Taipei hosts CIPA International Symposium

2015/09/02

The biennial CIPA International Symposium got underway Aug. 31 in Taipei City, bringing together more than 300 scholars and specialists from around 30 countries and territories for exchanges on the integration of technology with cultural heritage conservation.

Themed Filling the Gaps—Towards a Globalization Era, the five-day symposium will also see experts present their latest research findings, especially on how CIPA can influence the combination of digitalization technology and conservation efforts.

During the event’s opening ceremony, Minister of Culture Hung Meng-chi said as a responsible stakeholder of the global community, Taiwan is committed to preserving cultural heritage.

“The increasing occurrence of wars and natural disasters are putting cultural heritage around the world at risk,” Hung said. “This symposium serves as a first-class platform for experts to address such threats and propose better ways to mitigate their impact.”

According to the minister, this is the first time for Taiwan to host an event of this nature. “It’s a great opportunity to bring the global community up to speed on the country’s related policy measures and promote collaboration with organizations worldwide.”

Sponsored by the International Committee for Documentation of Cultural Heritage under the auspices of Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites, the event features exhibitions, panel discussions, paper presentations, workshops and technical excursions, as well as the pre-event CIPA Executive Board meeting.

Those attending include CIPA President Andreas Georgopoulos, ICOMOS President Gustavo Araoz, World Monuments Fund President Bonnie Burnham, as well as Rohit Jigyasu, president of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness.

As part of opening day activities, participants issued a Taipei Declaration on the Integrated Documentation Management of Cultural Heritage, pledging to strengthen related efforts and promote document diversity, among other goals.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234463&ctNode=413)