The growing role of artificial intelligence in preserving the continent's cultural treasures emerged as the defining theme of the fourth council meeting of the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia (ACHA) in Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.
The three-day event concluded on Tuesday, drawing officials and heads of organizations from 21 countries. The meeting was held concurrently with the fourth Liangzhu Forum, an international conference hosted annually in Hangzhou that focuses on heritage conservation, early civilizations and global cultural dialogue.
Established in 2023, the ACHA is committed to implementing the Asian Initiative for Cultural Heritage Conservation, a region-wide framework for protecting Asia's shared past. The alliance promotes protection standards and cooperation models among its members through scientific preservation and the innovative use of sites, while enhancing connectivity and fostering shared values around the region's cultural legacy.
During the meeting, Egypt was approved as a partner state of the alliance and Kazakhstan as an observer state. The ACHA's official website was also formally launched, offering members a digital platform for information sharing and cooperation.
Technology empowerment and the protection of endangered heritage were the keywords most frequently raised by participants at the meeting. Addressing the meeting, Kong Vireak, secretary-general of the ACHA, highlighted the alliance's recent steps to embrace artificial intelligence and other new technologies.
"We created the new technology committee, [where] we focus more on the new technology, AI, using [it] in heritage conservation and display, and how to disseminate Asian culture to the rest of the world," said Vireak.
To turn those ambitions into practice on the ground, the alliance has launched AI and digital-intelligence training programs for professionals in the field in Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and other locations.
Yuan Xiaoru, deputy director of the National Engineering Laboratory of Big Data Analysis and Application at Peking University, a co-organizer of the training, said the programs give international professionals direct access to China's cutting-edge tools and expertise. "We have brought together cultural heritage professionals from around the world here in China, and we are teaching them our latest technologies. These trainees are the backbone of cultural heritage protection in their respective countries. This is also China's contribution to the world in this regard," said Yuan.
Participants also noted that the alliance mechanism is promoting experience sharing, capacity building and the implementation of cooperative projects to safeguard sites at risk.
Gamini Wijesuriya, vice chairman of the ACHA advisory committee, stressed the importance of collective action across the region.
"Asia is one of the richest regions in terms of cultural heritage. Therefore, it is very important that we collectively work together in order to see how best we can share the knowledge, we can help each other, and we can work together to protect our heritage," he said.
AI takes center stage at Asian cultural heritage alliance meeting
AI takes center stage at Asian cultural heritage alliance meeting
