ELAICH concludes joint Jordanian-Maltese Amman cultural heritage course

The ELAICH Project has concluded a one-week course in Amman with the participation of some 20 high school students from Jordan and Malta.

Participants noted that the students cooperated extremely well with each other, learning about topics relating to preservation of cultural heritages. The course included on-site lectures from conservation, archaeology, architecture and history experts.

ELAICH course in Amman

Hani Hazaimeh, a reporter from The Jordan Times, who accompanied the group on its visit to the ancient city of Petra, noted that the course had given the teenage students valuable insight into the 2,000-year-old capital of Nabataean civilization.

“It is important for us to know about the history of other nations… I am not so interested in archaeology, but this should not prevent me from learning about ancient civilizations,” Martina Bugelli, a Maltese student told The Jordan Times. “History does not belong to a certain country; it is a world heritage and I think that everyone should learn how past generations lived.”

Bugelli noted that her visit and meeting with Jordanian students broadened her perception of other nations along the Mediterranean coast.

Following a session held at the Amman Citadel, Jordanian student Taleen Oghlanian said that before the course, she had no interest whatsoever in archaeology.

“Now I have much to tell my friends at school and I will encourage everyone to come and learn more about the historical sites that Jordan has no shortage of,” the16-year-old told The Jordan Times.

“This is my first visit to the Citadel although I have lived in Amman all my life,” added Kristy Dabies, one of 15 Jordanian students participating in the course.

She said that the ELAICH program was an excellent opportunity to meet students from other countries and to exchange views and ideas about their interests and cultural heritages.

Christophe Graz, assigned by the EU to monitor the project’s progress and implementation, told the English daily that the project managers had already approached government officials about incorporating the project into the education systems of these countries.

“The main challenges we are facing are how to make it sustainable and get governments interested,” Graz told The Jordan Times.

“This is a unique opportunity to encourage international intercultural dialogue among course participants in the field of cultural heritage protection,” said Dr. Anna Lobovikov-Katz, from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and coordinator of ELAICH.

“By bringing together high school students from Jordan and Malta for five full days, we can demonstrate the effectiveness of the special educational tool kit developed by ELAICH.”