Established in 1978 as a project under the aegis of the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO), and reconstituted into an autonomous regional centre under the same acronym in 1986, SPAFA aims: to cultivate awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage through collaboration in information dissemination and other relevant programmes of activities; to promote and help enrich archaeological and cultural activities in the region; to further professional competence in the fields of archaeology and the fine arts through regional programmes and activities and through sharing of resources and experiences; and to advance mutual knowledge and understanding among the countries of South East Asia through regional programmes in archaeology and fine arts. Fields of specialisation include: archaeology (cultural resource management and cultural tourism, information technology for archaeological database management and disciplinary studies such as epigraphy, iconography, museology); visual arts (art education and pedagogy, art history and aesthetics, art curatorship and exhibition design, arts management and cultural administration and visual communications); and performing arts (performing arts history and aesthetics, performing arts education and pedagogy, performing arts theory and practice, performing arts design, technology and management). Services and facilities include a Library and Documentation Centre, full-facility conference and lecture rooms, accommodation/guest rooms for rental by the public, an exhibition/display hall, an applied science laboratory, publication and audio-visual production services and administrative offices. SPAFA also promotes and supports multi-disciplinary research in archaeology and arts, co-ordinates the exchange of selected professionals responsible for archaeological/cultural activities in the region with a view to the sharing of expertise, and provides academic consultancy services in the following fields: impact assessment on cultural resources, rescue archaeology/history, museum exhibit design and curatorship, performing arts management, cultural tours and teacher training for arts curriculum development.