Heritage City of Vigan

Vigan City is a case study presented during the last heritage conference in George Town. Participants were given a thumb drive with all Power Point presentation files so we could all go home and study. I did my study and came up with this page.

Vigan City

World Heritage Sites in Asia Pacific

China and India lead in the number UNESCO of World Heritage Sites they have in their countries. There are 899 sites in total and the number is increasing. A lot of cities are submitting dossiers so that they can qualify. They have to fulfill at least 2 out of 4 criteria set aside by UNESCO. Especially OUV (Outstanding Universal Values).

Cities with heritage sites at their disposals can expect significant growth in revenue in terms of inflated real estate values, as well as becoming a major tourist attraction.

However,after obtaining the title, it is up to the people themselves to make or break this commodity. They have to upkeep their standards because UNESCO officials will come visit again after three years. The title can be taken away if the criteria is lost or not met at this time.

That is why the debate is still going on. How much development can we allow?

We discussed this and more at the recent heritage conference.

Read also part two, sustainable cultural practices.

My regret is that there should be more participants in this conference, a lot of educational organizations simply skipped this.

Suffolk House gets a UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Disctinction.

Suffolk House played host to the closure of the two day heritage conference. The event was nicely concluded with the award presentation by the representative of UNESCO to Penang Chief Minister.

Guests were treated to a dinner reception and for the first time had the opportunity to roam around the massive building.

Second day of the conference report
First day of the conference report

Penang International Conference

The two day conference entitled: The Economics of Heritage Revitalisation, organized in collaboration of the state government and several NGOs in Penang was a huge success. We got to learn a lot from other countries' case studies how their own World Heritage Sites were being managed and developed. The keynote speaker was Dr. Tim Curtis, the head of culture unit of UNESCO in Bangkok.

Besides the speeches and the talks, participants were treated to site visits as well as lavish dinner banquets at Pinang Peranakan Mansion and also the newly restored Suffolk House.

For me, it was a very educational experience and I will write an extensive report in due time.

The UNESCO award presentation to Suffolk House was the perfect ending to the conference. Everyone involved left with a sense of accomplishment and pride. I believe for the next conference, George Town should be able to present its success story but we need first to work very hard to come up with a way to measure our progress in a more systematic manner.

Penang International Conference Report (Part 1)
Penang International Conference Invitation Page

Street of Harmony

It is no longer a secret that when UNESCO sent its representatives to see whether George Town deserves the Historic City title, beside the old buildings and architecture, the delegates loved the Street of Harmony.

What is the Street of Harmony? Basically it is Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, a stretch of about 2 km that starts from Kapitan Keling Mosque to St George's Church. In this street, four major religions have their houses of worship practically next door to each other in harmony. All the more so, it is one of the oldest streets in Penang and has been the venue for many street processions.

I recently got an email from a reader of my web site: Why there is no extensive report yet about Sri Maha Mariamman temple in that street? So I answered: the web site is still a work in progress. I am in the process of collecting enough information to build the pages relating to this historic building.

By the way, I participated in Thaipusam procession this year for two days. I saw so many things that I had never seen before. The report is also still being compiled, together with tonnes of photos.