Ng Xin Yi
Senior Cultural Heritage Officer / Executive Assistant to the General Manager
xinyi[at]gtwhi[dot]com[dot]my
Fields of Expertise
- Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003 ICH Convention)
- World Heritage Studies (1972 World Heritage Convention)
- Museum Collection Management
- Anthropological Practices including Archaeology
ABOUT ME
Ng Xin Yi joined George Town World Heritage Incorporated in 2015 and currently serves as Senior Cultural Heritage Officer and Executive Assistant to the General Manager. Holding a Master’s in Anthropology from National Taiwan University, she brings over a decade of experience spanning World Heritage site management, archaeological fieldwork, and collections care.
As a UNESCO-accredited facilitator for the 2003 Convention, Xin Yi bridges high-level policy with local action. She collaborates regularly with international agencies and local communities to advance sustainable site management, regional training, and intangible cultural heritage safeguarding. She has also served on the Penang State Expert Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2023.
I am a flexible Site Manager because working on the ground requires constantly adapting global conservation frameworks to meet unpredictable local realities.
- Senior Cultural Heritage Officer / Executive Assistant to the General Manager
- Committee Member, Penang State Expert Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage (2023- Now)
- UNESCO-Accredited Facilitator for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
- Licensed Tourist Guide, Malaysia
- Master of Arts in Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, National Taiwan University (2006 – 2010)
- Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, National Taiwan University (2002 – 2005)
- 2025, Seminar on Cultural and Tourism Integrated Development for ASEAN Countries – International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges (ICETE). Kunming, China.
- 2024, ACCU Group Training Course in the Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites and Artefacts – Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU). Nara, Japan.
- 2023, Training of Trainers Asia and the Pacific Chapter of the Global Network of Facilitators of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage – Co-organized by CRIHAP and UNESCO. Chengdu, China.
- 2022, Rock Art of Southeast Asia and the World – SEAMEO SPAFA Certified Course. Online.
- 2021, Archaeological Bone in Southeast Asia – SEAMEO SPAFA Certified Course. Online.
- 2020, Cultural Heritage and the City – European University Institute (Global Governance Programme). Online.
- 2019, Tourism Management at UNESCO World Heritage Sites – UNESCO-UNITWIN Network MOOC. Online.
- 2019, Advanced Workshop on Restoration and Preservation of Books and Documents – Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies and LLG Cultural Development Foundation. Kuala Lumpur.
- International Course on Impact Assessment for Heritage – World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP). Shanghai, China
- 2018, First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis – ICCROM, Smithsonian Institution, Prince Claus Fund, and the Netherlands Fund in Trust. Brabant, The Netherlands.
- 2017, Archival Preservation and Conservation Advanced Workshop – Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies and LLG Cultural Development Foundation. Kuala Lumpur.
- 2016, Intangible Cultural Heritage Capacity Building Workshop – National Heritage Department of Malaysia. Melaka and Kuala Terengganu.
- 2025, Co-facilitator, China–Malaysia Shared Heritage Conservation Training Workshop (中国-马来西亚共有遗产保护培训工作坊), organized by CRIHAP.
- 2024, Co-facilitator, Training the Trainers Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage Periodic Reporting for the UNESCO Jakarta Cluster.
- 2023, Co-facilitator, Training Workshop for Facilitators of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Region)
- 2026, “Historic Building Open House”, under George Town Heritage Celebrations.
- 2025, “Historic Building Open House”, under George Town Heritage Celebrations.
- 2024, “Community-Based Intangible Cultural Heritage Capacity Building Project”.
- 2021, Research and publication of “Preliminary Survey of the Graves at Pulau Jerejak”.
- 2020-2021, “George Town in the New Normal”, a community initiative supporting cultural practitioners and promoting video documentation of intangible cultural heritage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2019, Community-Based Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventorying in George Town (Malaysia) under UNESCO’s project on community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage in urban areas.
- 2018-2020, Sia Boey Contemporary Archaeology Project.
- 2018, “George Town: Beautiful and Irregular” special exhibition.
- 2018, International Conference on Managing Urban Cultural Heritage.
- 2017, Sub-Regional Meeting for “Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding in Southeast Asia: Enhancing Viability in Intangible Cultural Heritage Communities”, jointly organized with ICHCAP
- 2016, Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Efforts in Malaysia field survey conducted with ICHCAP.
- 2015, International Symposium on “Intangible Cultural Heritage: Innovative Practices, Sustainable Strategies, and Lessons Learnt”.
- 2019, Community-Based Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventorying in George Town (Malaysia): Project Report and Featured Inventory Entries. George Town World Heritage Incorporated
- Member, ICOMOS Malaysia
| Mandarin | Native. Fluent in reading, writing, and speaking. |
| English | Proficient in reading, writing, and speaking. |
| Malay | Good in reading, writing, and speaking. |
