The annual community-driven George Town Heritage Celebrations will return this year from 6 – 8 July 2019 to mark the 11th anniversary of George Town’s inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dr Paritta Chalermpow Koanantakool is a retired anthropologist who received her PhD in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University, UK. She is a UNESCO-accredited Intangible Cultural Heritage facilitator and has conducted capacity building workshops for communities in Bhutan, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Cambodia, and Malaysia since 2012. Her research interests include traditional performance, art and crafts, anthropology of museums, cultural identity, cultural heritage, biography and ethnography, and practical knowledge.
Born and raised in the inner city of George Town, Dr Ang Ming Chee holds a PhD in Political Science from National University of Singapore and a Master’s Degree in International Studies from Uppsala University in Sweden, as well as is a UNESCO-accredited Intangible Cultural Heritage facilitator. Working towards innovative ideas and holistic management on the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site for the benefit of the local people, she incorporated built conservation with elements of disaster risk reduction and intangible cultural heritage safeguarding to create a sustainable heritage city for the people who live in, work in and use George Town. She is also active in leading projects, programmes and panels namely as Executive Producer for George Town Heritage Celebrations, Chairperson for the Sia Boey Archaeological Advisory Panel, Chairperson for Penang’s Public Arts Review Panel, Deputy Chairperson for the City Council of Penang Island’s Technical Review Panel, and Committee Member for the Guar Kepah Archaeological Advisory Panel.
Moe Chiba was appointed in January 2018 to coordinate the Culture Sector of UNESCO Jakarta, covering Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste, after her assignment in UNESCO New Delhi Office for South Asia between 2006 and 2017. Led by the vision of mainstreaming culture in development agenda, some of her main areas of work in India include heritage-based urban development, culture for rural livelihood and participation of persons with disabilities in cultural life. Moving to Jakarta, she continues her passion for culture-based development, and coordinates projects such as disaster risk reduction of heritage, promotion of creative industries around heritage sites, and cultural landscape management.
Professor Emeritus Datin Paduka Siti Zuraina Abdul Majid is Malaysia’s first female archaeologist and has greatly influenced Malaysia’s development in archaeology and heritage since the 1970s, from the discovery of Malaysia’s oldest prehistoric man, the Perak Man in 1990 to setting up the Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia in Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1994, and more. She also established the National Heritage Department in 2006 and played an important role in the inscription of Melaka and George Town as well as Lenggong Valley as World Heritage Sites. Her expertise is in anthropology, heritage, and the preparation of the Nomination Dossier.
Dr Rohit Jigyasu is a conservation architect and risk management professional who has been a consultant to national and international organisations. He has taught in academic institutions such as the Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage in Ritsumeikan University, Japan. He is currently Vice President of The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and has served as the President of ICOMOS-India and ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP). Dr Rohit specialises in urban conservation, heritage management, risk assessment, and disaster risk management.
