After much anticipation,
the Sarawak Government funded project to conserve Fort Alice for Adaptive
re-use as a local Heritage Museum, is scheduled to commence works on 28th May
2013. The project is implemented by JKR Sarawak. Jabatan Muzium Sarawak will be
responsible to set up the local Heritage Museum with input from the
Conservation Architect and a specialist consultant.
This conservation project
provides an opportunity to engage all the relevant stakeholders in preserving
their local cultural heritage. In conjunction but independent to the
government’s conservation project, the Sarawak Heritage Society (SHS) has taken
the lead to initiate a community-based cultural heritage conservation programme
called “Reminiscence Forgotten Treasure… Simanggang”. This is SHS’s
second series of the much acclaimed community programme first implemented in
Siniawan called “Reminiscence Forgotten Treasure… Siniawan”.
This community-based
project aims to promote awareness in cultural heritage conservation in Sri
Aman. It is a community based project organised through Non-Government
Organisations (NGOs), professional bodies, local community organisations and
individuals, without government and political interference. This project is
solely funded by SHS, Co-Organiser Malaysian Institute of Architects Sarawak
Chapter (PAMSC) and their Corporate Partner NS Bluescope Lysaght (Sarawak) Sdn
Bhd (Lysaght). Simanggang Soon Heng Society (SSHS) as the Local Partner plays
an important role in programme implementation and logistic coordination. This project is also supported by Jabatan
Muzium Sarawak (JMS) and The Talents and Arts Performing Group (WuJiaoJi).
The programme will start
with an initial core group consists of local school children. However it
encourages participation, among others, from the three main ethnic groups -
Chinese, Iban and Malay - that had contributed to the development of this
historical township. The activities are planned to expose this core group to
the concept of heritage (tangible and intangible) and the importance of
heritage conservation through talks, site visits and workshops. The
participants will be taken to the Fort Alice conservation site regularly to
observe the process in conserving this historical building. The local community
is encouraged to form a volunteer group as ‘Friend of Fort Alice’ (FoFA) to
support Jabatan Muzium Sarawak in the set-up and operation of the Heritage
Museum. They can be trained with sufficient knowledge to be the ‘Guides and
Guardians’ of the museum in future.
The kick-off programmes
scheduled on 28th and 29th May 2013 are as follow:
1.
28th
May 2013 (Tuesday afternoon) -
‘Miring’ Ceremony (Workshop participants only);
2.
28th
May 2013 (Tuesday evening) -
Evening public briefing session (English);
3.
29th
may 2013 (Wednesday morning/afternoon) - Heritage Awareness Workshop for students;
and
4.
29th
May 2013 (Wednesday evening) -
Evening public briefing session (Chinese).
1.
28th May 2013
(Tuesday afternoon) - Miring Ceremony and Project partners briefing session
Objective: Participants of Heritage Awareness
Workshop are invited to witness the ‘Miring’ ceremony at Fort Alice.); Project
Organiser to brief Local Partners and Facilitators on project implementation
matters after ‘Miring’ ceremony.
Target group: Project Local Partners,
Facilitators and workshop participants
Venue: Taman Panorama Benak, AV
Room (Participants gathering point and briefing venue)
Time: 1.45pm to 4.30pm
Programme:
1.45
– 2.00 pm Arrival of participants/ Taking
attendance
2.00 – 3.00 pm Witness
‘Miring’ ceremony
3.00 – 3.30 pm Dispersion
of Participants/ preparing for briefing session (Partners and Local Facilitators
only)
3.30 – 4.30 pm First Briefing on “Reminiscence
Forgotten Treasure… Simanggang”
-
Introduction of personnel involved in the project
- Potential
activities for short, mid and long term plan
- Documentation and recording
system
-
Assignment of tasks and next course of actions
- Feedback and open discussion/
End
2.
28th May 2013
(Tuesday evening) - Public briefing (English session)
Objective: Briefing the public on the
conservation of Fort Alice. Introducing the concept of community-based heritage
conservation programmes and to encourage participation.
Target group: General public
Venue: Taman Panorama Benak, AV
Room
Time: 7.00 to 9.30pm
Programme:
6.30 – 7.00 pm Arrival
of participants/ registration
7.00 – 7.05 pm Introduction
by MC/ Convenor
7.05 – 7.45 pm Ar. John
Ting - “Conservation of Fort Alice – past, present and future’”
7.45 – 8.00 pm Break
8.00 – 8.45 pm Ar. Mike Boon - “Reminiscence
Forgotten Treasure… From siniawan to Simanggang – what, who, why, how?”
8.45 – 8.55 pm Sessions
round-up by convenor
8.55 – 9.15 pm Q &
A Session
9.15 – 9.30 pm Networking
Session/ End
3.
29th May 2013
(Wednesday) - Heritage Awareness Programme for school students (in Chinese)
Objective: Educational and awareness workshop on
cultural heritage subjects
Target group: Project Local Partners,
Facilitators and students from local schools
Venue: Taman Panorama Benak, AV
Room
Time: 9.00am to 12.15pm and
2.15pm to 4.00pm
Programme:
09.00 – 09.15 am Arrival
of participants/ Registration
09.15 – 09.30 am Introduction
of project organisers, partners, facilitators and participants
09.30 – 09.45 am Briefing
on the days programme
09.45 – 10.15 am Talk
by Mike Boon - ‘Introducing Heritage’
10.15 – 10.45 am Tea
Break
10.45 – 12.10 pm Site Visits – Fort Alice(Lead by John Ting), Taman Panorama
Bernak (Lead by Mike Boon) and Historical Tomb (Lead by Goh Kaw Sze)
12.10 – 12.15 pm Round
up for the morning session
12.15 – 02.00 pm Lunch
Break
02.00 – 02.15 pm Gathering
and taking attendance
02.15 – 03.00 pm Interaction session by Jong Ban Haw – ‘Performances and
Chinese oral tradition – Intangible Cultural Heritage’
03.00 – 03.15 pm Tea
break
03.15 – 04.00 pm Talk
by Celine Ling -“ Get to know your city - Heritage Walk around
Old Kuching”
04.00 – 04.30 pm Re-group
and round up for the day/ End
4.
29th May 2013
(Wednesday evening) - Public briefing (Chinese session)
Objective: Briefing the public on the
conservation of Fort Alice. Introducing the concept of community-based heritage
conservation programmes and to encourage participation.
Target group: General public
Venue: Taman Panorama Benak, AV
Room
Time: 7pm to 9.30pm
Programme:
6.30 – 7.00 pm Arrival
of participants/ registration
7.00 – 7.05 pm Introduction
by MC/ Convenor
7.05 – 7.45 pm Ar.Mike
Boon - “Conservation of Fort Alice – past, present and future’”
7.45 – 8.00 pm Break
8.00 – 8.45 pm Jong Ban Haw and Celine Ling - “Reminiscence
Forgotten Treasure… From Siniawan to Simanggang – what, who, why, how?”
8.45 – 8.55 pm Sessions
round-up by convenor
8.55 – 9.15 pm Q &
A Session
9.15 – 9.30 pm Networking
Session/ End
Speakers Profile
Ar.
Mike Boon is a practicing Architect based in
Kuching. His projects, including the Panorama Benak in Sri Aman, have won
local, national and international awards. While managing an established
professional practice, he has devoted substantial time and effort to promote
heritage conservation in Sarawak. He has presented research papers in local and
international symposium on design and conservation subjects.
While leading the team to conserve Fort Alice for adaptive re-use as
a Heritage Museum, he also initiated a community based programme, working with
facilitators in Sri Aman to engage the local community in preservation of their
cultural heritage.
Ar. John Ting is an architect who was trained at RMIT University in Melbourne and
practiced in Kuching during 1990s. John
taught in the architecture program at RMIT University in design, history and
technology. He has also lectured on colonial architecture in Southeast Asia at
Melbourne and Deakin University. He currently runs a small practice in
Melbourne and is a candidate in the PhD program at Melbourne University in
architectural history, researching the architecture and infrastructure of
Sarawak’s Brooke administration.
He is the appointed Specialist Consultant
for the Conservation of Fort Alice project. His role is to conduct research and
curate the exhibition for the Heritage Museum to be set up in Fort Alice.
Mike and John have been collaborating on field works
and research of the Forts in Sarawak for more than a decade. They have
presented joint papers in conference of their research work. They are now
working on a paper for “Traditionalism, Colonialism, and Modernism: Asian
Heritage Transformed” international symposium at the University of
Melbourne to be held in October 2013. Mike also sits in the Editorial
Board for a book authored by John on the architecture history of Sarawak,
currently being reviewed for publication by the Malaysian Institute of
Architects Sarawak Chapter (PAMSC) by the end of the year.
After finishing high school at Chung Hua
Middle School No.1, Celine Ling
furthered her education in the Republic of China (Taiwan). She graduated with
Bachelor of Art in Chinese Literature and Journalism from National Cheng Chi
University.
Being a well-known radio personality on a
national radio broadcasting station (RTM Kuching), she is also popular as an
event hostess and a voice-over artist for commercial and documentary
programmes. As an avid traveller, she contributes regular articles in travel
and photography magazines.
After graduating from Chung Hua Middle
School No.4, Jong Ban Haw (Stanley)
furthered his education on Chinese Studies in the Southern College (now known
as Southern University College) in Johor. He is actively promoting traditional
Chinese culture, specialising in performances arts exploring expression through
vocal, body language and movements. He is an accomplished choreographer,
performer, and also a voice-over artist for commercial and documentary
programmes
Currently he is the artistic director of
Talents and Arts Performing Group in Kuching teaching traditional vocal
performing arts and techniques in children and adults classes.
Actively engaged with our local cultural fraternity, Ban Haw and
Celine extended their love and passion for Chinese culture enthusiastically to
young school children, through various forms of performing arts. This led them
to become the founders and programme coordinators for The Talent and Art
Performing Centre.
The centre collaborated with the Sarawak Heritage
Society in the community based cultural heritage conservation programme –
“Reminiscing Forgotten Treasure … Siniawan”. Locals are familiar with her
presence, leading groups of children and adults alike, for heritage walk in the
Historical Precinct of Old Kuching City Centre.
Goh Kaw Sze is the assistant secretary of
Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association (SCCA) since 1996. He is the Unit Head of
Evaluation and Examination Unit in Sri Aman District Education Office. He
writes political comentaries, professional research papers and local studies
reports and research papers. His interest is sociohistory of Sarawak Chinese,
particularly in Lupar Basin. He published 2 books, namely “Surf on Benak:
Essays on History and Culture of Simanggang (2004, SCCA) and Historical Essays
on Marup Fifteen Shares Kongsi (with Tay Chek Pin, 2006, SCCA); edited 2 books,
namely Selected Historical Materials on The Chinese of Sri Aman Division (1999,
SCCA) and Discourses on Sarawak Chinese Community: Inheritance and Development
(2011, SCCA). He is the editor of Wenhai, the official periodical of SCCA. He is the secretary of Simanggang Soon Heng
Society, the local partner of this project.
The project organizer welcome public to attend those 2 public talk, for
those who interested in the awareness workshop , please sms to Mr Goh Kaw Sze
(0138167685).
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