November 8th to 12th, 2011, marked the first targeted gathering of people involved in researching, managing, and developing underwater cultural heritage (UCH) in the Asia-Pacific region. Since then, the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage (APCONF) has been convened every three years, providing a unique opportunity to bring together members of government agencies, universities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), museums, the private sector, and the wider community. Participants from over 35 countries have attended the conference, making it a truly international endeavour. The APCONF was created in part to promote awareness of UCH on a wider scale. As such, one of the primary directives of the inaugural conference was to ensure that all papers presented would be recorded in full in the official conference proceedings, so as to establish an ongoing archive of the critical work being done in this region. This article will examine the wider benefits of creating this regional network through the APCONF, arguing that it provides an important venue for face-to-face networking that can lead to additional collaborations, and contributes to the understanding of how the conference may evolve in the future. The fact that the APCONF is not tied to a specific membership base provides not only unusual flexibility but also financial and infrastructural unsurety. The conference is organised by a group of dedicated volunteers and funded almost entirely by donations. As we stop to consider the first decade of the APCONF’s achievements, we also need to determine the best ways to ensure its sustainable future success.

中文翻译：

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亚太地区水下文化遗产会议回顾

2011 年 11 月 8 日至 12 日，是亚太地区从事水下文化遗产 (UCH) 研究、管理和发展的首次有针对性的聚会。从那时起，亚太地区水下文化遗产会议 (APCONF) 每三年召开一次，为汇聚政府机构、大学、非政府组织 (NGO)、政府间组织 (IGO) 的成员提供了难得的机会、博物馆、私营部门和更广泛的社区。来自超过 35 个国家的与会者参加了此次会议，使之成为真正的国际性活动。APCONF 的创建部分是为了在更广泛的范围内提高人们对水下文化遗产的认识。像这样，首届会议的主要指示之一是确保提交的所有文件都将完整记录在正式会议记录中，以便建立该地区正在进行的关键工作的持续档案。本文将探讨通过 APCONF 创建这个区域网络的更广泛的好处，认为它为面对面的网络提供了一个重要的场所，可以带来更多的合作，并有助于了解会议在未来。APCONF 不受特定会员基础约束的事实不仅提供了不同寻常的灵活性，而且还提供了财务和基础设施的不确定性。该会议由一群敬业的志愿者组织，几乎完全由捐款资助。