Welcome

The Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific (CHCAP) undertakes research into issues of cultural heritage protection in Asia and the Pacific, including Australia, and runs training workshops aimed at skills transfer to developing communities and countries in the region.

The Centre is closely connected with UNESCO, including its World Heritage Centre and especially its Asia Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand. The Centre is also a member of Forum UNESCO, the Asian Academy for Heritage Management and AusHeritage.

CHCAP is based in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University in Melbourne. In conjunction with the School of History, Heritage and Society, CHCAP offers postgraduate courses in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies.

CHCAP is a member of the Centre for Memory, Imagination and Invention, a Deakin University Strategic Research Centre. Memory, imagination and invention are three pre-conditions for sustaining communities and environments. CMII comprises a unique interdisciplinary group that addresses these interrelated concerns from both theoretical and applied perspectives. CMII’s primary aim is to promote the highest level of research excellence and become the foremost international centre in the field. To this end CMII will produce new knowledge about ancient and contemporary places and texts, cultural practices, and environmental and social change. The research will be distinctive in its combination of the methodologies of critique and creativity, as well as interdisciplinary methods.

The Cultural Heritage Centre's Director is Associate Professor Andrea Witcomb. Centre staff are also members of ICOMOS and ICOM.