In 2003 ICCROM and SEAMEO-SPAFA launched the CollAsia 2010 Programme, a seven-year programme to improve conservation conditions of Southeast Asian collections. Designed in consultation with institutions and professionals in the region, CollAsia 2010 was a concrete response to the severe shortage of training and networking opportunities for professionals working with movable heritage in Southeast Asia. Thus far, thanks to CollAsia 2010, over a hundred professionals working in museums, libraries and archives around Southeast Asia have participated in the programme - gaining access to new resources, learning essential skills, while getting the opportunity to network and exchange with colleagues in other countries in the region and beyond.

This biennium coincides with CollAsia 2010’s final phase. During this crucial stage, ICCROM and SEAMEO-SPAFA are committed to ensuring that the programme’s results are sustainable and have a long-term positive impact beyond 2010. A major challenge in this respect is to generate opportunities for Southeast Asian professionals and institutions to continue to pool and exchange their resources and efforts. Special area of attention is the didactic preparedness within the region to effectively plan, design and deliver training activities in the field of conservation

• Establish a team of at least twenty Southeast Asian professionals who will be able to identify training needs, design training activities, and deliver training in interactive and innovative ways;
• build capacity to organize regional training activities in at least two other institutions in Southeast Asia;
• structure and provide access to a compendium of materials for conservation education in the region, in English and in Southeast Asian languages;
• develop a vision and related strategies for the future development after the conclusion of the CollAsia 2010 Programme and the related monitoring and evaluation system.

In the 2010-11 biennium, the following activities are planned for implementation:

Field Project (2010)
The four-week field project will take place in a museum or other institution holding collections in Southeast Asia. The activity programme will include theoretical and practical sessions aimed at bringing about concrete improvements in the conditions in which collections are conserved and exhibited. Special efforts will be made to capture the experience and methods developed during the field project, and to disseminate them through the CollAsia 2010 website. The tentative location of the field project is Malaysia.

Leaders in Conservation Education Seminar 2011
This seminar is geared towards former participants in CollAsia 2010 activities. It aims to capture and articulate the key elements deemed to have been successful in the didactic approaches and methodology of the CollAsia 2010 activities over the years. Special attention will be paid to identifying ways in which these can be incorporated in the formal heritage education programmes already in place in the region, as well as to strengthen continuous education activities in the region. The seminar will also address issues such further as competencies in teaching and mentoring, in team working, networking and in disseminating information.

The seminar focuses on the successful organization and delivery of training in the field of conservation. It will benefit from the collaboration of professionals with recognized expertise in conservation education. Topics includes: course design and planning, communication, team-working and teaching, and will aim at preparing participants to take on new responsibilities in education and training. During the seminar, participants will produce and test different types of didactic tools specifically designed with professionals working with Southeast Asian collections.

Website and Directory
The CollAsia 2010 website provides resources in the area of conservation, based on the materials developed or used for the various workshops and field-projects. The website offers links with other resource institutions and is a forum for communications about Southeast Asian heritage collections. The CollAsia 2010 directory is a searchable database of professionals and institutions. It enables access to local expertise and facilitates communications and collaboration mechanisms at the regional level.

In 2010-11, partners will discuss the future management and update of the website and the directory. They will also develop means and approaches in order to increase the level of interactivity of the programme.

updated on: 30 December, 2009