Partners

• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Programme of Welfare Association
• Eurpean Commission

Duration: 10 weeks (6 October – 16 December 2008)

Place: Jerusalem

Background
The course was part of a three-year project to establish a training institute for architectural conservation in Jerusalem. The institute will be a technical platform for the professional training of practitioners of architectural restoration, facilitated through the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Programme of the Welfare Association.

Participants
Eighteen participants from Jerusalem and the West Bank with different academic and professional backgrounds, selected by the Welfare Association.

Aim
Designed for architects and engineers, whether recent graduates or with experience, as well as contractors. As a foundation course, it aimed to establish and develop professional qualifications and build the capacity of local professionals in heritage conservation and development.  

Activities
The course involved interactive, participatory sessions, both theoretical and practical, in the classroom and on cultural heritage sites. Various study visits and applied work at selected archaeological sites complemented the classroom work. The topics covered were:

• concepts of documentation and information gathering, recording and heritage information management;
• processes and causes of deterioration, and methods for condition assessment;
• introduction to conservation theory and related philosophical and international aspects of protection, with particular reference to the Arab Region;
• conservation methods for archaeological structures and materials in situ: preventive and remedial measures;
• site management, planning, presentation and development: value-based site management processes, and national legal and institutional frameworks.

Main achievements
Participants acquired a critical approach to heritage site conservation by:

• understanding the basic (international) principles of heritage conservation processes in order to devise informed site-conservation strategies;
• documenting and analyzing existing physical conditions of heritage sites, diagnosing causes of deterioration, and assessing legal and institutional contexts;
• recognizing methods to identify heritage sites and define their significance;
• identifying priorities for appropriate conservation interventions;
• identifying the potential of heritage sites in the development of their environs.

updated on: 27 January, 2010