An international level symposium was held on ‘the importance of conserving Leh Old Town; an historical, architectural and community approach to preserving the last remaining Himalayan dwelling on 14 May at Central Asian Museum Leh.

The main aim of holding this event was to acknowledge the importance of conserving Leh Old Town and to emphasize its heritage value as a unique example of Himalayan town, to define a holistic approach towards the preservation of Leh Old Town encompassing historical, architectural and community features and needs and to define ways of improving the living conditions of the residents of Leh Old Town and at the same time respecting and embracing traditional building techniques and thereby the historic fabric of Leh Old Town.

During the event CEC LAHDC Leh, Rigzin Spalbar assured that the restoration of the old houses located in the Old Town of Leh shall be undertaken on the sound principles of retaining the heritage character of these houses and the area of Leh Old Town as a whole. He dispels the notion that there will be demolitions of houses that have been included, identified or listed in any of the schemes. He further provided details of the funding and financial arrangements which have been accessed and organized for undertaking restoration of the Old Town.

Welcoming all the dignitaries, Christa Meindersma, Director, Prince Claus Fund stated that the Prince Claus Fund believes that culture is a basic need. She is impressed with the restoration work already achieved in the Leh Old Town, the pride people take in their traditional houses and the distinct ideas they have about how to improve their homes within the traditional architecture.
She added that Prince Claus Fund is happy to commit funds to the restoration of damaged homes in the Old City of Leh carried out by LOTI.

Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister for Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies, J&K presented his paper on the topic 'Ladakhi Cultural identities and importance of Leh Old Town' wherein he emphasized the importance of preserving local traditions, customs and intangible heritage. He urge to take pride in being Ladakhi.
He recognizes that people in the Leh Old Town require more water and that there are lifestyle changes. He commits funds of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to preserve the Leh Old Town. In this regard he mentions schemes like water, drainage, restoration of traditional houses and mobility in the Old Town.

'Historical introduction to Leh Old Town' by Abdul Ghani Sheikh, Ladakhi historian and writer says that Leh has always been the crossroad of cultures. He lists the travel logs and historic references on the significant geographic location of Leh being at the intersection of trade and culture in the Trans Himalayan region toward Central Asia and Tibet.

Saleem Beg, Convener INTACH (J&K Chapter), Indian National Trust for art and Cultural heritage, J&K spoke on the topic 'Cultural Heritage value of the Leh Old Town' and recalls that Ladakhi architecture is inclusive of Kashmiri, central Asian and Tibetan elements. He stated that legal instruments like the J&K heritage conservation act, the archeological survey of India that prohibited and regulated area guidelines and the model heritage guidelines promoted by INTACH needs to be included and integrated in the municipal bylaws as also other regulations which are in force in the town.

Others who gave their presentation on various topics included Yutaka Hirako/ Pimpim de Azevado, Program director/co-director, Tibet Heritage Fund and Leh Old Town Initiative who spoke on the topic 'Conservation efforts towards Leh Old Town and recommendations for its preservation; Minja Yang, former vice-director, World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, Paris! And Director of the New Delhi office ‘Cultural Heritage Conservation challenges in the Himalayan region: lessons learned from Lhasa and Kathmandu'; Kirtee Shah, Founder Trustee and Hon. Director of Ahmedabad Study Action Group (ASAG) gave his presentation on 'Heritage conservation: Widening Scope and Deepening Ownership'; 'The importance of preserving historic Old Towns and the long term benefits: Heritage-based urban strategy for Udaipur: lessons learned from cooperation with Strasbourg - a case study' by Roland Reis, Mayor of Strasbourg, France.

Panel Discussion on general challenges for preserving the history of Leh Old Town was also held whose main purpose was to gather more ingredients for the executive phase, to be sure that all important points are taken into account, particularly the views of the local community.