The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage is delighted to share with you today the third article from “Heritage Matters”, a series of column by The Siam Society published in the Bangkok Post on a monthly basis.

Most of you may not be aware that Thailand was a global hub for tin in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. The mining industry along the Andaman coast in southern Thailand created numerous jobs for locals and foreigners alike, and was also a major driving force of the country’s economy at the time.

We invite you to join Ajarn Rungsima Kullapat, a researcher at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as she explores the influences of the tin industry on local architecture and way of life, all which contribute to the cultural landscape of Thailand’s southern region. At the same time, she also shared with us her perspectives on the need for government, local authorities, and relevant stakeholders to raise the importance of industrial heritage conservation and the need for sustainable tourism to be an agenda of priority. This will allow locals to be a part of the tourism community and a custodian of their culture.

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“Heritage Matters” not only focuses on identifying the challenges and opportunities of cultural heritage conservation, but is also aimed at raising public awareness on various dimensions of such issue, in relevance to the people of Thailand and those in the Southeast Asian region.