The 5th Borneo International Beads Conference (BIBCo), entitled 'Our Universal Beads', will take place in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, on 13-15 October 2017. The conference takes place in the context of the What About Kuching Festival 2017, a month-long celebration of local arts, culture and lifestyle. The conference celebrates the bead culture of Sarawak, part of a greater Malaysian heritage, rooted in centuries of tradition.  An ancient maritime trading network linked Sarawak to the world; the beads most treasured today came from production centres on the Malay Peninsula, India, China and even further afield. In the hands of Sarawak’s craftswomen and collectors, these masterpieces of the glassmaker’s art became intrinsically ‘Borneo Beads.’ The 5th Borneo International Beads Conference links this indigenous tradition with the bead cultures of the world. The programme includes

• Papers presented  by leading bead researchers, printed in the BIBCo Journal 2017;
• Beads Abuzz, the international Bead Bazar;
• Lamp Bead-making workshop;
• Polymer clay beadmaking workshop;
• Paper beadmaking workshop;
• Natural fibre beadmaking workshop;
• Native American beadworking techniques workshop; and
• Borneo indigenous bead-working techniques workshop.

Among the confirmed speakers are experts from Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, and the USA. 'Our Universal Beads' is organised by Crafthub, a non-profit organisation based in Kuching, which aims to promote and market Sarawak handicrafts in an economically viable way, with international-standard quality control. The conference has received the support of several organisations, including the Sarawak Government, the Sarawak Craft Council, Sarawak Tourism, the Jabatan Muzium Sarawak, the Sarawak Convention Bureau, the Sarawak Cultural Village, Kraftangan Malaysia, and the World Crafts Council. For additional information about the 5th Borneo International Beads Conference, and to register, please visit http://crafthub.com.my/?page_id=832