Dr. David Ocón
Assistant Professor – School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University (SMU)
David Ocón is an interdisciplinary cultural historian and anthropologist who works on Asian cultural heritage’s intersections with preservation, tourism, digitalisation, gastronomy, and sustainability. He also analyses cultural diplomacy and cooperation in the Asian region, particularly between China, Japan, South Korea and the ASEAN countries. He joined as an IGCAT Expert (International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism) in 2023.
David has 20 years of experience in the arts, culture, and heritage sectors. As a practitioner, he led departments at organisations such as the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF, Singapore), ENCATC (Belgium), and Cervantes Institute (Beijing, China), institution where he was the head of culture.
David is currently an Assistant Professor at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences, where he teaches and researches Culture and Heritage Management, Cultural Relations and Diplomacy in Asia, Urban Cultural Anthropology, Arts Marketing, and Cultural History and Society. As an academic, he has also worked at the City University of Hong Kong, James Cook University, and for more than a decade, he was a visiting faculty at the University of Barcelona’s International Cultural Cooperation and Management Postgraduate Programme. He regularly provides strategic advice and support for cultural organisations worldwide.