The Asean Traditional Textile Symposium was held in Malaysia, September 25 to 30, 2022. Participants gained many experiences through the symposium and learnt a lot about traditional textiles in Malaysia.
The aim of the biennial event was to modernise the traditional costume to attract the younger generation to wear it and continuously preserve it for years to come. The event saw over 300 participants from 13 countries and brought together textile artists, artisans and weavers not only from across the country but also from Asean and other regions.
A total of 19 working papers were presented in the symposium. Experts discussed and shared information about the preservation and sustainability of original textile weaving in the Asean and surrounding regions so traditional arts and crafts do not become relics of the past or mere footnotes in history books.
The Asean Traditional Textile Symposium started in 2005 where Indonesia was the first organiser and continued again in the Philippines in 2009, Malaysia (2011), Vietnam (2013), Thailand (2015), Brunei (2017) and the last time in Indonesia (2019). The symposium also featured a textile exhibition as well as demonstrations of craft making such as Tenun Diraja Pahang, songket, Sabah siambitan, Sarawak puakumbu, mengkuang weaving, wood carvings as well as the sale of various crafts.
