Yayasan Tenun Pahang Diraja (The Royal Pahang Weave Foundation) is a non-profit organization, an entity of the World Crafts Council, Asia Pacific Region, supported by several relevant government agencies and ministries. Through it, Malaysia has been given the honour to host the 8th ASEAN Traditional Textiles Symposium 2022, which was unanimously endorsed by all ASEAN members at the conclusion of the 7th ASEAN Traditional Textiles Symposium in Jogjakarta, Indonesia in 2019. The symposium aims to, amongst others, discuss and exchange ideas in support of the preservation and sustainability of naturally woven textiles in the region. The selection of a host country is done biennially at this conference, which gives every ASEAN nation an opportunity to become host at some point.
Her Majesty Queen Azizah of Malaysia, a recipient of the Craft Icon of the Year Award by Craft Village in New Delhi, India (also an active member of the World Crafts Council, Asia Pacific Region) is the patron of the 8th ASEAN Traditional Textiles Symposium, scheduled for the 25th through 30th September 2022 at Marriott Hotel in Putrajaya. There will be a welcome dinner and cultural performance hosted by Her Majesty at the royal palace in Kualal Lumpur. The symposium, themed Celebrating Textiles: A Journey, will be officially opened by His Majesty the King of Malaysia on 26th September 2022.
In addition to participants from Southeast Asian nations, we are anticipating more or less 200 local and foreign participants to the symposium. A good mix of local and international speakers have also been invited to present their papers on traditional textiles to tie in with the symposium’s theme. Supporting events, such as exhibitions on a myriad of textiles, demonstrations on crafts-making, and the sale of handicrafts from all participating ASEAN countries will be on offer. Likewise, a series of field trips to the National Craft Institute, Kuala Lumpur Crafts Complex, and the National Textile Museum have also been scheduled for the participants.
