MHAA calls for a cultural heritage material database

The Macau Heritage Ambassadors Association (MHAA) has suggested that Macau should set up a cultural heritage material database, in order to better preserve the historical buildings in the city.
The association sent a delegation to join the 20th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS), which took place in Portugal between July 22 and 26.
Before attending the conference, delegates visited several Portuguese national and local government departments that are responsible for preservation of culture and heritage.
During their visit to Porto, they were received by officials from the local municipality, who showed them the city’s cultural heritage material database.
The database is the first in Europe to store the information of the materials used in the construction of these historical buildings. The aim of the database is to help with the renovation of the private properties that are included in the country’s heritage protection list.
Porto authorities also collaborate with traditional Portuguese tile workshops all around the country so that assistance can be provided to property owners to create and repair tiles in their properties, as well as allowing the traditional techniques to be passed on to future generations.
Moreover, MHAA co-organized a photo exhibition focusing on festivals and celebrations in Macau to run during the EACS biennial conference, and also officiated an academic seminar concerning the protection of cultural heritage in Macau.
MHAA said that its delegates learnt a lot from their trip to Portugal. Despite the country’s current economic condition, Portuguese people are still unwilling to sacrifice their historical buildings. Local youths are also very keen to discover the connection between those buildings and themselves – a connection which the association says Macau’s people have a lot to learn from.  JPL