Regional Workshop on “From Risk Assessment to Conservation: Safeguarding Archaeological Complexes in the Mekong Subregion”

Submit applications to:
SEAMEO-SPAFA, 81/1 Si Ayutthaya Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300 Thailand
Tel: +66 2 2804022-9 Fax: +66 2 2804030
Email: patchy@seameo-spafa.org

Download application form here. Application deadline is
30 November 2007.

The Lao Ministry of Information and Culture, Department of Museums and Archaeology along with the Getty Conservation Institute, SEAMEO Regional Center for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SPAFA), and the Lerici Foundation are collaborating to present a workshop titled, From Risk Assessment to Conservation; Safeguarding Archaeological Complexes in the Mekong Subregion. The workshop will be held at the World Heritage site of Vat Phou in Lao PDR 9-22 March 2008. The purpose of the workshop is to address the common conservation issues heritage professionals encounter at their sites throughout the region. The workshop is designed to enhance participants’ existing heritage conservation skills and practices and to provide them with new techniques for conserving and managing their sites. Vat Phou is a quintessential example of the kinds of architectural, archaeological and cultural landscapes that are common throughout Southeast Asian civilizations along the Mekong. The site embodies the multiple and diverse challenges of these complex sites from the pressures of overlapping uses of the site by local communities, tourism, and growing urban centers, to identifying the causes of site, structure, and material decay. The two-week workshop will address topics regarding risk identification and prioritization of needs, documentation and condition assessment, material conservation, risk prevention, and project budgeting and proposal writing.

The workshop will be open to approximately 25 young heritage professionals from Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar (5 per country). Participants must have some responsibility for similar sites in their own country, the ability to work in English, and must have the signed approval of their supervisor in order to attend. The workshop will be comprised of classroom lectures by local Lao and visiting international heritage professionals, field exercises, and final group presentations. During the course of the workshop, participants will be asked to actively participate in classroom discussions and group work. Participants will also be given the opportunity to present the challenges they face at their own sites and to discuss them with their colleagues and instructors for new ideas and approaches.

Participants will be selected through an application process. Expenses related to tuition, travel, and accommodations will be covered by the partner organizations. If you have any questions, please contact: Ms. Jay Tunprawat, Project Coordinator, SEAMEO – SPAFA tel. +66 2 2804022-9, fax +66 2 2804030,
email: patchy@seameo-spafa.org.