wat, Cambodia, collections of underwater heritage in the Philippines, and the relationship of communities and conservation in Thailand in 2010. This current training activity taking place in Brunei Darussalam seeks to explore the relationship and potential of conservation of collections in relation to intangible heritage.

As the CollAsia programme has reached its landmark year of 2010 and beyond, it is a great source of joy that for the first time we have had the opportunity to come to Brunei. Of the 27 participants of the workshop, all those coming from outside of Brunei are here for the first time, so our eyes are fresh and our minds are keen to explore this yet another Southeast Asian context.

The CollAsians have been received with generous hospitality by our colleagues in various local heritage institutions. Bruneian participants to previous CollAsia activities have been able to share with us their achievements and current concerns, and to join us in tackling the key concerns of conservation of intangible heritage in a concrete way.

While intangible heritage has been given increasing prominence in recent years, the structures of our heritage institutions are often not operationally conducive to establishing fluent links between the tangible and intangible heritage. The sessions of the workshop aiming at tracing relationships between the collections in the museums and archives with the intangible heritage have been greatly enhanced by the opportunities to visit communities and institutions where many of the core components of the intangible heritage reside. Community engagement, modalities of documentation and the relationship between the intangible and tangible heritage in our care, as well as the challenges posed by the looming climate change have offered us an opportunity to revisit the mission of our heritage institutions and the scope of our work.

The CollAsian group in Brunei is energised, motivated and optimistic about finding concrete ways to link our dedication to caring for material culture to the intangible dimensions of our heritage. There is much to be learned, but this is both a challenge and a promise of exciting and meaningful things ahead!

Member States represented: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam

updated on: 28 March, 2011