FW: Vientiane Museum and also Heritage Trails publication

[Rik Ponne]

 

 

From: Gay Spies [mailto:gays...@pacific.net.au]
Sent: 17 October 2012 20:56
To: rikp...@gmail.com
Subject: Vientiane Museum and also Heritage Trails publication

 

 

Dear Rik,  

 

I have difficulty in using your cultural forum site- can't post on it.

 

I think the idea of a petition is a good one.  Are you going to get it up and running?

 

A friend at IUCN has also suggested using social media.  I guess all avenues should be pursued and letting as many people as possible know about it.  What political angles is Marion Ravenscroft suggesting?

 

What about the French embassy? Are they worth following up?  After all the French built these buildings  Do they feel any responsibility to campaign for their protection?  Even give any money towards this?

 

I've been given various contacts at ICOMOS and UNESCO Bangkok which I haven't followed up yet.

 

I am trying to track down a 2003 publication by Atelier du Patrimoine & Institut de Recherche en Urbanisme.  Heritage Trails.  Civil and Religious Architecture.  Vientiane: ADP & !RU

Do  you have a copy or know where one can be obtained?  I imagine it's not a huge publication Would it be possible to scan and send as a PDF?  The Ateliers website is pretty useless.  I was also looking for papers from a three day International Conference on Vientiane in November 2002 which was organised by them but they did not reply.  As there don't seem to be so many posts on the cultural forum I might also post this request on LaoFab, even though it's a bit to left field.

 

I will be in Vientiane from 9-17 December and would be happy to meet up with any people concerned about furthering the campaign to keep the museum/library where they are.

 

Feel free to transfer this to the cultural forum site.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gay Spies

[marion ravenscroft]

All noted Gay,

                        they will commence building the new museum in November !!! They estimate this building will take 22 months to build. I think it was the French Embassy that provided the Dept of Heritage (MoICT) with a very fine model of the Museum after some modifications and renovation. Wish I could lay my hands on it. It could be very useful in terms of publicity and what could be . Just about everyone over here is dreadfully sad about the loss of this site.

The new building could act as a fine storage area but as for the investor ha! As soon as that new building starts going up someone stands to lose a lot of money.

It's no longer a matter of saving the building someone has to step in and buy them out. A foundation perhaps?

Marion Ravenscroft

 

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[Gay Spies]

Dear Marion,

Although we haven't met, Somchit Siri has always spoken very highly of you.  And I really like your Lao Pako exhibit in the museum.

Do you think ICOMOS can do anything useful?  Colin Long, who I understand is a friend of yours, thought they might be worth a try, though admittedly he said he was pretty cynical.  Two very senior people (Australians) will be discussing it   this Friday night at a meeting in Beijing and they will  also pass it on to their colleagues in Asia.

Colin also said that he thought there was a chance that the Library might be taken over by a Thai coffee shop franchise.  I guess that's better than the wrecking ball.

Some questions:

How much money would be needed to buy them out?  Who are 'they'?  Even if someone came up with the money would the government allow it?

I am pretty dumb financially.  Could you explain why someone will lose a lot of money once the new building starts going up?  Do you mean the new museum or the hotel? If it's the museum, would this mean that they would want to get out of the hotel deal?

Have you approached the French Embassy re the model or any other action?  Maybe they have photos. They did a nice renovation for their Cultural Centre in Luang Prabang.  Who can press their buttons?

Do you know anyone in the MoICT? (I used to know it as the MIC.  What does the T stand for?)  The only one I know there is a nice person who works on textiles, Nang  (or maybe Dr) Outala.  I no longer have her email but her phone no, as of last December, was 02 5580 3143.  We met at the Lao Handicrafts Exhibition a few years ago .  She was researching naga motifs in Tai Daeng textiles and subsequently published a small book, funded by a French grant.

What type of foundation would be likely to buy them out?  There is the Lao Heritage Foundation in the US but I think their fundraising goes for Lao projects there.

Finally, is the unhappiness about the museum widespread among Lao people, or it is mainly expats and NGOs?  A few Lao on LaoFab have been very critical  but I'd like to know if  it's wider than that.

Sorry about all the questions.

Cheers,

Gay 

[marion ravenscroft]

Oh yes, and know them all at MoIC actually I work for them but they have told me to be tight lipped about this. They are absolutely powerless but very distressed about the descision. Most Lao are not just the NGO's

Hope this helps

Cheers

Marion

[Gay Spies]

Thanks Marion.  I just wondered how far into the community knowledge and concern have spread.

Shame, a good demo is needed!

If you know Outala, please give her my regards.  She might not remember me.  Tell her I'd like to get in touch when I come in December.

Cheers,

Gay

[Rik Ponne]

Dear all,

 

Petition to save National Museum++

 

I still feel an online petition (for instance using www.change.org) to save Vientiane’s built heritage, with the museum building as the main focus, is the way forward, at least as a first step. So many buildings from this era are now being demolished, that if nothing happens soon there will be none left. While I’d be happy to collaborate, I am quite busy at the moment. Therefore, I would like to ask if a group member is willing to draft the petition text, and then share it with the group for comments before publication. As a good bad-practice example, we can use the recently demolished house on the plot where the Brunei Embassy is being constructed, and perhaps this can serve as inspiration as well: http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-phoenix-save-the-david-and-gladys-wright-house. Any taker?

 

Imminent demolition of French-colonial era house / former residence of Prince Souphanouvong

 

Secondly, I would like to draw your attention to the imminent demolition of a colonial era residence in town (once used as residence by Prince Souphanouvong – I believe this is where he was arrested before his famous prison break) by LANITH, as part of the LuxDev funded project “Achieving Service Quality Through People – Project LAO/020” (http://lanith.com/site/). Their plan is to rebuilt the house (quasy colonial style) in order to meet project functional needs and hygiene standards. It is my opinion that with a bit more creative thinking it could easily be incorporated in the plans in a suitable way. Demolition is scheduled for next week (the week of 29 October). The house is located on the bank of the Mekong River, on the corner of Fa Ngum and Sithane  roads, coordinates: 17°57’55.35”N 102°35’59.66”E. Some more info on the project:

http://lanith.com/site/2010/10/hotel-investors-sought-for-vientiane-tourism-and-hospitality-school-initiative/

http://lanith.com/site/2012/09/lanith-digs-in/. I feel that the archaeological research is conducted as an effort to justify the building demolition and to distract from the issue.

I will not be in Vientiane next week. However, if there are people out there that feel strongly about trying to save this building, now is time to act. On the barricades! Well, maybe don’t chain yourself to the bulldozer, but we could consider a quick petition to the Luxembourg Ambassador (in Hanoi), alerting him to the potential of LuxDev being associated with the destruction of cultural heritage. What do you think? Time is of the essence though…

 

In any case, I am not here next week. So, can someone please keep an eye on the building and start making pictures in the case the bulldozers are coming in anyway?

 

Best regards,

Rik

[Rik Ponne]

Hi,

 

I can report a little victory. I have communicated with the CTA of the LANITH project this afternoon, and he has agreed to meet to discuss alternative options for the house, such as incorporating it into the design for the hotel. If successful, it can be held up as an example for retaining the structure of the museum as well, as part of the overall hotel design for the site. I’ll keep you posted.

 

Rik

 

From: Rik Ponne [mailto:rikp...@gmail.com]
Sent: 25 October 2012 13:50
To: 'lao...@googlegroups.com'
Subject: RE: [LaoCHF] FW: Vientiane Museum and also Heritage Trails publication

 

Dear all,

 

Petition to save National Museum++

 

I still feel an online petition (for instance using www.change.org) to save Vientiane’s built heritage, with the museum building as the main focus, is the way forward, at least as a first step. So many buildings from this era are now being demolished, that if nothing happens soon there will be none left. While I’d be happy to collaborate, I am quite busy at the moment. Therefore, I would like to ask if a group member is willing to draft the petition text, and then share it with the group for comments before publication. As a good bad-practice example, we can use the recently demolished house on the plot where the Brunei Embassy is being constructed, and perhaps this can serve as inspiration as well: http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-phoenix-save-the-david-and-gladys-wright-house. Any taker?

 

Imminent demolition of French-colonial era house / former residence of Prince Souphanouvong

 

Secondly, I would like to draw your attention to the imminent demolition of a colonial era residence in town (once used as residence by Prince Souphanouvong – I believe this is where he was arrested before his famous prison break) by LANITH, as part of the LuxDev funded project “Achieving Service Quality Through People – Project LAO/020” (http://lanith.com/site/). Their plan is to rebuilt the house (quasy colonial style) in order to meet project functional needs and hygiene standards. It is my opinion that with a bit more creative thinking it could easily be incorporated in the plans in a suitable way. Demolition is scheduled for next week (the week of 29 October). The house is located on the bank of the Mekong River, on the corner of Fa Ngum and Sithane  roads, coordinates: 17°57’55.35”N 102°35’59.66”E. Some more info on the project:

http://lanith.com/site/2010/10/hotel-investors-sought-for-vientiane-tourism-and-hospitality-school-initiative/

http://lanith.com/site/2012/09/lanith-digs-in/. I feel that the archaeological research is conducted as an effort to justify the building demolition and to distract from the issue.

I will not be in Vientiane next week. However, if there are people out there that feel strongly about trying to save this building, now is time to act. On the barricades! Well, maybe don’t chain yourself to the bulldozer, but we could consider a quick petition to the Luxembourg Ambassador (in Hanoi), alerting him to the potential of LuxDev being associated with the destruction of cultural heritage. What do you think? Time is of the essence though…

 

In any case, I am not here next week. So, can someone please keep an eye on the building and start making pictures in the case the bulldozers are coming in anyway?

 

Best regards,

Rik

 

 

 

 

From: lao...@googlegroups.com [mailto:lao...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gay Spies

Sent: 25 October 2012 08:50
To: lao...@googlegroups.com

[Keir James Reeves]

Excellent development Rik.

Best

Keir

Sent from my iPhone

[Randy Durband]

Dear Rik,

Thanks for including me in this community.  Very interesting posts.  Did you also send an invitation to Dan Thompson?

I'm glad that Peter Semone was open to your suggestions.  I've found him to be very fair and reasonable, and am not surprised that he is open to alternative approaches.  Good luck with that.

Best,

Randy

Randy Durband

Sustainable Heritage Destination Marketing

email: randy....@gmail.com

web: www.linkedin/in/randydurband

[Rik Ponne]

Hi Randy,

 

Welcome. And, yes, I have also invited Dan.

 

I’ll report what transpired from further discussions with LANITH.

 

Best regards,

Rik