‘The Street of Harmony’: Cultural Heritage and Religious Pluralism in George Town, a New World Heritage City
Presented by Khoo Salma, President of the Penang Heritage Trust, Penang, Malaysia.
George Town, Penang, is listed together with Melaka as the Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca, a new UNESCO World Heritage Site. Established as a British East India Company trading post in 1786, George Town has a long history as a multicultural city. The site’s Outstanding Universal Values are concentrated in Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Pitt Street) which features mosques, Chinese temples, a Hindu temple and a church side by side. The speaker will describe the evolution of this street in the context of the historic port, touching on recent celebrations of, and challenges to, the notion of the ‘Street of Harmony’. She will illustrate how various communities reaffirm their sense of belonging yet share urban spaces, thus contributing to a common sense of place.

Khoo Salma Nasution is a fifth generation Penang peranakan and a writer, publisher and heritage advocate. She is currently president of Penang Heritage Trust and custodian of the Sun Yat Sen Museum, Penang. As co-founder of Little Penang Street Market through Lestari Heritage Network, she is involved in growing Penang’s creative economy. Salma has written or co-written more than a dozen books on Penang and Perak, on the subjects of social history, cultural heritage and sustainable development. Her publishing company Areca Books has four titles listed on the Malaysian National Book Council’s ’50 Best Malaysian Titles 2011”². She promotes heritage networking in Southeast Asia and is an Asian Public Intellectual (API) Fellow of the Nippon Foundation.
AusHeritage is a network of Australian cultural heritage management organisations, established by the Australian Government in 1996. The network aims to facilitate the engagement of practitioners and organisations for the Australian heritage industry in the overseas arena. Its members work internationally on a grant funded, commercial or cooperative basis. Many Australia ICOMOS members are also members of AusHeritage.
Members of the public are welcome!
Time & Date:
Tuesday 29 October 2013, 6.00pm for 6.30pm start
Cost:
Free. Wine and nibbles will be provided
Venue:
Level 18 Meeting Room, NSW Government Architect’s Office, McKell Building, 2-24 Rawson Place
RSVP:
via email to Peter Romey or via email to Mary Knaggs.
Please note:
RSVP is essential as places are limited.