IFT Heritage Management Students hosted the “Speak Up! Memories of Coloane”
5/13/2012
1092/023REL/RP/12
On 12 May, 1800 – 2000 at Eduardo Marques Garden, Coloane, IFT Heritage Management Year 4 Students organised a “Speak Up! Memories of Coloane” event. It is a student project led by IFT Visiting Professor Richard Engelhardt and Dr. Johannes Widodo, supported by Cultural Affairs Bureau and Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau. The Event includes: Interpretation of memoirs and experience sharing by Local heroes of Coloane, Video presentation made by Heritage Management Year 4 students of IFT.
Students chosen Coloane Village as case study in the Heritage Management Programme – “Economics of Heritage Conservation” course. Guided by internationally renowned heritage specialists, Dr. Richard Engelhardt, Regional Adviser for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO and Dr. Johannes Widodo, Assistant Professor of the National University of Singapore. Heritage students dedicate doing deep research work on history of Coloane and actively interact with locals on discovering the culture and traditions in Coloane, touching moments for countless times, invaluable stories and memories are collected with all efforts.
The event aims to provide a platform for local communities to speak out on their unique and memorable stories reflecting local lifestyle with distinctive feature, as well as discovering rarely known histories and memories of Coloane residents. It mainly established on the base of stories sharing by local villagers, while recording conduct in form of documentary including movie, website and brochure which were shared during the event. The event helps to strength communication and wake up memories among the locals and outsiders who concern on culture protection and heritage conservation. Hence, not only local communities but individuals and parties who are interested in the memories of Coloane, curiosity about stories are welcomed.
The objective of holding this event is to promote the unique local customs and characteristic social value of Coloane to the public in order to improve the understanding of history, and the appreciation of civilisation and human spirit of Coloane, leading to accord with the locals’ stories to sustain the traditional unique culture.
Profile of Visiting Professors
Dr. Richard A. Engelhardt is a Visiting Professor at IFT and has directed archaeology and heritage conservation projects throughout Asia and the Indo-Pacific region for the past 30 years. Among his responsibilities at UNESCO, he is UNESCO Charge de Mission and Senior Advisor for Culture and he was the Regional Adviser for Culture in Asia and the Pacific; and served as Chairman of the International Jury for the annual UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Awards competition. Dr. Engelhardt is also the Co-Convenor of the UNESCO-ICCROM Asian Academy for Heritage Management.
Dr. Johannes Widodo is an Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture and the Director of CASA (Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture) at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Widodo's area of specialisation includes architecture, urban history and morphology of Southeast Asian cities, Asian modernity, and heritage conservation in Southeast Asian context.