ICCROM-CHA International Forums on Conservation

With the collaboration and financial support of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) of Korea, ICCROM launched a new series of Forums on Conservation that have served as a think tank for the Asia-Pacific Region and beyond. This programme has brought together participants from more than 20 countries to explore contextual issues related to cultural heritage management in the Asia-Pacific Region. Each forum has posed crucial questions that are being debated worldwide.

Each annual forum focused on a key issue in the management and conservation of heritage in Asia. Participants brought both an intellectual contribution together with a wealth of practical experience, ensuring that the debate was grounded in the needs of the heritage, the conservation professionals and society at large. While focusing on Asia in particular and contributing to regional capacity-building processes, these annual events have produced results that aim to benefit a global audience. Indeed, two African heritage specialists from were invited to the 2014 and 2015 editions of the Forum so that comparisons could be made between practice in the two regions. Each forum led to the development of guidance notes on a specific conservation theme and publications that discuss the subject in greater depth, while also providing case studies reflecting the state of conservation practice across the region.

The goals of the thematic programme were:

• to explore, research and debate key themes emerging from the Asia-Pacific Region that have implications for effective conservation and management of heritage;
• to formulate policy guidance notes and/or principles related to the above themes for improved and effective conservation and management of heritage;
• to contribute to capacity building efforts in the region.

This programme is part of a wider framework agreement first signed by ICCROM and Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea (CHA) in 2012 and then renewed in 2017. The agreement has not only included the annual forum but has also included capacity building within the CollAsia programme. Based on results achieved to date, new activities are currently being identified regarding cooperation on the conservation education, training and research of cultural heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region and will be launched in the near future.

For more information on each forum and the results produced, click on these links below:

• 2013: Asian Buddhist Heritage: Conserving the Sacred (Korea)
• 2014: Authenticity in the Asian Context (Sri Lanka)
• 2015: Applicability and Adaptability of Traditional Knowledge Systems in Conservation and Management of Heritage (Thailand)
• 2016: National Conservation Policy (China)
• 2017: Conserving Asian Heritage (Korea)

Member States represented

Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe; Bhutan, Indonesia (Non-Member States)

Institutions

• Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) of Korea
• ACCU Nara Office
• Buddhist Cultural Heritage Research Institute of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism
• Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka)
• ICOMOS India
• Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
• Ministry of National Heritage (Sri Lanka)
• Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology (Sri Lanka)
• SEAMEO SPAFA Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts
• State Administration for Cultural Heritage (China)
• Tsinghua University
• University of Kelaniya
• WHITRAP Shanghai Centre