Urban Conservation Network in Asia and Its Future: Heritage, Cultural Identities and Asian Dynamism The 3-day

Symposium was organised by the Nara Machizukuri Center from Japan, coorganised by Penang Heritage Trust and Lestari Heritage Network, supported by George Town World Heritage Incorporated and the Penang State Government with funding from the Asian Neighbours Program by Toyota Foundation and Think City Sdn Bhd. The aim of the Symposium was to: Promote the exchange of opinions about recent heritage activities in Asian cities and the promotion of citizens network in the future, from the viewpoint of global society, living communities including intangible cultural heritage, and the survival of local cultural identities. With an agenda to build a new flexible Asian network by making better use of web platforms and social media, the participating organisations consisted of: Japan - Nara Machizukuri Center and ICOMOS Japan; Korea - Seoul Bookchon Cultural Forum; China Huaqiao University; Taiwan - Taiwan Institute of Historical Resource Management; Cambodia Khmer Architecture Tours; Myanmar Yangon Heritage Trust; Thailand Thai ICOMOS, Chiang Mai Urban Development Institute Foundation, Phuket Community Foundation; Indonesia Indonesia National Heritage Trust, Aceh Heritage Community Foundation, Badan Warisan Sumatera, BPWN (Badan Pemberdayaan dan Warisan Nias), PAN-Sumatera Network, Jogja Heritage Society, Paguyuban Cak & Ning Surabaya. The establishment of an Asian network aims to strengthen the voice of heritage conservation in Asia as well as collaboration between member organisations to tackle the challenges of rapid globalisation and diminishing heritage. According to Khoo Salma Nasution, President of Penang Heritage Trust: The current state of Heritage NGOs is like Environmental NGOs from forty years ago, facing huge challenges with only small voices, with the general public unaware about how the problems are going to affect them. The activities throughout the 3-day Symposium included a heritage tour and mini conference at the Penang Teochew Association hall on Day 1, Conference at E&O Hotel on Day 2, Internal NGO meeting at Penang Teochew Association hall on Day 3. Below are the abstracts and summaries of the symposium presentations from the 3 days.

Day 1 The day started with a 3-group heritage walk in through Georgetown in the morning to provide participants a clear picture of the places history as well as the progress and issues faced in conservation efforts before and after the UNESCO Heritage Listing. Khoo highlighted the eviction of tenants operating in the old trades after the repeal of Rent Control Act which caused a considerable loss of intangible cultural heritage in George Town. Among the other issues are: politically-motivated intervention which hampers heritage conservation effort such as the conversion of the former Heritage Training Centre at Syed Alatas Mansion into the Penang Islamic Museum around the year 2000 (unsuitable due to full air-conditioning of the museum space which caused the building to be currently unusable due to termite infestation), erosion of traditional building methods and injection of inappropriate foreign elements in heritage conservation practice, eviction of tenants and gentrification, commercialisation of shophouse activities to cater for mass tourism, the lost opportunities of conservation funding which focused on heritage renovations emphasising physical impact to the built environment but with inadequate capacity building and training for the professionals, builders and artisans. The day continued with a mini conference at the Penang Teochew Association. It started with an introductory video of the Penang Teochew Association and the restoration process of the Han Jiang Ancestral Temple, followed by an introduction to the George Town World Heritage Site by Lim Chooi Ping from George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI). Lim described the series of programmes undertaken by GTWHI since its establishment, including a Heritage Clinic for building owners, capacity development workshops for various professions interested in heritage conservation and management, and acting as copresenter of the annual George Town Festival. GTWHI is also involved in several special projects such as Greening George Town, Way Finding System (signage improvement and unification at sites of importance within the World Heritage Site), Intangible Heritage Inventory, Cleaning of the Historic Protestant Cemetery, and conducts or administers these in collaboration with various government and non-government bodies such as the Penang State Government, Penang Municipal Council (MPPP), Think City, Penang Institute and Penang Heritage Trust. Answering a question from the audience regarding the rising property price of shop houses and whether there is any state policy to regulate it; Lim stated that there is an absence of relevant policies to tackle this issue yet at the moment. Khoo Salma Nasution, President of Penang Heritage Trust aims to evoke consensus through greater sense of ownership amongst the locals, particularly stakeholders in George Town with community mapping of cultural diversity through the presentation of historical narratives from The Penang Story campaign, which started with the successful Penang Story Colloquia and Conference of 2001-2002.and now continues by highlighting Penang's links to regional and global history. The campaign encourages individuals from various ethnicities and cultural minorities to contribute their share of stories ranging from events and people, foodways, economic activities, values and beliefs, education and all other aspects which gives George Town its soul of the city, or Outstanding Universal Values in UNESCO terms. The campaign intends to instil deeper understanding and appreciation of the

public for the cultural diversity of George Town and encourage local community pride for their own heritage; helping to prevent the homogenisation of cultural diversity as a result of globalisation. Dr. Gwynn Jenkins presented her work on the Visions of Penang online archive website. The project is building a knowledge bank for heritage research, developing an archive for historical visual data such as building plans, maps, photographs and construction drawings, which are vital as restoration references to get things right at the beginning, as well as to establish a building history. Using her restoration project of 23 Love Lane as a case study, Dr. Gwynn described how old building plans helped them to rediscover building history and elements such as a concealed well and stable during the restoration process, pointing out the difficulties in locating information about the buildings past, and having to refer to archives in Singapore for assistance underlining the importance of George Town to establish its own archives of historical references. The VOP is a work in progress. Lim Gaik Siang, the Honorary Treasurer of Penang Heritage Trust, presented a recent project for an Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, commissioned by GTWHI, documenting trades and occupation, artisans and handicraft in George Town through a cultural survey process. The painstaking effort included workshop training for cultural surveyors, the preparation of questionnaires in 3 languages, door to door survey, data entry and translation, documentation and output. Revealing the current situation of more than 400 vacant units in George Town at the end of the survey, the inventory is also vital for the identification of endangered trades in George Town which can lead to the formulation of possible solutions for further conservation action. In addition to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage project, Penang Heritage Trust has established the Penang Apprenticeship Programme for Artisans (PAPA) to ensure the continuation of the knowledge of artisans to the future. Ho Sheau Fung, Manager of Penang Heritage Trust, acknowledged the imminent threat of dying trades and endangered trades due to modernisation of lifestyles and globalisation, where the individuals from the endangered trades themselves are usually old, may be experiencing difficulties with evictions, high rentals, lack of help, difficulties of transportation, etc. The repeal of Rent Control Act has significantly affected the social structure of George Town, causing the loss of artisans due to the hike of rent price. Prior to the PAPA programme, PHT engaged the artisans through a heritage education programme with Arts-ED where groups of school-aged children visited the artisans and produced posters and trail maps to generate a wider appreciation of the trades from the younger generation. The Living Heritage Treasures Award was introduced to create a sense of pride amongst the artisans about their respective crafts and to try and encourage a desire to pass their skills on to the next generation, while establishing cooperation with the artisans to allow for the documentation of skills. PAPA engaged artisans for apprenticeship after the award by allocating deserving individuals under the artisans guidance to learn their craft and apply it in his/her future career. However, the project was (is) challenged by a lack of funding from government and the end of the sponsorship term for the Living Heritage Treasures Award from its original sponsor, with no renewal. Though there have

been some progress over the years with apprentices setting up their own businesses under the guidance from the program, it takes time to judge the success of PAPA as the results need to be assessed over a longer period. However, the real challenge lies on the priority of the programme whether to concentrate on adapting the crafts to cater for tourism or to make it relevant to the everyday lives of people in order to ensure its sustainability.

Lim Chung Wei, Community Resource Development Officer of GTWHI, and Ho Sheau Fung described the annual George Town World Heritage Day Celebrations and George Town Festival, which grew into a month-long event due to increasing support and interest from the state government. The Celebrations were intended to be participatory and not to stage merely celebrative events which might be viewed as foreign to the local communities; the communities, therefore, were invited to contribute performances and cultural demonstrations as collaborators and co-presenters. Last year the celebrations were extended beyond the boundaries of the GT World Heritage Site to engage unlisted endangered heritage buildings in order to create awareness and subsequently evoke further remedial actions, while generating wider appreciation for other historical and culturally significant places in Penang, with the One Night in Bangkok Lane event in GTF 2012 which showcased the culture of the Thai community in Penang, highlighting the cultural diversity of Penang as a whole. Tan Yeow Wooi, founder of the Tan Yeow Wooi Culture Research Studio, shared examples of his many restoration projects in George Town, and revealed the current issues of ignorant intervention on shop houses, from renovation to demolition and rebuilding in noncompliance of restoration guidelines due to weak enforcement from the local council. He also highlighted the plight of unprotected shop houses outside the heritage zone which are dilapidated due to negligence from owners and responsible authorities, while attention is concentrated on the heritage zone. Dr. Naziaty Mohd. Yaacob, Senior Lecturer at the Architecture Department of Universiti Malaya, remarked that much has to be done to provide universal access to heritage sites and properties for physically challenged individuals. Her universal access audit on 12 sites in George Town, revealed a large number heritage buildings with high thresholds and which are therefore not wheelchair-friendly or accessible to the disabled. Understanding the cost concerns of property owners to upgrade their properties to be universally accessible, she suggested appropriate solutions for particular situations. However, she stressed the need of enforcement on the usage of accessible car parks and recommended surveys to be done on aging residents who are part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of George Town in terms of their living and workspace accessibility in heritage properties. Towards the end of the question and answer session, an emotionally touched participant from Sarawak voiced out her appreciation and amazement on the efforts done on George Town and expressed her deep concern and grievance for the diminishing heritage in her home state.

Khoo Salma Nasution explaining heritage issues to participants during heritage walk

International delegates passing by a row of shophouses under restoration funded by ThinkCity.

Sunitha Janamohanan from GTWHI briefing participants at the GTWHI office.

Dr. Naziaty Mohd. Yaacob from University of Malaya presenting case studies of universal access to heritage sites and properties in George Town.

Day 2 In the keynote address by Professor Yoshifumi Muneta, Director of Japan ICOMOS, New Trends in four fields of the conservation of the World Cultural Heritage Considering Asian Dynamism, the scope of heritage concepts has expanded meaningfully from individual monuments to historic urban landscapes, accommodating intangible values and everyday living heritage for the past 40 years since the World Heritage Convention was declared, bringing drastic changes to the conservation measures (from national importance to local distinctiveness; separate conservation to integrated conservation; expert-led to communityled). It goes beyond the conservation of physical heritage itself and values the quality of life of the local communities related to that heritage which leads to changes in the theory and practice of heritage resource management in 4 categories: the concept of heritage, the role of heritage in society, issues concerning significance, and changes in management practices such as the development of standards. Acknowledging the importance of people, the local community as the critical factor of heritage conservation and sustainable development, the theme of the 40 years anniversary of the World Heritage Convention held in Kyoto from 6-8 November 2012 was World Heritage and Sustainable Development: The Role of Local Communities. Local community involvement is given more attention than before, as they are the ones who own, use and live in or live with that heritage. Consensus building and conflict resolution among stakeholders are equally important as the products of the conservation projects as the processes are much related to the happiness of the people. Prof. Muneta stressed that adaptation of traditional culture and craft industries in modern times is vital to suit itself to the currently rapidly changing society, hence enhancing its versatility. He shared several examples of craft industries in Japan which successfully transformed themselves to produce market-oriented products; one such example being in the ceramics industry, from manufacturing pottery to producing artificial teeth. Heritage

itself has to be versatile and modernised, enabling it to be passed down to the next generation. Differences in legal systems and language problems are among the obstacles hampering international cooperation in heritage conservation. In the next presentation, Ichiro Iwai, Director of Nara Machizukuri Center (NMC), Japan shared the history of NMC and its expansion of its NGO network to Asia since the 1990s. Established in the historical town of Nara in 1979 to conserve historic urban areas, NMC started exchange programmes with NGOs in Asia such as the Penang Heritage Trust in 1991, and in Chiang Mai, Seoul, Aceh, and so on. They established the Asia and West-Pacific Network for Urban Conservation (AWPNUC) together with other NGOs in 1991 and this work was continued through Lestari Heritage Network in 2004. Despite decades of effort to conserve heritage, many historical urban areas in Asia remain in crisis, due to threats from globalisation and a capitalist economy which has led to the destruction of many historic towns and the community within. In Japan, historic towns were the victims in the 1960s-80s and in China, towns are now being rapidly destroyed. Emerging economies like Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia will be the next targets of the forces of the global economy. Although listed, UNESCO heritage sites are under threat of losing its historic communities and intangible living heritage as they are excessively transformed into tourist attractions which cater for tourists instead of local residents. Mr. Ichiro presented examples of dehumanizing conservation practices in other countries that should be avoided, such as the eviction of the local communities in a historical town as part of city beautification effort by the government in response to heritage listing, subsequently turning it into a ghost town due to the loss of everyday activities. He stressed that the network has to be strengthened now to send strong messages on Asian ways of NGO and community-led urban conservation to the world, and expressed the desire for NMC, as a member of the Asian network, to play an important role in urban conservation in todays global society. In the Q&A session prior to the tea break, Professor Muneta answered questions about his views on the heritage scene in Penang from the audience. He acknowledged the challenge in conservation practice in Penang from its multicultural society compared to a homogeneous society like Japan. He commented that the custodians in the Penang heritage scene appear to have overlapping roles, and therefore the situation here may differ from that in Japan. The conference continued with a presentation from Catrini Pratihari Kubontubuh from the Indonesia Heritage Trust (Badan Pelestarian Pusaka Indonesia BPPI) sharing the steps of heritage movements in Indonesia over the last two decades. The movements emphasise community welfare, involving the conservation of folk heritage, heritage education for primary schools and the establishment of a heritage emergency response team responding to disasters. Among their major breakthroughs were the recent establishment of the Network of Heritage Cities in Indonesia (Jaringan Kota Pusaka Indonesia JKPI) in 2008 which aims to consolidate the heritage movement amongst conservation activists from various cities; and a joint cooperation project with the Ministry of Public Works and

Directorate of Spatial Planning in the establishment of a Heritage Cities Planning and Management Programme (Program Penataan dan Pengelolaan Kota Pusaka P3KP) in 10 pilot cities which is helping to form a stronger heritage movement in Indonesia. Besides the issues of diminishing of its once diverse cultural and natural heritage due to lack of awareness, Aceh, which was devastated by the tsunami in 2004 faces challenges in its heritage recovery efforts, according to Yenny Rahmayati, Executive Director of the Aceh Heritage Community Foundation. The recovery of Acehs tangible and intangible heritage received little attention from the government compared to housing and infrastructure reconstruction. Besides the lack of funding from the government, the reconstruction and rehabilitation effort has been hampered by lack of experts and legal protection on heritage buildings as well as missed opportunities due to government intervention, though wellintended. Low community involvement due to lack of public awareness resulted in the need of external engagement in restoration efforts which could end up as unsustainable operations. Her presentation covered the period of before, during and after the tsunami; from reconstruction and rehabilitation to after completion of the heritage building recovery process in Banda Aceh. Disaster preparedness was considered in the heritage recovery effort in order to minimize the impact should disaster strike again, which, it is hoped, will not happen. Yongtanit Pimonsathean, Director of ICOMOS Thailand explained the history and transformation of ICOMOS Thailand from a government body to an NGO in 2009 after its establishment in 1985. ICOMOS started as a government managed organization with government officials appointed as executive members to form a national committee. This created an issue of mismatch of heritage perception between the top level committee with professionals and academics in heritage conservation, resulting in a stagnation of conservation practices during the early years. The priority of the government approach in heritage conservation was limited to tangible heritage such as historical temples and palaces based on international standards adopted from ICOMOS at the time, with little regard to intangible and everyday life heritage. Mr. Yongtanit stressed that the international standards on conservation practices are neither right nor wrong, but the matter of suitability in its application in the context of Thailand needed to be questioned. The conversion of ICOMOS Thailand into an independent NGO changed conservation practice from top-down to a bottom-up approach which is more community-oriented. As a NGO in Thailand, the organisation now faces hurdles such as lack of experts and economic incentive for heritage conservation, and unclear policies on heritage site management and evaluation reflecting the vast potential and challenges faced of the heritage practice in Thailand. According to Long Xuan, Professor of Architecture at Huaqiao University, Chinas conservation practice faces challenges from hyper-rapid urbanisation and the lack of democracy in government due to its one-party nature. The administrative structure of the Communist Part of China limits society building due to its treatment on community as lowest level of government that responsible for wide range of public services which is supposed to be autonomous in theory as enacted in the State Constitute 1990. He shared his experience

of bottom-up, tripartite partnership between the cultural elite, government and community on the conservation of Tianzifang, after civic resistance on the change of its land use into a CBD zone by the Shanghai City Government. Though successful, there are unresolved questions such as how to further empower the community and promote development from within by art intervention, and how to integrate the new arts and creative industries into a communitys everyday life in a sustainable way. Cambodia and Myanmars heritage are currently under threat from rapid economic and urban development pressure, based on the presentations from Moe Moe Lwin, Acting Director of Yangon Heritage Trust, and Yam Sokly from Khmer Architecture Tours. Property speculation and increasing land price are the main culprits of the fading heritage in these historical cities. Challenged with the absence of rent control and deterioration of historical buildings in the city, as a new NGO, Yangon Heritage Trust faces low degree of public awareness as the country is recovering from decades of military junta rule. With the hike of rent price, many activities which were once in heritage properties are forced to the streets, while high rise developments are proposed in historical city centers. Flooding in heritage zones during wet season has also become a growing threat due to climate change. According to Yam, development pressures have caused the violent eviction of communities living near Beoung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh for land reclamation by a developer, and this has caused a great loss to the intangible heritage of the local lake communities, not to mention the immeasurable social destruction done. He stated that a study of the future Phnom Penh master plan revealed no zoning protection been given or proposed for the preservation of urban heritage buildings by the Municipallity of Phnom Penh. Restoration efforts are challenged by insensitive renovation and a lack of original building materials. Lime which was commonly used as plaster for historical buildings is hard to find, leading conservationists to resort to cement plaster instead. Public and private institutions are now trying to increase public awareness through publications, public lectures, exhibitions, documentation projects, study visits and community meetings to strengthen the foundation of heritage conservation in the face of globalisation. Alice Chiu, Secretary General of the Institute of Historical Resources Management from Taiwan shared her experience on the transformation of heritage districts in Taipei, using the case study of Dadaocheng. Responding to the declining importance of Dadaocheng due to urban sprawl, a citizen movement was initiated by the Yaoshan Cultural Foundation in 1987 to evoke public awareness, leading to major conservation and restoration efforts. In order to tackle the problem of development pressure, overpopulation and modernisation, the Department of Urban Development from the Taipei City Government established a legal instrument for special district zoning and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) which allows for plot ratio transfer from a heritage zone to commercial land which can cater for higher density, protecting the urban heritage environment while ensuring profitability for developers. Incentives were given to encourage restoration and rebuilding of historical buildings to its original condition based on historical references. Over 200 buildings have been renovated, restored, rehabilitated and rebuilt to date since its implementation. The commission of Urban Regeneration Station in the heart of Dadaocheng

approaches the local community to offer consultation, technical assistance and citizen participation in the conservation process. Donation of historical buildings in the heritage zone for public reuse rethinks the cultural and economic value of conservation and regeneration mechanism which allows for wide possibilities to enhance the identity of citizens and create new attractions. As initial resistance from the public and developers was faced due to a lack of understanding of policies, communication is vital to allow conservation efforts be carried out in a less controversial manner. Nuttakorn Vititanon from the Creative Urban Solutions Center (CUSC) in Chiang Mai described the programs undertaken by the organisation covering education of Lanna culture, sustainable urban management, Buddhism, value-added waste management, climate change and more. In response to development pressures on Chiang Mai which has greatly affected its environment with pollution and social problems, CUSC organises campaigns to stop the expansion of city roads, protest against new skyscrapers and advocate for more public spaces. He shared his experience on the restoration process of Hueantonchoke House in 2010, a mixed colonial building in the 1930s. Manissaward Jintapitak (CUSC) shared her particularly distressing experience of conservation with examples of damage done to historical Lanna temples due to government intervention on the restoration of heritage buildings which is more inclined for tourism purposes. Government-hired contractors with little knowledge of local culture and craft were appointed for the restoration of local temples instead of local artisans and resources, resulting in insensitive and inaccurate conservation practices which ruined the historical elements of the temples. CUSC served as a public watch platform to report the misdoings done on the temple restoration by the contractors and utilised social media to gain public support and participation in the process. Pranee Sakulpipatana, Vice President of Thai Peranakan Association, described the unique historical personalities of Phuket Peranakans and their heritage homes on Deebuk road, or the Millionaires Row of Phuket Old Town. Her presentation featured some well-preserved shophouses in Phuket of Tan Eng Kee, Tan Jilai and Sophon Eakwanich. She explained that culture is the secret prosperity of a community and shared her experience on community participation in the Phuket Old Town Festival. Ms. Pranees charismatic and entertaining presentation included particularly humorous observations and a song, Over the Rainbow, for the audience, which ended with a remark quoted from an old saying keep your house, so your ancestor will bless you. Mr Masahiro Muro and Mr. Hiroaki Yonemura, Chairman and Director of the Nara Machizukuri Center from Japan, shared case studies on the practical use of vacant historical houses and the current situation and progress of NMC projects. Japan is currently facing the problem of an aging population, while the trend of rural-urban immigration further reduces the population in historical towns. This has resulted in the increase of vacant houses at the historic town of Imai-cho which are slowly deteriorating. Among the 700-800 machiyas (traditional Japanese shop houses) in the Imai Important Preservation District, half of them are vacant and/or dilapidated.

NMC has introduced a series of campaigns in the conservation of historical buildings and sustainable community development; one of them through collaboration with a Non-profit organisation (NPO) to encourage citizens to rent and stay in the machiyas to experience the living experience, further enhancing the purchase demand of the vacant machiyas. This resulted in practical adaptive reuse of the vacant machiyas into public buildings, display rooms, restaurants, common lodging houses and shops. Art festivals are also organised as part of the town regeneration strategies. At present, nine traditional houses are designated as Important Cultural Properties by the national government, three as prefectural cultural properties and six as municipal cultural properties. Reducing the number of vacant machiyas remained a long term commitment of the organisation. Joo-yeon Lee and Kyung-taek Lee, Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator, respectively, of the Bukchon Culture Forum explained the history of Bukchon and the loss of heritage treasures due to rapid modernisation and globalisation. The Bukchon Project was a village revitalisation project in response to community resistance on the redevelopment of Bukchon by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. With collaboration between the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Bukchon community members and experts, the Bukchon Project was aimed at revival of the community where traditional and contemporary features coexist. Free of charge or interest-free financial assistance is offered to residents in construction and restoration cost of the hanoks (traditional Korean houses), under the condition where the residents promise to live in and preserve the hanok. Due to the success of the project, the Bukchon Hanok Village has become a famous tourist attraction in Korea. However, recent increase of tourist activities and commercialisation in Bukchon has become an issue for the local community which has disrupted their daily lives. The Silent Sightseeing Campaign was introduced as a remedial measure to reduce the noise level generated from tourist activities. Lee stressed that a balance must be achieved or the original identity of Bukchon will be lost forever.

International delegates attending the conference on Day 2. (photo by Benjamin Ong)

Mr Ichiro Iwai from Nara Machizukuri Center in his presentation.

Opening dinner of Heritage Symposium at Teochew Association joined by Chief Minister of Penang. (photo by Benjamin Ong)

Day 3 The internal NGO meeting consisting of international delegates and representatives from local organisations discussed ways to strengthen the heritage network in Asia. Three separate groups were formed for a brainstorming session with the resulting proposals: Awards for community conservation projects to strengthen the overall impact of network. Strengthening of the network through a regular newsletter (whether electronic and/or print) to keep members of the network updated. The use of social media (Asana, Facebook and Twitter) as a platform for sharing information and events, communication tool and online forum as well as to generate outreach to people. Directory renewal of organisations within the network which includes new information such as expertise. Exchange programs and field studies for students interested in heritage conservation as shared curriculum between universities. Towards the end of the meeting after further discussions, the group decided to revive AWPNUC with a new name Asia Heritage Network. All resolved to strengthen the connections between existing members and open the door to other Asian heritage organisations to join this knowledge and expertise sharing platforms for wider cooperation and influence in pushing the heritage agenda in Asia. In particular, it was recommended to put forth an international volunteer programme in which each organisation would assist in the recruitment and placement of young interns and volunteers in their counterpart organisations in other countries. The 3-day programme concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Penang Heritage Trust represented by Khoo Salma Nasution and the Indonesia Heritage Trust represented by Catrini Pratihari Kubontubuh with the aim to foster closer collaboration and support between the two organisations.

Local and international delegates in group discussion on issues faced in the heritage practice.

The signing ceremony of MoU between the Penang Heritage Trust represented by Khoo Salma Nasution and the Indonesia Heritage Trust represented by Catrini Pratihari Kubontubuh.

Speakers view on Penang: A sharing session was conducted in Mandrin on 13th January night at Goh Kaki by Alice Chiu from the Institute of Historical Resources Management in Taiwan. When asked about her opinions on the current state of George Town by audiences, she gave her honest comments stating that things are still ok at the moment, but in the wrong direction. Penang people in general, are indolent in heritage conservation process in George Town, leaving much of the decision making process to the local government which does not necessary come out with good solutions. Local government on the other hand, must be willing to allow civil participation in such process and realise of the power of incentives which can generate wider cooperation from stakeholders in the conservation practice. While facing lack of public participation, the free market on heritage properties and tourism is killing the heritage zone. There is a need for good governance which creates a conducive environment for heritage conservation through policy making. Transferable Development Rights (TDR) is available in Penang, but it has not been fully used to its potential. A Vacant Unit Tax should be introduced to cope with the problem of vacant shop houses. More public spaces should be introduced to enhance liveability of the place. The heritage conservation communities must acknowledge that some old trades will not be able to survive through another decade; appropriate contemporary elements are needed for George Town to move on. Local civil society should create a consolidated civil movement as a catalyst to increase awareness and influence changes in civil and heritage policies. They must realise that going for a conference or talk and doing something about it is 2 different things. It will be just a matter of time before George Town will lose its cultural identity which contributed to its UNESCO listing in the first place if nothing is done about these issues.

Personal afterthoughts: The symposium left the author with much content to digest but with one disturbing thought: looking at what happened in the recent flooding of Venice, would it be time for coastal heritage zones to plan pre-emptive and adaptive measures to the rising sea level due to climate change? In 5-10 years time, its not hard to predict what would happen to George Town if we extrapolate the flooding and high tide events happened to the place recently. It would be a devastating blow to all the efforts poured on heritage conservation if the sites were to be submerged under seawater due to climate change. It is observed that a looser schedule is needed to create a condusive environment for idea sharing in a conference; especially when certain international speakers who are not familiar with English needed more time to speak their minds through their English presentation. The Author would like to thank Khoo Salma Nasution from Penang Heritage Trust and Dr. Naziaty Yaacob from University of Malaya for the opportunity to participate in the conference, Sunitha Janamohanan from GTWHI for feedbacks and corrections on the draft article.