Online Training on Community-based Emergency Preparedness and Response: Strengthening Civil Society Action for Safeguarding Cultural Heritage, 12 October – 9 November 2024

Background

Concerning conservation and management of heritage in Southeast Asia affected by various kinds of disaster, SEAMEO SPAFA has contributed to build capacity for heritage professionals in the region for decades in order to mitigate any impacts from both natural and human-induced disasters. From 2018 to 2022, SEAMEO SPAFA in close collaboration with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the Institute of Disaster Risk Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University (R-DMUCH), Kyoto, Japan conducted a series of training workshops on disaster risk management for Southeast Asian heritage.  The first training targeting heritage professionals was organised in March 2018 at Bagan Archaeological Museum with support from Department of Archaeology. The second training carried out was titled ‘School-based Approach in Promoting Disaster Risk Management in Southeast Asia’ and focused on younger beneficiaries. An educator’s toolkit on water-related heritage, disasters, climate action and global citizenship was an output from this training. Inle lake was selected as one of the five case studies in the toolkit which was translated into several Southeast Asian local languages including Myanmar.

In response to Cyclone Mocha in 2023 and other potential risks that may affect the value and significance of heritage in Myanmar, SEAMEO SPAFA initiated a programme to provide technical support to heritage in Myanmar which is being conducted between SEAMEO fiscal years 2022/23 and 2025/26. The projects under this programme will be mainly capacity-building activities and academic support. From December 2023 to August 2024, a Needs Assessment Report was conducted in order to better understand the situation and challenges to cultural heritage in Myanmar during times of peril. A team of experts from Myanmar and other countries carried out a condition assessment to clarify loss and damage of Myanmar heritage covering the cultural sector in the States most affected by Cyclone Mocha, including the livelihood of artists and artisans working in the cultural industries.

As a result, an online training course for civil society in Myanmar under community-based approach is being held from 12 October to 9 November 2024. Asides from the live orientation session, the course comprises four self-learning modules which is accessible until the end of November 2024 and four Deep Dive sessions where participants can meet, ask and discuss with resource persons in real time via online platform. The details of the four self-learning modules and four live sessions (Deep Dive) can be seen in the table below.