Tai Kwun Conversations: Chinese Cultural Heritage Series - Interpretation and Uses of Heritage in Urban and Rural China

General

Tai Kwun Conversations: Chinese Cultural Heritage Series

This series aims to introduce the audience to some of the recent heritage conservation and management projects in China, focusing on the paradigm shift in the field and the values of Chinese cultural heritage. The case studies demonstrate that heritage conservation practices follow national policies and emerging international trends while incorporating a wide range of uses and interests to make the projects locally relevant, including intangible cultural heritage of everyday life, living traditions and practices, and continuing communities.

In the context of mass-urbanization and widening urban-rural disparity and an aggressive campaign to integrate tourism and culture, the protection and management of cultural resources in contemporary China has become a growing concern in both public and private sectors and attracts increasing participation from wide social groups. The presentation will introduce strategies and case studies for integrating urban and rural heritage into the wider goal of sustainable development in contemporary China through interpretation and uses of cultural resources.

The conversations will be conducted in English, with English-Chinese simultaneous interpretation.

Speaker:
Dr. Kuanghan Li
Regional Representative (China) of World Monuments Fund, and the Director Assistant of UNESCO World Heritage Institute of Training and Research in the Asia and Pacific Region, Beijing center

Discussant:
Prof. Richard A. Engelhardt
Former UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific

7:00pm–8:00pm	Talk
8:00pm–8:30pm	Q&A

Notes
Photos and videos will be taken during the Event for marketing and promotional purposes. Photos and videos may be used in newspapers, magazines, radio and television broadcasts, websites, apps, emails and outdoor advertisements, etc. All photos, films, videos, records and/or the likenesses of the participants (if applicable) captured during the Event by Tai Kwun (the “Organiser”) or their respective affiliated entities or contractors, are the sole property of the Organiser. Participants agree that the Organiser may use, present, publish or disseminate in any and all media worldwide for any legitimate purpose the photos or videos taken during the Event or the portraits of the participants as appear in any official documentary, commercial, television coverage, and all multimedia platforms, without any remuneration to any participant. The Organiser has the absolute right to use any photos, films, videos and records of the Event. Participants may also be invited to give written, audio, and video feedback.

Speakers Bio

Dr. Kuanghan Li

Prof. Richard A. Engelhardt

Dr. Kuanghan Li is the Director Assistant for the UNESCO World Heritage Institute of Training and Research in the Asia and Pacific Region (WHITRAP Beijing), Regional Representative (China) of World Monuments Fund (WMF), and co-founder of Dousa, a traditional textile co-op owned and run by ethnic minority women in southwest China. She also teaches courses on heritage studies at Peking University. She graduated with a degree in architectural studies from the National University of Singapore and went on to study historic preservation at the University of Pennsylvania, and received her Ph.D. in archaeology from Peking University. Her specialty is in heritage management and community development and has published widely on the subject, including a monograph on the on the conservation and sustainable development of ethnic villages in Southwest China. Dr. Li has diverse international experiences in design, conservation and development projects and research, including the China Principles Project, and her projects have been featured by the New York Times, CNN, Financial Times, and her achievements as a professional woman were highlighted by the Outside Chanel and She’s Mercedes campaigns.

Educated in anthropology and history at Yale (BA) and Harvard (AM, PhD) universities, Richard A. Engelhardt, Jr. has been a leader in cultural heritage research and conservation efforts throughout Asia for the past four decades, teaching at universities throughout the Asia-Pacific region and serving in senior leadership positions with UNESCO and other UN agencies. In 1991, he established the UNESCO Office in post-conflict Cambodia and initiated the International Safeguarding Campaign for Angkor. From 1994-2008, he served as UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, and subsequently from 2008-2020 as UNESCO Charge de Mission and Senior Advisor for Culture and World Heritage Mentor. During his years of service with UNESCO, Engelhardt initiated the flagship UNESCO Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in Asia; established the UNESCO-ICCROM Asian Academy for Heritage Management; and, spearheaded the effort to extend impact assessment to cultural heritage sites throughout Asia and the world. After retirement from UNESCO, Engelhardt remains active in academia as UNESCO Chair Professor of Heritage Management.

Tai Kwun Conversations: Chinese Cultural Heritage Series - Interpretation and Uses of Heritage in Urban and Rural China