Mr Richard ENGELHARDT
Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO

Mr Engelhardt is the UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, based in Bangkok, where he heads UNESCO's culture sector programmes for the Asia-Pacific region. He was educated in history, archaeology and anthropology of the Asia-Pacific region at Yale and Harvard universities. Following his graduation, he joined the United Nations where, for the past 25 years, he has directed heritage conservation and culture development projects throughout Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. In this capacity, Mr Engelhardt has pioneered many regional initiatives in the fields of culture, heritage and the creativity, including the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Awards.

As Head of the UNESCO Office in Cambodia, Mr Engelhardt launched and directed the international safeguarding campaign for Angkor during the 1990s. In recognition of his services in the preservation of the Angkor monuments, H.M. King Norodom Sihanouk awarded Mr. Engelhardt the prestigious title of Commandeur de l'Ordre Royal du Cambodge.