Over the course of five days in January over 350 leaders from around the world gathered in Chiang Mai, Thailand , to discuss the future of Asia’s past. This important gathering brought representatives from cultural authorities, experts on the cultural field, international organizations, corporations, tourism authorities, and interested public to take stock of what is presently being done and wh at can be done in the future to protect
Asia's cultural heritage from urban sprawl , i ncreasing tourism, pollution, war, and all the vast array of threats to the testimony of civilization.

This public ation summarizes the topics presented in the plenary sessions and in the smaller discussion groups centered around some i m p o rtant architectural and archaeological sites and monuments. It also includes the key note addresses presented at the beginning of the conference and the re c o m m e n d ations agreed to by the speakers of the conference at its conclusion.

In this type of gathering, many of the significant convers ations take place at the breaks and during chance encounters. This was one of the reasons for this conference: to cre ate a network of concerned individuals who would not only debate the topics but also decide, individually or in groups, on further actions that will promote the preservation of the cultural heritage in Asia.

Speakers, moderators, sponsors and funders, and their staffs actively engaged in making the confe rence possible, contributing their efforts and their ideas, their commitment and their enthusiasm. We want to thank every one of them, as well as all other participants, for their significant contributions.

We are very proud to present this publication to those who attended and to those who did not have the opportunity to be present. It is our hope that the contents will not only provide a framework for additional reflection but also elicit further actions that will place high priority on architectural and archaeological conservat i o n during the next millennium. If this is achieved, we will all have fulfilled our intended goals.

Download The Future of Asia's Past: Preservation of the Architectural Heritage of Asia

PDF format, 871KB, 75Pages.

Summary of an International Conference Held in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Organized by the Asia Society, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Siam Society
Miguel Angel Corzo, Editor

ABOUT ASIA SOCIETY
The Asia Society is the leading American institution dedicated to fostering understanding between Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific.

Founded in 1956 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational institution, the Society has headquarters in New York and regional centers in Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. The Society produces a wide variety of programs, including major art exhibitions, workshops, international conferences, lectures, films, performances, and publications, and houses the world-renowned Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Collection of Asian Art . “The Future of Asia’s Past” is a three-part project that began with two conferences presented in New York by the Asia Society, dealing with issues of conservation in Cambodia (1992) and in
Vietnam and Laos (1993).

THE ASIA SOCIETY
725 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10021
U.S.A.
Tel.: 212-288-6400
Fax: 212-517-7246

ABOUT THE GETTY CONSERVATION INSTITUTE
The Getty Conservation Institute is an operating program of the J. Paul Getty Trust. Committed to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide, the Institute seeks to further scientific knowledge and professional practice in the field of conservation and to raise public awareness of conservation's importance.

Through fieldwork, research, training, and the exchange of information, the Institute add resses the conservation
needs of museum objects and archival collections, archaeological monuments and sites, and historic buildings and cities.

THE GETTY CONSERVATION INSTITUTE
4503 Glencoe Avenue
Marina del Rey, California 90292
U.S.A.
Tel.: 310-822-2299
Fax: 310-821-9409

ABOUT THE SIAM SOCIETY
The Siam Society was founded in 1904, under royal patronage, as an organization for those interested in the artistic, scientific, and other cultural af fairs of Thailand and neighboring countries.

The Society publishes The Journal of the Siam Society and The Siam Society Newsletter, in addition to occasional works of topical interest and scholar - lymerit. The Society sponsors a program of lectures and artistic perfo rmances and conducts study trips of archaeological and cultural interest in Thailand and abroad. The Kamthieng House, on the grounds of the Society’s home, provides an example of a traditional northern Thai house. The Natural History Section sponsors a program of lectures and study trips concerned with conservation of Thai wildlife and flora.

THE SIAM SOCIETY
131 Soi Asoke, Sukhumvit 21 Road
Bangkok 10110
Thailand
Tel.: 66-2-260-2830-32, 259-4999
Fax: 66-2-258-3491

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