Australian and Malaysian cooperation in cultural heritage

Australian and Malaysian cooperation in cultural heritage

AusHeritage and the Penang Heritage Trust will collaborate on a five month heritage conservation cooperation program to May 2011. This will include a series of lectures cum workshops by Australian experts in various aspects of cultural heritage management and conservation.

Ms Mary Knaggs, Senior Heritage Architect New South Wales Government Architect’s Office and Mr Peter Romey, a Partner in Godden Mackay Logan Heritage Consultants, will deliver the first set of talks in late January. They will speak on Heritage Management Plans and on the implementation of heritage legislation & regulations respectively.

“Having recently visited Penang and seen its wonderful heritage buildings, I am very supportive of this close collaboration between Australia and Malaysia in this important area. Professionals from AusHeritage, Australia's international network for heritage services, continue to work closely with Malaysian institutions on several projects including workshops and training sessions" said Mr Miles Kupa, Australia’s High Commissioner to Malaysia.

“Though Australian and Malaysia heritage practitioners have collaborated on a number of projects over the last two decades, both bilateral and through the ASEAN-Committee on Culture and Information (ASEAN-COCI), this particular project from a capacity building perspective is a very important one” said Mr Vinod Daniel, Chair of AusHeritage. He added that he was delighted that AusHeritage would work with the Penang Heritage Trust in this project and in future would be extending its cooperation with a number of other Malaysian heritage bodies.

AusHeritage members have also worked with Malaysia in a number of other projects including preparation of the Conservation Studies for historic Suffolk House and for the Kapitan Keling Mosque both in George Town Penang, as well as the preliminary study / master plan for the Historic Core of George Town which contributed to its World Heritage listing. AusHeritage has also worked with Malaysia through the ASEAN-COCI dialogue partner cooperation on capacity building aspects for museum collections and on cultural mapping. AusHeritage and ASEAN-COCI have a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the field of protection, preservation, promotion and management of cultural heritage.

Ms. Khoo Salma Nasution, President of the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT), said she was “delighted with the Trust’s close working relationship with AusHeritage and was keen for this to continue with the PHT and also with the World Heritage Incorporated in George Town.”

The workshops are supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Malaysia Institute (AMI) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

AusHeritage (www.ausheritage.org.au) is Australia’s international network for cultural heritage. The organisation’s members include Australian universities, national collecting institutions, State galleries, libraries and museums, private architectural firms and private and government conservation services.