2003 news archive
CHCAP at UNESCO/ICCROM's first Asian Academy
Field School in Macao
Dr. Colin Long presents at two international
conferences
Deakin Adjunct Professor at the Getty Institute
New Research Looks at War History
and Memory
Dr. Anita Smith at Historical Archaeology
Conference in Norfolk Island
Associate Professor Appointed to Heritage Council
Victoria
CHCAP Teaching at Silpakorn University, Thailand
Supervising Internationally
Professor William Logan visits Indonesian Universities, August 2003
Scholarship Student Arrives from Hanoi: July 2003
Hue Workshop and Memorandum of Understanding
Vietnam Trip November 2003
Anita Smith to speak at Australian National University
CHCAP student and AYAD participant reports
from the South Pacific
Phnom Penh, City at the Crossroads, report by Katheryn Bennett
Welcome to the new semester two intake
Roslyn Lawry Award 2002 goes to Brian Hubber
Adjunct Professor at CHCAP joins Commonwealth advisory group on Iraqi heritage
New Archaeologist and Researcher Joins CHCAP Project
Jonathan Sweet introduces Contemporary Australian Silver and Metalwork
Margaret Birtley helps steer collections policy
CHCAP Research Staff Flourishing
CHCAP Public Seminar Series 2003 opens with Leilani Bin-Juda,
Arts Development Officer Torres Strait Regional Authority
Record Number of Students at CHCAP
CHCAP Graduate gets International Coverage
Classes Start for International Teaching Partnerships
New Researcher Joins CHCAP Project
Jonathan Sweet to Address Symposium at National Gallery
of Australia
Two New Members Join Advisory Board
Promotion for Bambang Soemardiono
Just months after completing a visiting fellowship at the Cultural Heritage Centre, Deakin University, Dr Bambang Soemardiono from the Institute of Technology, Surabaya, Indonesia has been promoted to Head of the Department of Architecture in the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning.Dr Soemardiono was at Deakin from 10 – 30 August 2003 and, during this time, gave a seminar in the CHCAP Research Seminar series on ‘The Changing Facades and Functions of Colonial Buildings along Corridor Darmo Boulevard in Surabaya’ and audited the Master of Cultural Heritage unit AIM705: Architectural Conservation Practice.
First Meeting of Asian Academy for Heritage Management
Professor
Bill Logan travels to Macao in March to participate in the first meeting
of the UNESCO/ICCROM Asian Academy for Heritage Management (AAHM) at
which the organisation will decide on its future development. The 40 member
AAHM is a network of organisations and institutes of higher education throughout
the Asia-Pacific region engaged in the research and teaching
of heritage conservation and management AAHM's aim is to improve professional
training and management of cultural heritage and Professor Logan has been one
of the key players in its establishment. The meeting in Macao, attended by
invited Asian Academy members and UNESCO/ICCROM representatives, will focus
on four main objectives:1) Overview of the Asian Academy by:
• reviewing the Asian Academy's current membership and membership policy
• assessing current strengths and opportunities for improvement in the
network
• identifying institutions to target as future members
• fostering linkages with other existing networks.
2) To foster stronger links within the Academy amongst member institutions
by:
• strengthening the mechanisms for intra-network collaboration
• developing shared academic resources3) To strengthen the operation of
the Asian Academy by:
• refining the management structure
• developing funding strategy
• definition of region
• developing a short term and long-term strategy.4) Field Schools
• evaluate the first AAHM Field School
• policy regarding Field Schools
• criteria for selection of future Field School venues.
• examination of proposals for future field school venues in 2004, 2005,
and 2006.For further information on the Asian Academy for Heritage Management
and the
strategy meeting please contact: asian-academy@unescobkk.org
Globalisation, Nationalism and World Heritage
Colin Long will be presenting at the Vietnam-Australia, Culture, Governance and Globalisation workshop at Swinburne University in November. Colin Long and Jonathan Sweet's paper, "Globalisation, Nationalism and World Heritage: Interpreting Luang Prabang", will be presented to the workshop on Rethinking Contemporary Identities in Laos at the National University of Singapore in January 2004. Colin will be attending the workshop thanks to the generous funding of the National University of Singapore.
Deakin Adjunct Professor at the Getty Institute
Jane Lennon has taken up residence as a Conservation Guest Scholar at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles from mid-October 2003 to early January 2004. At the GCI she will pursue research on 'Cultural Landscapes: Their Designation and Condition Monitoring'.The GCI announcement of her arrival notes Jane's position as an adjunct professor at Deakin University's Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific in Burwood, Australia. As a freelance heritage consultant and former government official, Jane Lennon has worked with heritage conservation projects throughout Australia -in places as diverse as parks, inner urban areas, historic mining areas, explorers' routes, and museums. She is an elected member of the Council of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property in Rome (ICCROM), and was recently made a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her 'service to conservation, the environment and heritage issues'. Her most recent work has involved projects for the Queensland Heritage Trails network, the Australia State of Environment Report 2001, and World Heritage property management strategies.
New Research Looks at War History and Memory
In November 2003, Anita Smith travels to Rabaul in Papua New Guinea to visit World War II sites in the town and surrounding region. The site visit is a preliminary stage in the development of a larger research project, Management and Interpretation of Pacific Island Sites of Significance in Australia's War History and Memory.
Anita Smith at Historical Archaeology Conference
Anita Smith recently attended the Australian Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference on Norfolk Island. Anita presented a paper titled Levuka: locating the heritage of colonialism in Fiji's post -colonial cultural landscape' discussing her current research interest in the history and heritage of Levuka, Fiji's first capital.
Associate Professor Appointed to Victorian Heritage Council
Associate Professor Renate Howe has recently been appointed to the Victorian Heritage Council. Renate has been appointed for her historical expertise and her experience in implementing heritage planning as a sessional member of Planning Panels Victoria. Her expertise will be especially relevant to the Council hearings in relation to listings on the Heritage Register of buildings and heritage precincts.
CHCAP Teaching at Silpakorn University, Thailand
Under the Memorandum of Understanding between Deakin University and Silpakorn University, three CHCAP members have contributed to teaching the new Doctoral and Masters programs in Architectural Conservation Management and Tourism at Silpakorn’s central Bangkok campus on Rattanakosin Island, adjacent to the Royal Palace. Professor William Logan taught a course on ‘Heritage and Development’ in February 2003, Adjunct Professor Roz Hansen took a ‘Heritage Law, Planning and the Property Market’ unit in June, and Helen Lardner has recently returned from teaching a unit on ‘Architectural Conservation Practice’. Each course runs over six days and class members include practising architects and planners as well as academics from a number of Thai universities.
Supervising internationally
Professor William Logan has accepted an invitation to joint the supervisory panel and examination jury for PhD student Kelly Shannon in the Postgraduate Centre for Human Settlements at the Universiteit Katholieke Leuven in Belgium. Kelly’s thesis deals with planning and landscape architecture in second-order Vietnamese cities, taking Vinh, Hue and Cantho as case studies.
Professor William Logan visits Indonesian Universities
August 2003
Bill Logan visited Indonesia to give a keynote address to the International Conference on Environment and Urban Management held at the Soegijapranata Catholic University (Unika) in Semarang on 1-2 August. His paper was entitled ‘Managing the Cultural Environment in Cities: New Ideas on Urban Conservation’. An abstract may be found on the Staff publications on-line section of the CHCAP web site.
From Semarang he travelled on to the Institute of Technology Surabaya as the guest of the School of Architecture. Here he presented a paper in a one-day workshop for staff and students on urban conservation issues. This visit was organised by Professor Happy Ratna Santosa, Head of the Department of Architecture, under the Memorandum of Understanding between ITS and Deakin University. During the visit final arrangements were made for Dr Bambang Soemardiono to come to Deakin as Visiting Scholar. Professor Santosa introduced Bill to key academics at ITS and took him to see a number of Surabaya’s heritage sites, some of which, including the old central railway station, are facing serious threats.
Scholarship Student Arrives from Hanoi: July 2003
Mr Nguyen Thanh Binh, lecturer at the Hanoi Architectural University, has taken up a Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship to undertake the Master of Cultural Heritage.
During his visit Binh will act as a liaison between researchers in CHCAP and the team led by Professor Nguyen Hong Thuc, Vice Dean, Faculty of Architecture, Hanoi Architectural University, particularly with regard to the joint research project on Vietnamese University Planning and Design.
Hue Workshop and Memorandum of Understanding
In July
2003, Prof. Bill Logan and Dr. Colin Long were invited to address a workshop
in Hue,
Vietnam, for postgraduate students from the Hanoi Architectural
University. Bill spoke about the latest developments in the field of intangible
heritage, while Colin gave an update on international charters, including
the Operational
Guidelines for the World Heritage Convention. Bill and Colin also participated
as assessors for the students' projects which had been drawn up over the
week of the workshop.During the visit to Hue, Bill and Colin also drew
up a Memorandum
of Understanding with the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, the fruit of
several years of relationship
building between the two Centres.
It is hoped that the MOU will facilitate training, staff and student
exchanges and the development of substantial cooperative projects,
for instance in the
development of virtual technologies to be used in the interpretation of
the Citadel site at Hue.
Deakin University Vietnam and Cambodia Trip 2003
Experience
the culture and history of two of Asia’s most fascinating countries on this study
tour to Vietnam and Cambodia.Experience the mysterious Khmer temples at Angkor,
visit the old royal capital of Vietnam and the tombs of the Vietnamese emperors,
see Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body in his mausoleum in Hanoi, visit
Vietnamese and Cambodian heritage preservation projects and organizations,
descend into
tunnels used by the Viet Cong and much more.
The trip is conducted by:
Dr. Colin Long from Deakin’s Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and
the Pacific. Phone: (03) 9244 3938; or email: clong@deakin.edu.au
The dates are at this stage: 20 November 2003 – 8 December 2003.
Note that some changes to this may be made.The price will be between :
$3,000 and $3,600 depending on numbers of participants, this includes: · return
airfare from Melbourne to Vietnam
· all internal travel, by road, air and boat
· accommodation in good quality hotels on twin share basis, including
breakfast.
· boat rides, as indicated in program
· entrance fees to all sites, museums etc
· Melbourne departure tax
· local tour guides ITINERARY20 Nov - Arrive Hanoi,
transfer to hotel
21 Nov - Early morning introductory walk around Old Sector of Hanoi then visit
to Hoa Lo Prison, Ho Chi Minh Mauloleum, Chau Mot Cot.
Afternoon Agricultural Enterprise Visit
22 Nov - Full day visit to Ha Long Bay including lunch
23 Nov - Morning Visit to Den Hai Ba Trung, Nguyen Cong Tru Living Quarter,
Lien Phai, Soviet-Vietnamese Friendship Cultural Palance, Station, Chua Ba
Da, Van Mieu.Afternoon visit to Ancient Quarter Heritage House and at leisure.
24 Nov- Transfer out for flight to Hue, transfer to Hotel Duy Tan. Afternoon
cruise on Perfume River to Chau Tien Mu.
25 Nov - Morning visit to mausoleums of Gia Long, Tu Duc, Khai Dinh. Afternoon
visit to Citadel.
26 Nov - Morning meeting with representatives of Hue Monuments Conservation
Centre. Afternoon at leisure.
27 Nov - Transfer to Hoi An with sightseeing of China Beach, Marble Mountains
and Cham Museum. Transfer to Hotel. Afternoon walking tour of Hoi An.
28 Nov - Day at leisure in Hoi An.
29 Nov - Transfer out for flight to Saigon, upon arrival, transfer to hotel.
Afternoon walking tour.
30 Nov - Morning visit to Revolutionary Museum, Notre Dame Cathederal, Cholon.
Afternoon at Leisure.01 Dec - Morning visit to Cu Chi Tunnels and Tay Ninh.
Afternoon at leisure.
2 Dec - Morning visit to Presidential Palace, War Crimes Museum, visist to
state owned enterprise.
3 Dec - Morning transfer out for flight to Siem Reap. Transfer to Hotel. Rest
of day touring including visits to the Southern Gates of Angkor Thom, Bayon,
Phimean Akas.
4 Dec - Morning visit to Preah Kham, Neak Poam, Mebon and Pre Rup. Afternoon
visit to Angkor Wat.
5 Dec - Visit to Elephant and Leper King terraces, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan,
Banteay Srei.
6 Dec - Travel by boat from Siem Reap across the Tonle Sap to Phnom Penh. Upon
arrival, transfer to hotel. Afternoon visit to the National Museum, Wat Phnom
Temple then sunset cruise on the Tonle Sap and Mekong River.
7 Dec - Visit to Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, Tuol Sleng Museum, French Designed
Market. Afternoon at leuisre. Possible trip to Udong.
8 Dec - Morning visit to Royal University of Fine Arts before transfer
to airport for return flight home.
Anita Smith to speak at Australian National University
Anita Smith has been invited to speak at the Visiting Scholars Program 'Diasporas and Contested Cultural Heritage' at the Centre for Cross Cultural Research at the Australian National University, 17 - 28 March.The theme of the Visiting Scholars Program is the heritage of movement and the movement of heritage. Movement will be taken broadly to include the transmission of cultural objects, traditions and ideas through time and space, linkages between 'sites', landscapes and people.
The program will address the ways in which places, traditions, material culture, and ideas travel through time and space and how these various manifestations of heritage move within the perceptions and value systems of individuals, communities, and institutions.Anita's paper, titled 'Global' Heritage in the Pacific will present a discussion of contradictions in local and global heritage values in Pacific Island communities, research she has conducted as part of the CHCAP team for the Australian Research Council funded Discovery Project 'UNESCO and Agency of Cultural Globalisation'. Anita will deliver her paper on Tuesday 25 March.
CHCAP student heads to Samoa on AYAD Program
Emily Waterman, a post-graduate student in Cultural Heritage at Deakin University's
Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific, has been selected
for the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program
and will soon be leaving for a 12-month posting to Samoa.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts – Tourism, Emily worked for the National
Trust of Australia (Victoria) developing and co-ordinating hands-on education
programs and events. During this time, she undertook postgraduate studies in
Cultural Heritage at Deakin. This was a decisive experience in Emily's professional
development. "I found that my interest and passion for protection and
sharing cultural heritage has been enhanced", she says.
Emily came across AYAD by coincidence when she received an e-mail from Deakin University advertising a position with the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in the Pacific as an Australian Youth Ambassador. "It was just the sort of thing that appealed to me", she recalls, "working towards protecting and preserving cultural heritage and living on a tropical island".In the 12 months she will be in Samoa, Emily will be assisting UNESCO and the Fijian National Trust (Government) in their application to inscribe Levuka (the first capital of Fiji) on the World Heritage List. This assignment means that she will be a part of helping to focus the world’s attention on the town and increase cultural tourism to the island."At the conclusion of this assignment I hope to have a fuller understanding of working with and protecting our cultural heritage", Emily says. She is also looking forward to sharing experiences and information with the people of Samoa and Fiji.
Update from the South Pacific.
By Emily Waterman – Australian Youth Ambassador for Development
Talofa (Hello). It is hard to believe I have been in Samoa for four months now. I am here on a 12 month placement as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD), working in the Culture Sector at the UNESCO Office in Apia. This placement was arranged through the Cultural Heritage Center for Asia and Pacific - Deakin University & the UNESCO Apia Office. My assignment is to research and develop heritage tourism in the Pacific Region. I am fortunate that this project combines two areas of my study -a Postgraduate Certificate in Cultural Heritage and Bachelor of Arts in Tourism. For the last few months I have been researching the impacts and potential of tourism in village communities, looking especially at economic and cultural impacts and at the idea that heritage tourism can be used as a tool for sustainable community development. This research was used to write a paper for the UNESCO National Commission meeting held in early July. The rest of my time here will be spent developing and testing this concept, through establishing a pilot community heritage tourism project in a Pacific Island country, yet to be determined. As the Apia Office is the regional office for UNESCO’s 17 member states in the Pacific, I am also busy communicating with other Pacific Nations, on issues relating to World Heritage and general heritage and cultural matters. I am also involved with various projects that are operating in the Pacific. Over the last few months I have been asked to stand-in and represent the Office at a number of meetings and openings. I have recently volunteered to join the Coordinating Committee for planning for the retirement and birthday party for one of the Senior Officers in the Office and for the visit of the Director General of UNESCO in January 2004. I have just recently returned from a week’s research mission in Fiji. I spent the week meeting with different Government and Non Government Heritage Institutions and organisations. This experience provided me with an insight into work being conducted in Fiji to preserve their rich heritage and culture. My time in Suva coincided with the South Pacific Games. Unfortunately I was only able to go to the opening of the games, but I was able to cheer on the Samoan team. At the end of July I will be heading off to New Zealand for a week or so, for a meeting and a little research. On a more personal note I am thoroughly enjoying the slower pace of life, the sun and beaches of Samoa. One of the most enjoyable aspects is that Samoa has a living culture. It is not on display in a Museum, it is demonstrated in nearly every aspect of day to day living. One of my first funny experiences was catching the bus. There are no ‘bus stops’ here, you just stop the bus by the wave of your hand - it’s like hailing a taxi. Then whenever anyone needs to get off you just pull on a cord and the bus will stop for you. The funny thing is that a bus can stop, let someone on or off and then it can be hailed again a few feet away to let someone else on or off. This makes it interesting getting to work every morning. Depending on how may stops the bus has to make, it takes anywhere from 10-20 minutes.
© Emily Waterman, 2003
Phnom Penh: A City at the Crossroads
by Katheryn Bennett, Assistant Officer ,AYAD Program, UNESCO, Phnom Penh Office, Cambodia.
The City in the Past
Phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia, was once regarded as the most
charming city in Southeast Asia. It was even described as the Paris
of the
East, a reference to the grand infrastructure constructed by the French
during
their occupation from the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.During
the
last thirty years, however, Phnom Penh has suffered at the hands of
civil war
and political unrest. In the
early 1970s there was a sharp rise in the city’s population, as people
flocked to Phnom Penh in order to avoid the civil war raging in the Cambodian
countryside. This influx of people resulted in a heavy strain on the city’s
infrastructure. In 1975, the situation was reversed to the extreme, and the
city was reduced to a ghost town, the population of two million people forcibly
driven out by the Khmer Rouge. It was during the four-year Khmer Rouge period
that many of the buildings within the city lay empty and neglected.It was
only after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979, that people began to return to
Phnom Penh. Many of these people were
from the provinces, and had never lived in an urban environment before. This
situation, coupled with isolation from the international community for ten
years, led to further deterioration of the city’s built fabric.Stability
began to return in 1989, when Vietnam withdrew its troops, and with the signing
of the Paris Peace Accords in 1991.
In 1992, Phnom Penh abruptly entered into a period of rapid growth triggered
by the establishment of the United Nation’s Transitional Authority
in Cambodia.
The City in
the Present
Phnom Penh, like other cities in the Asia-Pacific region,
has entered into a period of growth and dramatic change
during the last ten
years. This new
prosperity has been underpinned by relative stability and peace.The
heritage of Phnom Penh is rich and diverse. There are beautiful
examples
of French colonial architecture, intact examples
of traditional Khmer architecture, as well as impressive buildings
of more contemporary design. In fact some of the more spectacular
structures date
from the 1930s and 1960s. Two of the most dominating architectural
complexes
in the city include the landmark Art Deco styled Central Market
complex,
constructed between 1935-1937; and the Olympic Stadium, opened
in 1964, and designed in the minimalist International style
with
reference
to traditional
Khmer building forms, and the ancient temples of Angkor.The historic
buildings and architectural complexes of significant cultural
value, however, are
under threat. In order to cope
with the increasing demand for new infrastructure, these buildings
are either being unsympathetically modified, or demolished
and replaced
by aesthetically
poor and stylistically generic structures, examples of which
can be found in any city in the world. As a result, a significant
part
of Phnom Penh’s
historic urban character is in the process of being lost.
UNESCO Urban
Heritage Projects
It is in this context that UNESCO has been actively working
with local communities and civic authorities to improve
the general
environment of the city, and to
identify and promote the urban heritage of Phnom Penh. The
organisation has
recently undertaken several projects in this regard, and is
planning more. Two pilot projects, known as Local Urban
Communities
Environmental Empowerment
Pilot Projects (LUCEEPP) have been completed, and a third LUCEEPP
is about to begin.The first two pilot projects were aimed
at assisting
tens of thousands of the city’s residents to identify and tackle a
variety of problems in their own neighbourhoods. Micro-projects were designed
and implemented through consultation with residents of the four city districts
involved in the projects, and co-operation between UNESCO, the Municipality
of Phnom Penh, the NGO Handicap International, and architecture students
from the Royal University of Fine Arts. The micro-projects were designed
to address key issues related to drainage, sewerage, garbage accumulation,
access and paving.The promotion of Phnom Penh’s urban heritage
was a key focus of LUCEEPP 2 (the second pilot project). This project concentrated
on physically rehabilitating historically valuable parts of the city, such
as clearing rubbish and debris from around the perimeter of several pagodas
located within the subject neighbourhoods. In addition to these physical
maintenance efforts, an exhibition identifying and explaining aspects of
Phnom Penh’s urban heritage was also launched.The promotion of Phnom Penh’s
urban heritage will be a central focus of LUCEEPP 3, which is planned
to commence later
this year. A list of culturally significant places will be compiled
through research, fieldwork, and through consultation with the community.
A brochure
will then be produced focussing on places identified in the list.
A brief history and physical description will be given of each place
selected,
and historical and contemporary photographs will be used in the publication.
It is hoped that by producing a document such as this, the community
will
be better informed about their built heritage, which, it is hoped,
will led
to an increased level of appreciation and ultimately protection.
Conclusion
The conservation of urban heritage represents an important challenge for
Phnom Penh, and many other burgeoning cities in Southeast Asia. It
is in this
sense that Phnom Penh is at the crossroads. If development is allowed
to continue unchecked then the city will lose its unique character
and become
an indistinguishable urban mass. If a balance is achieved between preserving
the urban heritage and the construction of new infrastructure, this
vibrant and bustling city will retain its unique character for present
and future
generations to appreciate and enjoy.
© Text and photos copyright Katheryn Bennett 2003.
Welcome to the new semester two intake
Thirty new students will be commencing a Cultural Heritage or Museum Studies course when the second semester begins on 21 July. Two thirds will be studying in off-campus mode, and almost half are already employed in heritage-related or museum occupations.
Roslyn Lawry Award 2002 goes to Brian Hubber
Roslyn Lawry Award
for 2002 International Museums
Day is the occasion at which Deakin University announces its major award
for outstanding achievement in the field of Museum Studies.
On 14 May 2003 we awarded the Roslyn Lawry Award for Excellence in Museum Studies
to Mr Brian Hubber. Brian completed his Graduate Diploma of Museum Studies
in 2002. He is the first person to win the Award as an off-campus student.
When Brian commenced the course with us, he was the Rare Books Librarian at
the
State Library
of Victoria. He is now the Curator at the Geelong Art Gallery. Congratulations,
Brian.
Logan Attends Meetings of International Advisory Board
Professor William Logan has just returned from a two-week visit to Northern Ireland. He attended meetings of the International Advisory Board of the Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages at the University of Ulster (http://www.arts.ulster.ac.uk/academy/) as well as giving a paper at the XXVI Irish Conference of Historians at the University of Ulster. Professor Joan Beaumont, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Deakin University also gave a paper at the conference.
Adjunct Professor Jane Lennon appointed to expert group to protect Iraq's heritage
Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr David Kemp, this week announced the formation of an Australian expert cultural heritage group to provide the Federal Government with practical steps to ensure the recovery and future protection of Iraq's cultural heritage.The group is to include Adjunct Professor Jane Lennon, AM - Australian representative on the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) Council and Commissioner, Australian Heritage Commission.
Jane Lennon is an Adjunct Professor at Deakin University's Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific and teaches in our cultural heritage courses.
"The loss and damage to Iraq's cultural heritage following the fall of the Hussein regime has been a tragedy for not only the people of Iraq, but also for the global community as Iraq is regarded by many as the very "cradle of civilization", Minister Kemp said. "With some of the world's leading experts in Iraqi heritage, Australia will play a key role in cooperating with the international community, including UNESCO and Interpol, to help restore and protect Iraqi heritage which has been in sad disrepair for the last decade. While reports on the situation in Iraq vary considerably, first hand reports indicate significant losses in the recent conflict while coalition forces were still engaged in combat with forces loyal to Saddam Hussein."
"Australia is a signatory of the Hague Convention for the protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) and Australian forces were made well aware of these obligations. I am now pleased to announce the formation of the Cultural Heritage Reference Group of Iraq which will provide important advice on how we can assist with the recovery and protection of this country's heritage."We are also working to ensure that we can seize and return any Iraqi looted cultural heritage which is found entering or within Australia. Australia will act promptly to ensure we are not a staging post for this illegal traffic."
Dr Kemp said Australia is working with Interpol and international heritage bodies to stop any traffic in Iraqi artifacts.
"To assist Australia's participation in this international effort, I have commissioned Mr Bryan Hanley, an international art crime expert. Mr Hanley attended the Interpol International Conference on Cultural Property Stolen in Iraq on 5-6 May in Lyon, France. He helped to frame an agreed approach to the forensic issues and was able to identify the resources and expertise needed to solve this major crime and recover missing items," Dr Kemp said."Australia is internationally recognised for its heritage management skills and has particular expertise to support the conservation of heritage material. Australia has been particularly successful in managing a diverse heritage over a large country with regional organizations, and in harsh and difficult conditions.
" Iraq's regional areas have lacked resources for regional areas, and this is where Australia's regional management experience may be of real assistance. There are landscape and climate similarities between Australia and Iraq, and Australians have a long tradition of working on archaeological sites in the Middle East.
"These skills and knowledge can have great application on the ground in Iraq since it appears likely that museums and libraries in areas outside of Baghdad and other major cities are likely to need assistance.
"The management of the Iraqi's heritage had been severely eroded under the previous regime and supporting the international community in strengthening heritage management will be an important element of reconstruction.
"The newly established expert group is working with key Federal Government departments and agencies to formulate an urgent response to the theft of artifacts from museums and libraries across Iraq and make recommendations on the role of cultural heritage in the reconstruction of Iraq."
Dr Kemp said the group is consulting with professional organisations within Australia, including the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the Australian Library and Information Association, Museums Australia, and the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials before recommending appropriate actions for further whole of government consideration.
"The Cultural Heritage Reference Group will be urgently reporting to Government on the practical initiatives to link with other international cultural heritage assistance programs and the international effort to track down stolen artworks and artefacts," Dr Kemp said.
New Researcher Joins CHCAP Project
CHCAP
this week welcomed Ms Ilka Schacht as an Australian Postgraduate Award
(APAI) funded researcher and PhD candidate. She will be part of the research
team working on the ARC research project, Making
Room for the Past: Determining significance in archaeological collections
from historic sites.
Ilka holds a Masters of Archaeological Science
in Archaeological Computing from Southampton University in the
U.K and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Queensland,
where she majored in Classics and Ancient History.After
graduating from her Masters of Science degree, Ilka participated
in excavations in the U.K and then returned to Australia, working
with a colleague at the University of Queensland to research and build
a CD-ROM of the antiquities collection held in the university’s antiquities
museum. Shortly thereafter, Ilka turned her attention to the archaeology
of the middle east, working for 2 years at the British Institute in Amman
for Art and Archaeology (in Jordan) and then moving to Egypt.
For the past 4 years Ilka has been the project co-ordinator at the Theban Mapping Project, an egyptological project at the American University in Cairo, renowned for its discovery and excavation of the tomb of the sons of Ramses II in the Valley of the Kings and the survey of the monuments of the west bank of Thebes, Luxor. Working for the Theban Mapping Project, Ilka was the coordinator for the production of the project’s multi award-winning website (www.thebanmappingproject.com) which documents in extreme detail, using a variety of media, the tombs of the Valley of the Kings and related sites and information.
Ilka
was also
responsible for developing and maintaining the project’s in-house archaeological
and image databases, to which access is given on the project’s website.
Whilst in Egypt, Ilka took part in the excavation of Berenike, an important
Roman
harbour on the Red Sea Coast and, as a member of the North
Kharga Oasis Project, carried out an hydrological survey of the previously
unknown underground aqueducts of the Kharga Oasis in Egypt’s western
desert.
For more information contact: isc@deakin.edu.au
Sweet Introduces Contemporary Australian Silver and Metalwork
Jonathan Sweet recently contributed the Introduction to the catalogue for the Contemporary Australian Silver & Metalwork exhibition being held at Buda Historic Home and Garden, Castlemaine.
The exhibition runs 29 March - 13 April 2003
Jonathan's involvement in this exhibition complements his earlier work as a contributing author for the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, All that Glitters: Australian Colonial Gold and Silver from the Vizard Foundation, held at the Geelong Art Gallery in 2002.
Birtley helps steer collections policy
Margaret Birtley, Coordinator
of Museum Studies, attended the third meeting of the newly created National
Collections Advisory Forum in Launceston on 20 March 2003.
Margaret's involvement again underlines the strategic importance of CHCAP and
its staff in shaping Australian cultural heritage practice and research as well
as training tomorrow's museum and cultural heritage professionals.
Postcard from UNESCO, Hanoi
Emily Edwards, a postgraduate student at CHCAP, set off to work at UNESCO's Hanoi office in September 2002. Emily was selected for the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program and will be in Hanoi for 12 months based at UNESCO's office in Vietnam. Below is a recent report from Emily.
When I first came to Viet Nam three years ago through Deakin University, I knew that I had to go back. Little did I know that 3 years later I would be living and working in Hanoi. With the assistance of Bill Logan and Joe Hajdu from the Deakin University Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific (CHCAP), and the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime.
For the last 6 months I have been working as a Cultural Heritage Project Officer at the UNESCO Office in Hanoi. As a Project Officer at UNESCO, I have been given the responsibility of overseeing the management and implementation of four culture projects and have input into a number of others. My projects vary greatly, from assisting the Government to establish a System of Living Human Treasures (SLHT), to also assisting the Government to publish and distribute a resource handbook for UNESCO’s 1970 Illicit Traffic Convention into Vietnamese. And from enabling policy discussion on the Access to Books and Other Information, to giving disadvantaged youth the opportunity to learn a traditional craft.
My projects cover all aspects of tangible and intangible heritage, along with a number of other key issues.With each of these projects I am also given the opportunity to work with an array of different people from villagers to Government Officials and from institutions to organizations, all who have a desire to protect Vietnamese culture. With my SLHT Project I was recently given the honour of meeting Vietnamese people who maintain the traditional techniques in singing (Quan Ho) and wood block printing (Dong Ho).Hanoi is a wonderful city to live and work in. It is so full of life and has a wealth of tangible and intangible heritage. I am enjoying my work here immensely, as it allows me to meet new people and learn so much more about Vietnam’s heritage, its people and language.
CHCAP Research Staff Flourishing
Dr. David Nichols recently joined CHCAP as a research assistant.
He will be working on the Australian Research Council (ARC)
funded
project titled, Community and Governance;
Urban Activism in Melbourne in the 1960s and beyond. David
completed his PhD on interwar town planning in Australia in 2001. His research
interests include urban renewal and community building and Australian popular
culture. A second edition of his book The
Go-Betweens is to be issued in the USA in April (Verse Chorus Press).
Dr. Nichols joins a burgeoning group of early-career researchers based at CHCAP
which includes: Ms
Fengqi Qian, Cultural Heritage
Site Significance, Management and Interpretation in China and Australia:
a Comparative Analysis in a Cross-Cultural Framework; Ms Amelia
Klein, Analysing
Testimonies of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and
Ms Ilka Schacht Making Room for the
Past: Determining significance in
archaeological collections from historic sites.
Dr. Anita Smith and Dr. Colin Long are post-doctoral fellows at the Centre.
CHCAP Seminar Series 2003 opens with Leilani Bin-Juda, Arts Development Officer, Torres Strait Regional Authority
Leilani Bin-Juda, Arts Development Officer with the Torres Strait Regional Authority opened the CHCAP public seminar series 2003 on 26 March.
Leilani talked about the development of the first Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre, on Thursday Island. She has previously worked for the National Museum of Australia where she developed an exhibition of Torres Strait Islander material from the Haddon Collection, Cambridge University. Other successes include the completion of the new Torres Strait exhibition on permanent display at the National Museum -- Paipa (Windward). See the website: www.nma.gov.au. This exhibition showed the mainland Torres Strait Islander voice and history. Click here to read more about the Torres Strait Cultural Centre: http://www.tsra.gov.au/Cultural%20Centre.html
Record Number of Students in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies
Deakin University's courses in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies have started the 2003 academic year with a record number of students. Numbers are up 25 percent on 2002 levels.
CHCAP Graduate gets International Coverage
Vanessa Kredler, a Master of Cultural
Heritage graduate from the CHCAP course was the subject of an article
in the December 2002 issue of the British magazine, Museum Journal,
published by the Museums
Association.
Vanessa is now working as an Inventory Project Assistant at the National Maritime
Museum in London.
The journal article reads, in part, 'it was her Masters in Cultural Heritage,
which she read at Deakin University in Melbourne and the University of Canberra,
that brought her into her own.'
Classes start for international teaching partnerships
The
first classes as part of partnerships between Deakin University and the
University of Santo Tomas, Manilla and Silpakorn
University, Bangkok took place in January. Prof.
William Logan and Dr
Anita Smith both travelled to Manilla to teach an intensive, week-long
course in Heritage and Cultural Tourism. The
course at the University of Santo Tomas is run by Associate Professorial
Lecturer Eric Babar Zerrudo,
who spent a year with CHCAP in 2001 as the recipient of the CHCAP International
Student Scholarship, 2001. The Course Co-ordinator is Clarissa Avendaño,
a participant at the Forum UNESCO Students for Heritage Protection Workshop
CHCAP hosted in December 2001.
Prof
Logan and Dr. Smith were very impressed by the enthusiasm and knowledge of the
students, all of whom are undertaking Masters courses. During the week, the students
developed cultural tourism plans for several heritage sites in the Philippines,
to protect and enhance their heritage values for tourism. The sites selected
by the students illustrated great richness and diversity of Philippines cultural
heritage.
Following teaching at University of Santo Tomas, Prof. Logan spent a week teaching
at Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Here, too the students showed great
enthusiasm to extend their knowledge not only about the rich cultural heritage
in Thailand but also the international framework in which Cultural Heritage professionals
work today.
New Researcher Joins CHCAP Project
Ms
Amelia Klein joined CHCAP as an Australian Postgraduate Award (APAI)
funded researcher and PhD candidate. She is part of the research
team working on the ARC research project, Analysing
Testimonies of Jewish Holocaust Survivors.
Amelia completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) at Sydney
University where she majored in Jewish Civilizations,
Thought and Culture. She wrote her honours thesis on Sydney Child
Survivirs of the Holocaust.
Before coming to Deakin Amelia completed an internship at the Museum of Jewish
Heritage in New York and worked in the curatorial education department in the
Sydney Jewish Museum, where she established the Young Friends of the Sydney
Jewish Museum.
Amelia will complete a PhD as part of her work on the new project.
Jonathan Sweet to Address Symposium at National Gallery of Australia
Jonathan Sweet has been invited to address a symposium at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (15 & 16 March 2003). 'Art museums: Sites of Communication' is a joint initiative of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery and will provide a unique opportunity for participants to review interpretation principles and practices in the art museum in Australia.Two New Members Join Advisory Board
Mr Richard Engelhardt and Adj Prof Sharon Sullivan have accepted invitations to join the International Advisory Board of Deakin University's Research Priority Area (RPA) in Citizenship and Globalisation. The board will comprise members drawn from a variety of disciplines and professions. Given that one of the constituent research centres of the RPA is the Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific their expertise in cultural heritage will be particularly valuable.
Mr Engelhardt is UNESCO
Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific. He was educated in
anthropology,
archaeology
and Asian history at Yale University and Harvard University. For the
past 30 years, he has directed archaeology and heritage conservation projects
throughout
Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. He has also served in various executive
capacities with regional professional institutions including the Indo-Pacific
Prehistorians
Association, the Thailand Culture and Environment Fund, the Siam Society
under Royal Patronage, and the Hong Kong Archaeological Society.
In 1981, he joined the United Nations system and has worked with
the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific,
as well as a number of UN Specialized
Agencies, including UNHCR whose office in the Philippines he headed from
1986-1989. From 1989-1991, he served as UNESCO chief technical
advisor on a project to
modernize the national museums of the ASEAN countries. From 1991-1994
he re-opened and served as Head of the UNESCO Office in Cambodia,
where he launched the
international safeguarding campaign for Angkor. In recognition of his
services
in the preservation of the Angkor Monuments, H.M. King Norodom Sihanouk
awarded him the title of Commandeur de l’Ordre Royal du Cambodge.
Currently Mr. Engelhardt is UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture
for Asia and the Pacific, based in Bangkok. In this position
he has
pioneered many projects
for the protection of the built heritage and cultural landscapes of the
region, as well as the standard-setting UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage
Conservation
Awards, and the UNESCO Seal of Excellence for Handicraft Products
from Southeast Asia.
In addition to his Cambodian knighthood, he has also been decorated by
the Government of Viet Nam as Peoples Culture Hero; and the Government
of the
Philippines has bestowed upon him the Order of Ciudad Ferdinand
de Vigan. In 2001, the
Government of the People’s Republic of China officially proclaimed
Mr. Engelhardt an Honorary Citizen of the World Heritage Town of Lijiang.
Mr. Engelhardt’s professional interests include: ethno-archaeology,
the evolution of cultural landscapes, urban archaeology, adaptive
reuse of historic
structures, and culture resource management. In recent years, he has held
visiting lectureships at the University of Hawaii (USA), Waseda University
(Japan),
Southeast University (China) and the University of Hong Kong. He is the author
of numerous scholarly articles, books and publications, including most recently:
Two Thousand Years of Engineering Genius on the Angkor Plain (University
of Pennsylvania Press), Technology in the Service of Archaeology
in the Plain
of Jars (UNESCO), and numerous articles on the Ethno-Archaeology of Maritime
Communities in the Southeast Asian Archipelago which are being collated and
edited in a book to be published by the University of Utah Press. He is also
a collaborator in the recently published textbook: The Horizontal Skyscraper:
Urban Conservation in China (Trondheim University Press), and a
regular contributor to The World Culture Report, published biannually
by UNESCO.
Adj Prof Sullivan Sharon Sullivan has
worked in Heritage place management and land management generally for
thirty years. She has been Cultural Heritage Manager, then Regional
Manager, then
Deputy Executive Director NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service; then Executive
Director, Australian Heritage Commission and First Assistant Secretary, Australian & World
Heritage Group for the Department of Environment and Heritage, Australian
Government and Australian Government Leader of Delegation, World Heritage
Committee. She
is a Fellow of Australian Academy of the Humanities, a Member of the Australian
Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Studies, and a member
of the National Executive Committee of Australia ICOMOS.
She is Adjunct Professor, School of Anthropology, Archaeology and
Sociology James Cork University of North Queensland, and Adjunct
Professor, School of
Natural and Rural Systems Management, University of Queensland. She
is a Consultant to the Australian Government, the Getty Conservation
Institute, the World Monument
Fund, the World Bank, and the World Heritage Committee on various aspects
of cultural heritage management. She is the author of a range
of publications
including, jointly with Michael Pearson, Looking After Heritage Places,
Melbourne University Press 1998 (second edition) a University
textbook on heritage place conservation
and management. She has done planning and teaching work with heritage
site managers in Australia, USA, Cambodia, Africa and China
on cultural heritage
assessment management issues. Sharon is also currently involved in
a CHCAP research project funded by an Australian Research Council
(ARC) Linkage
Grant. The project titled 'Cultural
Heritage Site Significance, Management and Interpretation in China
and
Australia: A Comparative Analysis in a Cross-Cultural Framework',
is being conducted
in cooperation with the Australian Heritage Commission and
Sullivan Blazejowski & Associates,
heritage consultants.
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