The World Crafts Council Asia Pacific Dialogue ‘Preservation Of Our Textile Heritage’ was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 3rd – 4th March 2006. Participants attended the dialogue are from Lebanon, Thailand, Kuwait, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan, Brunei, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia and Nepal.

The aim of the World Crafts Council Asia Pacific Dialogue is to provide a forum to discuss the establishment of a proactive programme and Plan-of-Action for the preservation of Asia Pacific Textiles as a living heritage.

The Honourable Datuk Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Malaysia inaugurated the dialogue. He called for a more rigorous and pragmatic evaluation on the preservation of crafts especially the textile. He also urged the participants to formulate a Plan-of-Action to be used as a starting point. He expressed confidence that the Asian Pacific countries have the ability to meet many challenges confronting the crafts industries. He expressed Malaysia’s commitment to promote and sustain standard of excellence of Malaysia crafts.