Spice Routes Conference Lays Road Map to Strengthen Inter-cultural Relations

KOCHI:

The first International Spice Routes Conference drew to a close today after three days of absorbing conversations on the fabled maritime corridor that marked Kerala as the global hub of spice trade and cross-cultural encounters for centuries.

The conference, organized by the State Tourism Department in collaboration with the Muziris Heritage Project, laid the road map for leveraging the legacy for fostering inter-cultural relations.

Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas opened the event on Tuesday, with declaration of the International Spice Routes Heritage Network as a collaborative platform to promote history, culture, creativity and tourism across nations.

The event also rolled out a unique project called Spice Journeys that invites travelers to experience 33 heritage trails across the state, stretching from Kasaragod to Kollam.

The three-day event, the first such initiative in India, was packed with sessions on a host of themes including ‘Governing and Sustaining Transnational Heritage Corridors’; ‘Heritage Tourism: Question of Sustainability’; ‘Reimagining Spice Routes for Tourism’; ‘Digital Spice Routes’; ‘Muziris Re-imagined’ and ‘Knowledge Tradition in the Region’.

Muziris Projects Ltd., Managing Director, Sharon V said the conversations at the Conference have imparted a major thrust to the heritage tourism segment and collaborative academic programmes in Kerala with Muziris as its focal point. The scholars who participated in the conference have promised their continued support to take the initiative forward, he added.

It brought together academics, performers, curators, policy-makers and tourism stakeholders from India and abroad to make presentations, revisiting Spice Routes and their continued relevance of Spice Routes in contemporary global dialogues and intercultural relations. The conference saw participation of more than 1000 delegates, from 22 countries including around 55 speakers from diverse fields.

The heritage expo organized on the sidelines of the conference offered the visitors vivid glances into the fascinating history and cultural diversity of Kerala as a meeting ground of civilizations, with the Spice Route being the pivot.

A Memorandum of Understanding between Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) and Muziris Projects Ltd (MPL) was signed during the conference to promote collaborative academic programmes, research, and outreach initiatives in heritage conservation and allied fields.

Meanwhile, in a session on “Knowledge Traditions in the Region” on the concluding day Dr Arun Asokan, ETH, Zurich, delineated the historical formation of pre-modern mathematical knowledge about calculation of wood in Malabar.

Prof Roy Wagner, ETH, Zurich, who spoke through video-conferencing, explained about the gap between mathematics and its practice in the ancient days.

Dr Selvakumar, Tamil University, Thanjavoor and Dr Senthil Babu, of French Institute, Pondicherry, also shared their views on the topic.

The conference was enlivened with various cultural programs including Chavittunatakam.

A experiential tour covering the Muziris Heritage sites was also arranged for the delegates and guests from the conference venue in Kochi to the historic town of Kodungallur, where the conference concluded on a positive note to take the initiative forward.