via UNESCO, 29 June 2023: Something I have been busy with for the last two weeks as I was the project leader. The conservation workshop was jointly organised by SEAMEO SPAFA, UNESCO and the Thai Fine Arts Department.
26 participants comprising material conservators and underwater archaeologists from across South-East Asia converged in Thailand for an 11-day course to learn conservation and preservation techniques for underwater archaeological objects, such as those commonly found in shipwrecks.
The course, ‘South-East Asian Sub-regional Introductory Course on Conservation and Restoration of Underwater Archaeological Finds’, commenced on 19 June at the SPAFA Building in Bangkok and was a collaboration between UNESCO, SEAMEO SPAFA, the Fine Arts Department under the Ministry of Culture Thailand, and the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology (a category 2 centre under the auspices of UNESCO in Zadar, Croatia).
The course aimed to train professionals in the proper preservation and protection of the region’s rich underwater cultural heritage for current and future generations.