Damascus-SANA
Proceeding from the importance of the intangible cultural heritage, its protection, preservation, development and its connection to societies, the Ministry of Culture - Directorate of Intangible Heritage organized a workshop on the Syrian intangible cultural heritage at the Al-Assad National Library in Damascus.
In a speech during the opening of the four-day workshop, the Minister of Culture, Dr. Lubana Mushawah, said: “What unites us today is our fear for the heritage of tampering, theft and extinction, and our keenness to highlight it, develop it and promote it, because of our deep belief that despite its diversity, its different practices, its sources, its paths and its privacy forms an important and essential part of Our unifying national identity is one of the reasons for its uniqueness and beauty.”
Dr. Mushouh pointed out that our heritage is rich and is the product of successive civilizations with deep roots, indicating that in addition to official bodies, there are non-governmental bodies, organizations and associations from the civil society concerned with heritage affairs, as there are approximately 300 licensed associations to work in this regard.
The Minister of Culture said, “Our problem today lies in the large number of parties, the scattering of efforts, the absence of a legislative framework that protects the intangible heritage from tampering, distortion and loss, and the absence of a regulatory framework and a national plan that organizes these efforts and directs them to serve the intangible heritage and ensure its sustainability. And launching a national plan for the intangible heritage.
The Director of the Directorate of Intangible Heritage in the Ministry of Culture, Rola Aqili, reviewed the work of the Directorate during the past years and what it is currently doing in its departments, which include departments of heritage study, documentation, heritage protection and heritage relations, stressing that the main objective of the Directorate is to monitor, study, document, highlight and preserve the national intangible heritage. Implemented in 2021 and what is being worked on during the current year.
The first session of the workshop reviewed the current reality of the intangible cultural heritage in Syria, with the participation of the Director General of Antiquities and Museums Nazir Awad and from the Living Heritage Program in the Syrian Trust for Development, researcher Reem Ibrahim, head of the history department at Damascus University, Dr. Imad Al-Nahar, and the able musician Ghada Harb, directed by Firas Al-Qadi.
The second session discussed the legislative environment of cultural and intangible heritage in Syria, with the participation of the Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Culture Bashir Ezz El-Din, researcher Khaled Fayyad, from the Living Heritage Program at the Syrian Trust for Development Sherine Naddaf, and Director of Legal Affairs at the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums Ayman Suleiman in the Media Department Dima Nassif.
The interventions of the attendees, who are specialists and workers in the cultural, heritage and local affairs, focused on the importance of a legislative framework that preserves heritage and work on developing what has reached us without compromising its essence and promoting its products.
The workshop continues its sessions tomorrow, Tuesday, by focusing on two axes, the first being the risks and threats facing the intangible cultural heritage in Syria, and the second the opportunities and challenges in the field of the Syrian intangible cultural heritage.
Rasha Mahfoud
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