ICOMOS GA2026: Sarawak champions community participation in heritage conservation
KUCHING, 19 October 2026: The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) 22nd General Assembly and Scientific Symposium was officially opened yesterday evening at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) by Deputy Minister for Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP), Datuk Snowdan Lawan, representing the Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, Dato Sri Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Often described as the Olympics of Cultural Heritage, the prestigious event is being held in Malaysia and Southeast Asia for the first time, bringing together over 1,800 delegates from 110 countries to Kuching, Sarawak. Happening from October 17 to 23, 2026, the week-long gathering features scientific discussions, professional exchanges, exhibition and heritage activities, and also offers delegates opportunities to explore Sarawak’s living heritage through museum activities, cultural programmes, community visits and engagements with local heritage practitioners and artisans.
“The coming week will also give you (the delegates) opportunities to learn outside the symposium hall. Our delegate visits will take you through historic streets, longhouses and community lives as well as remarkable landscapes and nature reserves,” ICOMOS Malaysia President, Faisal Abd. Rahman.
“The bid to be the host venue carries not only immense significance and responsibility, but immense hard work. We have come a long way since the ICOMOS Board Meeting in Sydney, where our bid was accepted and Kuching, in the Land of the Hornbills, became the next venue of the ICOMOS General Assembly,” shared ICOMOS Malaysia Convenor, Ar. Tiong Kian Boon in his welcoming speech.
Organised by ICOMOS Malaysia and supported by MTCP, Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), ICOMOS GA2026 is themed ‘Living Heritage: Respect, Enhance, Accept, Partnership’, which encourages greater recognition of the relationship between people, places and cultural identity.
In his speech read by Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Dato Sri Haji Abdul Karim highlighted the important role of communities in keeping heritage alive, drawing on Sarawak’s multicultural society, where at least 34 ethnic groups have lived alongside one another for generations while preserving their distinct identities.
“To us in Sarawak, heritage is not simply about preserving buildings, monuments or objects from the past. It is equally about the people who give meaning to these places, the knowledge passed down through generations and the traditions and practices that continue to shape our identities,” he said, citing traditional longhouses as examples of living heritage.
“However, rapid development, urbanisation and changing lifestyles present growing challenges to the continuity of these traditions. Protecting heritage is not only about preserving what we have inherited, but also ensuring that future generations will continue to value and practise these traditions. This is why communities must have a meaningful voice in how their heritage is safeguarded.”
Highlights of ICOMOS GA2026 include the Heritage Exposition at Level 1 of BCCK, which is open to the public free of charge from October 19 to 22, 2026 between 8.30AM and 5PM daily. Other activities include programmes with the Sarawak Museum Department, Sarawak Craft Council and Old Kuching Smart Heritage, as well as the UNESCO at 80 Reflection Programme.
Also in attendance at yesterday’s opening ceremony, President of the National Heritage Trust Jordan, Vice President of ICOMOS International Arab States Regional Group and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage, Her Royal Highness, Deputy State Secretary (Operations) and BESarawak Chairman, Datu Hii Chang Kee, ICOMOS President, Professor Teresa Patricio and participants of ICOMOS GA2026.
