UNESCOAmmanQuarterlyNewsletterJuly 2012Vol.3 - Issue 3

Dear colleagues, dear friends of UNESCO,

Welcome to the July edition of the UNESCO Office in Amman Newsletter. It is with great satisfaction that we can look back to the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova’s first official visit to Jordan. The three-day visit from 20 to 22 May followed an official invitation of the Government of Jordan and successfully served its purpose of strengthening the cooperation between UNESCO and Jordan.

During three very intensive days the Director-General held wide-ranging exchange of views on matters of mutual concern and interest. She met with His Majesty King Abdul-lah II Ibn Al Hussein, HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal, HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan and key Ministers such the Jordanian Minister of Education and Chairperson of the Jordan National Commission for UNESCO, H.E. Fayez Saudi, H.E. Nasser Judeh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, HRH Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad and other high-level gov-ernment officials. Ms. Irina Bokova also paid a visit to the SESAME Centre where she met with the Chair of the Scientific Council of SESAME, Sir Chris Llewellyn-Smith, and the Director of the SESAME Centre, Dr. Khaled Toukan. On the last day of her visit to Jordan, Irina Bokova visited the World Heritage sites of Um er-Rasas and Petra.

Some of the key issues discussed by the Director-General during her visit were the im-portance of the preservation of the cultural heritage of Jordan and especially the World Heritage Site of Petra and the importance of education and science for development. Ap-preciation for Jordan’s readiness in providing displaced Syrians in Jordan with access to education was also shown. During her visit to the SESAME Centre (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) which is the Middle East’s first major international research centre of its kind, Ms Bokova witnessed the considerable progress made by the Centre since its establishment under the auspices of UNESCO in 2004. In the presence of the President of the SESAME Council, an agreement was signed to further strengthen UNESCO and SESAME as steadfast partners in their determination to have their members benefit from the fruits of the centre.

The Director-General also visited the Amman Office and met with the staff of the UNESCO Offices in Amman and the UNESCO Office for Iraq based in Amman. This was a unique opportunity for many staff to meet the Director-General in person and to exchange views on pending reforms and the future of the Organization. Irina Bokova highlighted how UNESCO’s work in Jordan and Iraq embodies the organization’s mandate through ex-emplary work that shows how the preservation of heritage and biodiversity, along with natural sciences and education, are instrumental to peace and development.

I hope you enjoy reading about some of our major achievements during the last three months and should you want to learn more about the UNESCO Office in Amman or wish to partner with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Anna PaoliniHead of the UNESCO Office in Amman, UNESCO Representative to Jordan

Inside this issue

UNESCO Director-General visits Amman Office

Advocating for education in emergen-cies: UNESCO and the response to the Syria Crisis in Jordan

UNESCO convenes a sub-regional con-sultation to address Educational Plan-ning and Management

Project on teaching persons with hear-ing impairments and raising awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities concludedand

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiqui-ties and UNESCO join forces to pro-mote World Heritage in Jordan

Umm er-Rasas: Director-General opens new visitors center

Launch of the Petra Siq Stability Project in Italy

Applications for small environmental grants now open! UNESCO Doha joins hands with Ford Motor Company

UNESCO continues its support to Jor-dan to update the National Water Master Plan

Introducing the H2Ooooh! Initiative to Jordan: Raising awareness through the participatory development of water education cartoons

Empowering youth to advocate for press freedom in Jordan

Main Story

Education

Natural Sciences

Culture

Communication & Information

Editorial

MA

IN S

TOR

Y UNESCO Director-General visits Amman Office UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova visited the Amman Office during what was her first official visit to Jordan. A meeting was held in the auditorium of the UN building with the staff of the UNESCO Offices in Amman and the UNESCO Office for Iraq, which is based in Amman. Over a light lunch, the Director-General highlighted how UNESCO’s work in Jordan and Iraq embodies the Organization’s mandate through exemplary projects that show how the preservation of heritage and biodiversity, along with natural sciences and education, is instrumental to peace and development. She listened carefully to staff concerns and announced that new internal communication tools will soon be introduced to improve the coordination and communication between the field and headquar-ters. During her visit to the UN building in Amman, Ms. Irina Bokova also met with the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr. Luc Stevens, to discuss the role of the United Nations Country Team in Jordan and UNESCO’s involvement in it.

During the three-day visit from 20 to 22 May 2012, the Director-General also met with His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal, HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, H.E. Nasser Judeh, Min-ister of Foreign Affairs, the Jordanian Minister of Education and Chairperson of the Jordan National Commission for UNESCO, H.E. Fayez Saudi, HRH Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad and several high-level government officials. Ms. Irina Bokova also paid a visit to the SESAME Centre where she met with the Chair of the Scientific Council of SESAME, Sir Chris Llewellyn-Smith, and the Director of the SESAME Centre, Dr. Khaled Toukan. On the last day of her visit to Jordan, Irina Bokova visited the World Heritage sites of Um er-Rasas and Petra.

Page 1

Educ

atio

nAdvocating for education in emergencies: UNESCO and the response to the Syria Crisis in JordanUnrest in the Syrian Arab Republic has been ongoing since March 2011 and is continu-ing to affect civilians, particularly in the most vulnerable segments of the population. According to UNHCR, as of May 2012 around 57,615 people have fled from the Syrian Arab Republic to the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan. In Jordan, the number of Syrians seeking refuge has been constantly growing. Currently there are more than 16,900 Syrians registered with UNHCR. By advocating for educa-tion and youth support, UNESCO is joining the response of the United Nations and the international community to the protracted crisis of Syrians in Jordan.

The pressure of refugees in Jordan is becoming a considerable burden on Jordanian social services and there was a call for assistance from the Government of Jordan (which estimates the number of Syrians at 93,000). To identify the needs of the displaced Syr-ians in Jordan, in March 2012 a Rapid Needs Assessment was prepared by the govern-ment with the support of the United Nations in Jordan. To respond to their needs and provide them with assistance, the UN and its humanitarian partners have prepared a

Syria Regional Response Plan to ensure a coherent response to humanitarian needs resulting from the crisis in Syria. This plan resulted in an appeal for US $84 million to help Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. For Jordan alone, the fund-ing requirements are nearly US $40 million, with UNESCO appealing for US $1.9 million to vulnerable displaced Syrians and host communities.

Education is critical for children and youth affected by emergencies according to the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). INEE experts and sustained research have shown that when education is supported in crisis and post-crisis contexts it can save and sustain lives, and support lasting peace and development. In all contexts, education which is safe, relevant and promotes tolerance is the foundation for achieving the benefits associated with education. The rapid needs assessment on education recently carried out in Jordan has clearly shown that Syrian refugees still have relatively low school enrolment rates and that out of school children are highly affected by child labor. It also clearly states that alternative education opportunities are needed and the teaching force and school capacities have to be up-scaled to offer a conducive learning environment.

To benefit from education opportunities in compliance with the minimum standards of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) are basic human rights for Syrian young boys and girls in Jordan. To address this situation UNESCO is currently advocating and preparing emergency education interventions for the displaced Syrians in Jordan, aiming at providing essential information and support to most vulnerable groups through community radios, offering non-formal education, infor-mal and livelihood skills opportunities for inactive youth and illiterate mothers, developing the capacity for government staff, for school supervisors and teachers including other key stakeholders and assessing the overall quality of the teaching service deliv-ered to both Syrian and Jordanian youth under the ongoing emergency context.

The immediate goal for UNESCO is to improve the host country’s capacity for the mapping appropriately the needs of displaced Syrians in Jordan by providing equipment, technical advice and quality assurance services to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) in setting up a reliable database. The JHCO was entrusted by the government with the coordination of the non-governmental support to displaced Syrians.

UNESCO is also part of the Jordan-Syria Task Force of the United Nations in Jordan and the Education Working Group, and contributed to the joint UN Syria Regional Response Plan.

UNESCO convenes a sub-region-al consultation to address Educa-tional Planning and Management

Senior Ministry of Education officials from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Leba-non and Palestine attended a two day consultation to put in place a sub-regional Action Plan allowing UNESCO to address their capac-ity development needs in Educational Planning and Management. The sub-regional consultation was held on the 18th and 19th of April 2012 in Amman at the premises of the National Centre for Human Re-sources Development (NCHRD). The meeting represented the initial

stage of a concrete operationalization of the capacity development functions of the NCHRD in line with UNESCO’s new Programme for Capacity Development for Education for All (CapEFA). A recent regional review conducted by UNESCO in the Arab States on educational policy development needs, revealed that governments in the region must strengthen their national capaci-ties in Education Planning and Management (EPM) by enhanc-ing the skills of their planners. To this end, and for sustainability reasons, UNESCO has decided to entrust the National Centre for Human Resources Development (NCHRD) in Amman with role of Sub-Regional Centre of Excellence to provide trainings in Edu-cation Planning and Management (EPM) for relevant ministries’ professionals at all levels of management and from central to local administrations. During the consultation participating ministries reviewed and validated the results of a survey of the training priorities; devel-oped an Action Plan for sub-regional capacity development in EPM and identified and endorsed a list of associate trainers from across the region. Page 2

“ “

Educ

atio

n

Page 3

Project on teaching persons with hearing impairments and raising awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities concluded

UNESCO Office in Amman, the Higher Council for the Affairs of Per-sons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Education finalise two suc-cessful inclusive education projects

An event was held to celebrate the evaluation of an inclusive education project that over the past two years has developed the capacities of the Ministry of Educa-tion on dealing with persons with hearing disabilities and raising awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities on April 4 2012 in Amman. The project was implemented by UNESCO Amman in coordination with the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Education.

At the closing ceremony of this successful event the findings of the evaluation of the project were presented including a number of technical recommendations such as the development of clear standards for schools for students with hearing impair-ments/disabilities (number of students and classrooms, length of classes, admission criteria, parental involvement) and the need for an awareness raising campaign tar-geting parents of students with and without disabilities. The event was held under the patronage of HRH Prince Raad Bin Zeid and was attended by the Secretary General for Educational and Technical Affairs from the Ministry of Education, the head of the UNESCO Office in Amman as well as education sector representatives from non governmental organizations as well as Arab experts in sign language in-terpretation and representatives from the Qatari Center for the Deaf.

The first component of this inclusive education project was a capacity development programme for Ministry of Education staff working with students on how to best raise awareness among students and teachers on the rights of persons with disabili-ties. As part of this programme three two-day training of trainers sessions were held in Aqaba, Irbid and Amman reaching eighty supervisors from forty Ministry of Education directorates from across Jordan. These trainers will now implement an awareness-raising programme at 160 schools throughout 2012. The training of trainers was the third phase of the awareness campaign “different abilities” which began in July 2010 and included a photography competition, the production and promotion of public-service announcements promoting the rights-based approach to disability representations and was followed by school visits between October 2010 through to May 2011.

The second component of the project developed the capacities of those working

with people with hearing dis-abilities through six training courses on sign language inter-pretation for staff of the Ministry of Education and has reached 143 specialized teachers and trainers of teachers between December 2011 and April 2012. In addition, one hundred hearing aids were provided to vulnerable students with hearing impairments. As a result of this component twenty-one teachers became expert train-ers in sign language and the use of sign language within the class-room in a sustainable and unified manner in order to facilitate the process of conveying informa-tion without having to resort to external and resources.

The aim of the projects was to reaffirm the right of people with disabilities and especially hear-ing impairments/disabilities to education and to communicate in sign language. UNESCO firmly believes that students with dis-abilities in Jordan as everywhere need to be included in education. The right to education is univer-sal and extends to all children, youth, and adults with disabili-ties. This right is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Con-vention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008). It is also addressed in several significant, international declarations, in-cluding the World Declaration for Education for All (1990), the UNESCO Salamanca State-ment and Framework for Action (1994), and the Dakar Framework for Action (2000).

© UNESCO AMMANHRH Prince Raad Bin Zeid with some of the participants of the inclusive education project

The right to education is universal and extends to all children, youth, and adults with disabilities.

Page 4

During her recent visit to Jordan, the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova visited the World Heritage Site of Pe-tra and the UNESCO non-formal education project in Um Sayhoun on May 22, 2012. During meetings with local au-thorities and UNESCO partners, Irina Bokova reaffirmed the Organization’s commitment in supporting Jordan in the safeguarding of the site and stressed the importance of the protection of Petra as one of the most important heri-tage sites in the world.

In the presence of national stakeholders, a lunch was host-ed by the Petra Development Tourism Regional Authority were projects in support of the conservation, management and community involvement were presented and exist-

Director-General visits World Heritage Site of Petra and UNESCO projects

Cul

ture

ing challenges discussed. Irina Bokova acknowledged the important work of local authorities, the Department of Antiquities and the Petra Development Tourism Region-al Authority, and other partners working alongside with UNESCO for the safeguarding of the World Heritage Site and stressed the importance of the involvement of local communities in order to guarantee long term sustainabil-ity. The lunch was concluded with a presentation of the Head of the Amman office of UNESCO’s past contribution and current projects: the Risk Mapping Project at the Petra Archaeological Park, the Siq Stability- Sustainable Moni-toring Techniques for Assessing Instability of Slopes in the Siq, and the Non-Formal Education Program in the Bdoul village of Umm Sayhoun.

During a guided site visit to the World Heritage Sites of Pe-tra in the company of Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas, member of the Petra National Trust, different conser-vation and archaeological projects were explained to the Director-General.

The tour was concluded with a visit to a UNESCO non-for-mal education program at the Umm Sayhoun school where the the Director-General met with the beneficiaries of the project - school dropouts who are getting a second chance to study in a non-formal education centre. Most of these young men and women were forced to leave the school at an early age in order to work on the site to support their families and were delighted to have the opportunity to meet with UNESCO’s Director-General and to share their hopes and motivation to strive for a better future.

Cul

ture

public, in addition to a maximum amount of conservation applied, in order for the healthiest, most well preserved col-lection of tangible heritage for future generations.

In the second seminar, the necessity of proper storage fa-cilities for museums was emphasized. To achieve proper storage, a process of reorganization was suggested to make cultural heritage more accessible, safe, and documented. Museum collections’ storage faces problems of conservation and management, and disorganization all over the world. For this reason, a great investment of labor is required in mu-seum storage facilities to improve their conditions, which is necessary in order to secure these memory enriching objects. The expert also presented a new methodology developed by the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) in partnership with UNESCO for the easy organization of storages.

The idea to hold a museum seminar series was born in No-vember 2010 when a lecture on Education and Outreach in museums was held upon the request of the Department of Antiquities. Due to the positive response this lecture led to a series of focused and facilitated seminars on issues related to the management of museums for museum professionals. The first three seminars in the series took place in 2011 and were titled: ‘Structuring the Museum’, ‘Measuring Success in a Museum’, and ‘Museum Security and Risk Preparedness’, respectively.

The goal of this series is two-fold: first, to provide the mu-seum professionals in Jordan with some supplementary in-formation to assist them in managing their collections; and second, to develop a network of professionals of public and private museums. The continuation of the museum seminar series is an important opportunity to improve the manage-ment of museums and cultural objects in Jordan, and will hopefully be continued in Jordan for years to come.

Tourism and Heritage: Contributing to the international debate At the International Conference on Seizing Tourism Market Opportu-nities in Times of Rapid Change, held on 5 and 6 June 2012 at the Dead Sea, Jordan, UNESCO representative in Jordan, Anna Paolini, partici-pated as panelist and highlighted the complex relationship between tourism and heritage stressing that heritage preservation must be a top priority in Jordan’s tourism growth.

Jordan has a rich cultural and natural heritage, which every year at-tracts a considerable number of tourists making tourism into the sec-ond highest source of income for the country. At the session How can destinations seize the opportunities afforded by rapidly changing mar-ket conditions? The Jordanian experience, Anna Paolini, underlined the deep connection of tourism with the country’s rich cultural and natural heritage and how in view of this richness, it is crucial to remember that heritage is fragile, and its preservation must be at the first place. While acknowledging that tourism represents an important field of growth and income for the country, Anna Paolini reminded that “Heritage is not a renewable resource: once it is damaged, it cannot be recovered and the values for which it became a visitor attraction are lost forever”. In or-der to safeguard heritage, heritage sites have to adhere to certain regula-tions and cannot be expanded arbitrarily, therefore, though sometimes at the disadvantage of comfort, it is “tourists that should adapt to the site and not vice versa”. She also highlighted that there should be a bal-ance between the pressure of tourism and heritage preservation, and an understanding of the complex relation between tourism and culture among tourism stakeholders. “Tourists should be aware of the heritage and its fragility, and be prepared and informed by tourist guides. It is

also very important to remember that tourism is a human experience, and not just an exchange of commodities, as it brings people into con-tact and helps combating stereotypes while building dialogue, thus contributing to a culture of peace and dialogue among civilizations. The aim of UNESCO is to contribute to a tourism that recognizes the world cultural diversity and the fragility of the cultural and natural heritage. This type of tourism will be sustainable, bringing to a sustain-able development” said Anna Paolini.Jordan is home to four World Heritage Sites: Petra, Quseir Amra, Umm er-Rasas, Wadi Rum Protected Area, two Man and the Bio-sphere Reserves Dana and Wadi Mujib, as well as the Cultural Space of the Bedu in Petra and Wadi Rum, inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The nomination of Wadi Rum as a World Heritage site, and the declaration of Wadi Mujib as Man and the Biosphere Reserve, both took place in 2011 and represent an excep-tional result for the country, demonstrating that Jordanian heritage is globally recognized and that the country is committed to its enhance-ment and promotion. In addition, 15 potential sites presented by Jor-dan are currently the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, and work is being done to nominate two new sites in the World Heritage List, the Baptism Site and Pella.The conference on Seizing Tourism market opportunities in times of rapid change was jointly organized by the World Tourism Organi-zation (UNWTO), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan, and brought together international tourism stakeholders from public and private sector.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and UNESCO join forces to promote World Heritage in Jordan In partnership with the Department of Antiquities two seminars on museum management and conservation issues was held from 18 to 19 June 2012. The training was held at the Department of Antiquities and attended by more than 20 Jordanian museum spe-cialists.

Both seminars ‘Preventive Conservation in Museums and Ar-chaeological Sites: An Introduction’ and ‘Storage Facilities and Management: An Introduction’ were held by a leading inter-national expert in the field of preventive conservation. The first seminar underlined the need for preventive conservation to avoid and minimize future deterioration or loss of our cultural heritage. During the lecture, museum staff was referred to as “doctors of cultural heritage”, without which, our cultural heritage would not be healthy, or survive. To this end it was emphasized that the mes-sage of cultural heritage’s value needs to be communicated to the

Page 5

Umm er-Rasas: Director-General opens new visitors centerDuring the official visit of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova to Jordan, the new visitors center of Umm er-Rasas World Heritage Site was inaugurated in the presence of national and local authorities on May 22, 2012 in a ceremony attended by the Jordan Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Nayef el Fayez, and the Ambassador of the European Union to Jordan, Joanna Wronecka.

In her address on the occasion Irina Bokova congratulated the Jordanian au-thorities for this achievement, which represents a successful example of inter-national cooperation for the protection of the heritage of humanity. She also remarked the importance of Umm er-Rasas World Heritage Site as a testimony to the past of Jordan and the history of the region “The mosaic floor of St Ste-

Cul

ture

phens’s church provides unparalleled testimony and information about ancient towns in Egypt, Jor-dan and Palestine”. “All of this” - continued the Di-rector General - “carries a message of tolerance and mutual understanding that must be spread ever further, reaching young generations and visitors”.

The visitor and interpretation center will provide visitors of the site with updated information and help them to better understand and appreciate the rich history of the site. Umm er-Rasas archaeologi-cal site is still largely unexcavated, and much work is still to be done in order to preserve and promote this property. UNESCO Office in Amman is work-ing in close collaboration with the local and national authorities to strengthen the protection of Jordanian World Heritage Sites and cultural heritage, and en-sure their proper management, involving the lo-cal communities. Heritage represents a renewable source of income and a way to reach a sustainable development and UNESCO is deeply committed in building the national capacities to this regard and making heritage a source of progress for Jordan.

Umm er-Rasas was listed as World Heritage Site in 2004, in view of its archaeological and historical value, but also of its importance as testimony to the spread of monotheism in the region. Following its nomination as World Heritage Site, Um er-Rasas was provided with a visitor’s center and other tour-istic facilities, thanks to the generous support of the European Union.

“ “The mosaic floor of St Stephens’s church provides un-paralleled testimony and information about ancient towns in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. All of this - car-ries a message of tolerance and mutual understanding that must be spread ever further, reaching young gen-erations and visitors” ~ Director General.

Page 6

Cul

ture World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

UNESCO celebrated 21 May 2012 the tenth anniversary of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, declared in December 2002 by the United Nations General Assembly. This celebration is meant to raise awareness all over the world of the im-portance of intercultural dialogue, diversity and inclu-sion on development. The goal is to combat stereotypes and polarization in order to increase understanding and common connections between different cultures through dialogue. Advancing communication tools and globalization have made the world more connected and created mixed societies, but this has not been followed by the advancement of trust and understanding among cultures. For this reason, the stress on intercultural dialogue should be ad-dressed with immanency, in view of sustainable development, peace and stability.

UNESCO works to strengthen national cul-tural policies, promote cultural diversity as a key to development, and international coopera-tion. Major achievements have been made to this regard including seven conventions that support a culture-sensitive model for development. For ex-ample, the 1972 Conven-tion on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promo-tion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Ms. Irina Bokova, UNES-CO Director General, said in her message on

the day of the celebration that “Culture and creativity are renewable resources par excellence. Now that States are looking for mainsprings of growth and sustainable development, I call on policy makers and civil society stakeholders to acknowledge this role of cultural di-versity and to factor it into public policies. Our natural environment has been weakened: let us find ways and means of optimizing our cultural environment.”

In Jordan, the UNESCO Representative Anna Paolini highlights that “Promoting cultural diversity, intercul-tural dialogue and a culture of peace are and will be pri-orities for us in Jordan for future years. We will continue working on the policy level jointly with the Jordanian

institutions to include culture and the cultural industries in the development agenda of the country”. Over the past years UNESCO can look back on a number of achieve-ments:

• In 2010 a yearly event “Night of cultural diversity” was introduced and successfully held in 2010 and 2011 by pro-viding minority communities residing in Jordan for the first time the opportunity to showcase their traditions, including dance, songs and music together. This year an event will be organized by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dia-logue and Development;

• Dialogue among communities was strengthened

through a comedy training programme for members of local and marginalized communities around the capital in 2011;

• A mapping of cultural institutions was carried out in 2009 and 2010 to understand the field of contemporary cultural practices in Jordan and the needs of artists creating an important element for the formulation of a new cul-tural development policy for the country;

• A mapping of craft pro-ducers and designers was carried out to assess the situation of handicraft pro-ducers using local natural materials or innovative designs, and a competition for Jordanian designers of hand-made objects was held in early 2012;

• A symposium on Interfaith dialogue entitled 'Approach-es to Religious Education and Intercultural Studies in the WANA Region' was supported in November 2011 to es-tablish a dialogue among regional scholars, administra-tors and teachers on this subject.

The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development was proclaimed by the UN General Assem-bly in December 2002. It is celebrated each year on May 21st, and is a day to promote culture in its diversity and in all of its forms, based on the principle that “tolerance and respect for cultural diversity and universal promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to develop-ment, are mutually supportive”.

“ “

Promoting cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a cul-ture of peace are and will be priorities for us in Jordan for future years ~ UNESCO Representative in Jordan, Anna Paolini.

Page 7

Cul

ture

Project at the Petra Archaeological Park” and was presented to a large audience of local authorities and experts from in-stitutions involved in the field of heritage conservation and archaeology in Petra, such as the American Centre of Orien-tal Research (ACOR), the Institut Francais du Proche Orient (IFPO) and the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in Amman. The presentation was anticipated by introduc-tory speeches by Anna Paolini Head of the UNESCO Office in Amman, the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority Chief Commissioner, the Director of the Petra Archaeological Park and a Member of Parliament for Wadi Musa/Petra.

Safeguarding Petra through the application of a preventive risk strategy is one of UNESCO’s priorities for Jordan. The UNESCO publication presented at the event is the result of extensive field research and constitutes a concrete effort to support not only the site managers at the Petra Archaeologi-cal Park but also other national and international stakehold-ers concerned with the management of heritage sites. This im-portant work outlines the steps of a risk management process at heritage sites and can be used as a tool the identification of risks, assessment of their impact and vulnerability of the monuments of heritage sites. The methodology foresees for the prioritization of monuments based on their importance of significance and magnitude of risk allows the concerned authorities to plan measures and strategies accordingly.

The publication will benefit site managers of heritage sites as well as authorities and agencies responsible for the manage-ment of heritage sites worldwide and help them to reduce and monitor risks to their sites and will assist researchers, stakeholders and other professionals in contributing to the preservation of heritage sites worldwide.

Helping to protect the Petra heritage site “Risk Management at Heritage Sites: the Case Study of the Petra World Heritage Site”Presentation of new publication and the results of the Risk Mapping Project at the Petra Archaeological Park

In partnership with the Raymond Lemaire Inter-national Centre for Conservation (RLICC) at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and un-der the patronage of the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority, the publication “Risk Management at Heritage Sites: the Case Study of the Petra World Heritage Site” was launched on June 18 at the Landmark Hotel in Amman.

Petra is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, and Jordan’s most significant heritage site. It was inscribed in the World Heritage list in 1985 and each year is attracting almost one million visitors. However, like every heritage site, Petra is exposed to natural and manmade risks that could harm its visitors and its monuments. To support Jordan and concerned authorities in ensuring bet-ter management and protection of the Petra Ar-chaeological Park and its visitors, UNESCO Office in Amman has carried out a 15 month Risk Map-ping project in Petra. The project addressed the issues of mapping the property boundaries and identifying guidelines for the buffer zone as well as assessing and recording the condition of the site and identifying natural and human-made risks. A risk assessment and management approach was developed as part of the project’s results. The proj-ect was carried out in partnership with the RLICC at the University of Leuven (Belgium), in coopera-tion with the Department of Antiquities and the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Au-thority.

The publication “Risk Management at Heritage Sites: the Case Study of the Petra World Heritage Site” is the main outcome of the “Risk Mapping Page 8

Launch of the Petra Siq Stability Project in Italy

Cul

ture

UNESCO Amman launches project for the stabilization of the Petra Siq in Rome and signs the Implementation Partnership Agreement with the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research

The role of international cooperation to enhance protection of Petra fragile archaeological and geological heritage, its better preservation and presenta-tion was emphasized during the launching ceremony and signing agreement between UNESCO and the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) for the project “Siq Stability - Sustainable Monitoring Tech-niques for Assessing Instability of Slopes in the Siq of Petra, Jordan” which took place on July 9, 2012 at the Società Geografica Italiana at Villa Celimon-tana, in Rome, Italy. Petra is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, and Jordan’s most significant heritage site. However, Petra faces a wide diversity of risks, particularly from natural and geological hazards such as earthquakes, floods and landslides. The 1.2 km long Siq, serving as the only tourist entrance to the site, is especially fragile and needs to be addressed and monitored, in order to mitigate the risk of land slide and rock fall. To address these issues, the Siq Stability project will document, monitor and identify unstable areas and slope sectors at risk in the Siq, and will carry out long-term monitoring of the slope and consolidation of selected areas. The project will also develop a GIS common platform for storing, analysis and management of data, as well as a 3D computerized model of the Siq and other selected structures, and an extensive and interactive virtual tour based on panorama photographs. The project is funded by the Italian Government with USD 1 million. The Ital-ian Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research has worldwide experience in the field of geological hazards applied to cultural heritage is one of the key implementing partners and having. Other partners include the Pe-tra National Trust, a Jordanian NGO, Zamani Research Group (University of Cape Town), Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (PDTRA) and the Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Jordan. Introductory speeches by the representative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the counselor of the Jordan Embassy in Rome, stressed on the role of international cooperation between Italy and Jordan in the making of this project. Anna Paolini, Head of the UNESCO Office in Amman presented the overall structure of the project and UNESCO’s work in Petra while the di-

rector of the Petra Archaeologi-cal Park brought to the attention Petra’s fragile environment. This was followed by a presentation of a representative of the Ital-ian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research who outlined the project outcomes in terms of application of a moni-toring system for different geo-morphological settings in the Siq and guidelines for sustainable landslides mitigation strategies. Finally an insight on web-based database systems for the inven-tory of archaeological heritage in Jordan was provided by Gaetano Palumbo from the World Monu-ment Fund. The seminar session was con-cluded by a signing ceremony of the Implementation Partnership Agreement, an agreement of co-operation between UNESCO and not for profit institutional enti-ties, by the UNESCO Office in Amman and the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research in the presence of concerned Italian authorities, the counselor of the Jordan Embassy in Rome.

© UNESCO AMMAN / Signature Implementation Partnership Agreement UNESCO_ISPRA

Page 9

Applications for small environmental grants now open! UNESCO Doha joins hands with Ford Motor CompanyUNESCO Doha joins hands with Ford Motor Company to drive awareness of conservation and environmental grants and is calling small non-profit projects focused on conservation engineering, protection of the natural environment and environmental education to apply for small grants. A total of US$100,000 is avail-able for initiatives from the gulf countries and the Levant region, including Jor-dan. Supported by the UNESCO Office in Doha, the programme are now open until 10 July 2012 for receiving applications for grants.

An independent panel of jurors consisting of nine experts and academics from en-vironmental agencies and institutions will choose the winning projects. The jury panel , which has been carefully selected in cooperation with UNESCO Doha, based on geographical coverage, experience and gender equality, will look for initiatives that demonstrate a well-defined sense of purpose, a commitment to maximizing available resources, and a reputation for meeting objectives and de-livering planned programmes and services.

The Ford Motor Company has been helping grass roots level environmental initiatives every year since 2000, by awarding small grants of a total of US$ 100,000 dollars each year to de-serving projects. Over US$ 1.2 million have been granted to more than 130 environmental initiatives. The winners in 2011 included projects saving coral reefs and protecting marine re-sources in Kuwait, Oman and the UAE, initiatives in Lebanon that engage communities to re-cycle for a good cause, become eco-police and protect natural resources, setting up commu-nity theatres to inculcate envi-ronmental awareness in Jordan, volunteerism to collect and seg-regate plastic waste in Kuwait, and many more.

Individuals, community and non-profit groups that have projects currently running in the areas of preservation of the natural environment, environ-mental education and conserva-tion engineering can apply. For further information on the grant and application form please re-fer to the following link www.me.ford.com/en/jor/about/environment/overviewN

atur

al S

cien

ces

UNESCO continues its support to Jordan to update the National Water Master Plan A training course on Water Evaluation and Planning WEAP lead by experts from the Stockholm environment Institute was held in Amman from 23rd to 26th April 2012. The course saw the participation of 20 specialists from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and is supporting the Ministry in its efforts of updating the National Water Master Plan (NWMP) using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) method-ology.

This training is a follow-up of a workshop held from 30th October – 3rd November 2011, where the participants were trained on how to use the Water Evaluation and Plan-ning tools to assess the current water sup-ply and demand situation in Jordan and to evaluate various policy and management interventions. Jordan is the fourth most wa-ter scarce country in the world and needs to explore alternative resources and new man-agement options for the coming years. The training was organized by the UNESCO Office in Amman as part of the joint UN pro-gramme “Adaptation to climate change to sustain Jordan’s MDG achievement” of the

MDG Achievement Fund. The MDG Achievement Fund is an international cooperation mechanism with the aim to ac-celerate the progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) worldwide. Under this fund, in Jordan, UNESCO together with UNDP, the Food and Agricultural Organiza-tion (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) is enhancing Jordan’s capacity to adapt to climate change.

Page 10

Introducing the H2Ooooh! Initiative to Jordan: Raising awareness through the participatory development of water education cartoonsAn innovative water awareness campaign is being introduced to Jordan by the UNESCO Amman Office. The campaign called H20oooh! will take the shape of a cartoon drawing competition for students on water issues in partnership with the successful H2Ooooh! initiative of the UNESCO Venice Office and will result in the screening of educational cartoons on water issues in Jordan based on stories developed by Jordanian students. To introduce the campaign to Jordan an orientation workshop was held on the 7th of May 2012 by the UNESCO Amman Office, for teachers from 28 schools of the 14 participating directorates from Amman, Irbid, Zarqa, Ramtha, Rusayfeh, Ajloun, Salt and Madaba.

Jordan is the world’s fourth most water-scarce country in terms of availability of water resources per capita. The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness among adolescents and youth of this situation through the participatory development of awareness raising car-toons on water related themes such as the limited availability, sus-tainable use and conservation of water. UNESCO is convinced that the only practicable way so that information can reach youngsters is that of involving them directly into the activity of education. Students from the participating schools will develop storyboards for cartoons which will be evaluated by an independent commit-tee. The winning storyboard will be produced as a cartoon by the Gruppo Alcuni’s animation staff in partnership with the UNESCO Venice Office.

A total of 5,600 students (grade 8th and 9th) will participate in the competition in Jordan and submit storyboards by the beginning of July 2012. The storyboards will be reviewed and evaluated by a committee at each school and the best three stories will be submit-ted to UNESCO Amman Office which together with the Jordan National Commission for UNES-CO will choose the winning story for submission to the UNESCO Venice Office for production. The production and screening of the cartoon is expected to be on tele-vision by 2013.

The UNESCO Venice Office is currently working on a new se-ries of 26 cartoons from all 5 UNESCO regions which will be produced by Gruppo Alcuni’s animation staff and launched on the occasion of the XXIII edition of the Ciak Junior International Festival (2012), in the presence of a selection of youngsters from all over the world.

Nat

ural

Sci

ence

s

Page 11

Empowering youth to advocate for press freedom in JordanUNESCO, IREX organized a two day training on press freedom and social media campaigning to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2012.

To commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2012, 20 young journalists, media students and activists from Jordan and Lebanon were trained in Amman from the 2nd to the 3rd of May on concepts of press freedom, the effective use of social media and online campaigning. Participants suc-cessfully launched their own online campaign to promote and discuss press freedom in Jordan and beyond.

After learning from successful online advocacy campaigns, participants started their own online campaign to promote press freedom consisting of an online poster competition and the creation of a video public service announcement and a Youth for Press Freedom Facebook page.

Participants greatly benefitted from the training and have committed to continue maintaining the Facebook page as a forum on issues related to freedom of the press in Jordan and the region and will profit greatly from their new social media skills into their everyday activism efforts. As re-ported by IREX, Participant Bilal Khasawneh highlighted that, “I learned a lot, especially about social media and using it for advocacy. The e-post-ers competition encouraged us to interact more with other participants.” The e-posters created by media students Bilal Khasawneh, Khaled Nam-rini, and Hiba Al Omari from Yarmouk University received the highest number of “votes” while Lebanese participants Firas Talhouk and Salim Allawzi from the SKeyes Centre won the prize for strongest message. Saif Al Sheikhli from Petra University won the prize for best original illustra-tion. The winners of the competition were acknowledged by local media,

Com

mun

icat

ion

& In

form

atio

nincluding Jordan TV, Mouab, JordanZad and the Jordan Times. The images and videos created by the participants can be viewed on the Facebook pages of Ana-Digital - an online community of civil society organizations seeking to utilize social media tools to bring about change in the Middle East and North Africa re-gion.

The event was held in line with this year’s theme of World Press Freedom Day which is centered on “New voices: Media freedom helping to transform so-cieties”. Anna Paolini, UNESCO Repre-sentative to Jordan emphasized how a rapidly growing community of young men and women in Jordan are taking ad-vantage of social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. “Many manage their own blogs and e-news sites whereby they share information, discuss social and political rights, pro-mote freedom of expression and social cohesion, and demand accountability. These people care about the develop-ment of their country and the improve-ment of their fellow citizens’ lives. Of course one does not have to agree with every opinion raised in order to appreci-ate that it is through freedom of expres-sion, thought, and access to information that each of us is given the opportunity to share our ideas. Only through this freedom will we create a platform where the best ideas for development and the advancement of human rights can flour-ish” she said.

The training was organized by the UNESCO Office in Amman and IREX Social Media | Social Action as part of the Social Media | Social Action (SMSA) Project, funded by the U.S. State Depart-ment’s Middle East Partnership Initia-tive (MEPI). Additional support was provided by the Samir Kassir Founda-tion from Lebanon.

As the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend press freedom, UNESCO is actively engaged in efforts to improve access to information and im-prove quality journalism in Jordan. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press free-dom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from at-tacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. 3 May was proclaimed World Press Free-dom Day by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.

Page 12

UNESCO Office in Amman is currently board-ing three students as interns for a period of two to three months during the summer. An internship with UNESCO provides students with professional experience in an internation-al organization which relates to and supple-ments their studies.

Katharine Davis from the United States has a background in International Politics and is currently studying for two Master’s degrees; one in Law and Diplomacy and another in In-ternational Education Policy. Being an intern at UNESCO working with the Emergency Ed-ucation Specialist allows her to focus specifi-cally on education programming and to learn more about the response to the Syrian crisis.

Having an internship in the Culture sector of-fers Marne Pike from Plattsburgh, New York

Page 13

Setting priorities for UNESCO’s work in Jordan: the UNESCO Country Programming Document for 2012-17 The Jordan UNESCO Country Programming Document (UCPD) for 2012-17 has been endorsed in March 2012 by the Ministry of Education is now avail-able. This document outlines UNESCO’s strategic framework for the next six years in Jordan and has been prepared as a result of an extensive process of consultations within the Organization and national stakeholders - of which the most important is the Jordan National Commission for UNESCO.

The Jordan UCPD for 2012-17 sets the framework for the Organization’s multisector cooperation strategy with Jordan, in alignment with the coun-try’s priorities and the 2013–2017 United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for Jordan. The analysis of the document is based on the 2011 Country Assessment for the 2013–2017 UNDAF for Jordan, re-search into available resources, and consultations with partners. The UCPD has been prepared with UNESCO’s new programme and budget document (36 C/5) as guidance, yet with careful consideration of UNESCO’s contribu-tions to future development needs in light of the 2015 deadline for Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Under the section proposed strategic cooperation framework, UNESCO’s forthcoming strategies and areas of intervention in line with national priorities and other UN agencies for Jordan are outlined in detail. In the coming years, UNESCO will invest heavily in targeted areas in which it has a comparative advantage in Jordan. are becoming a main area of intervention for the Amman Office in the coming years. This is taking place with a focus on promot-ing entrepreneurship and linkages between scientific research, technology and innovation policies and related fields, such as water management and climate change research, disaster risk reduction (DRR), applied synchrotron research and education, to assist Jordan in solving some of its most pressing challenges – namely, water scarcity, inefficient management of natural resources and environmental degradation. In the education sectorhe Office will continue investing in improving the quality of education in Jordan by strengthening capacities for policy formulation and planning, and by focusing on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and entrepreneurship education in the higher education system to prepare young professionals for the job market and promote equal opportunity to obtain decent employment. Support for the protection of Jordan’s sites inscribed on the World Heritage (WH) List and assist in improving the management of museums and cultural objects, as well as in promoting cultural diversity will be the focus of the culture sectorcommunication and information

The UCPD is a programming tool designed to highlight UNESCO’s contributions to a country’s development efforts in a comprehensive manner. It covers all of UNESCO’s activities in a particular country, whether regular programme or ex-trabudgetary. In Jordan, this UCPD is the second edition, the first having been released in March 2008.

Download the complete document under: http://bit.ly/N8fPOF

a great opportunity to learn more about how to utilize culture to foster develop-ment. Currently double majoring in World Religions and International Development Studies, an internship at UNESCO in Am-man was a perfect opportunity for Marne as she gets to apply both of her areas of study and gain more practical experience.

Ina Huynh Mathisen from Norway is in-terning at the UNESCO’s Communication & Information sector. She is supporting the sector in the preparation of upcoming proj-ect on electoral media coverage and media regulation. Studying for her Master’s de-gree in Political Science, this provides her with comprehensive insight into the politi-cal and electoral processes in Jordan and is a major advantage for her upcoming thesis on election reforms in Jordan.

Gaining Professional Experience – Interns at UNESCO Amman Office

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the UN and works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. UNESCO’s mission in Jordan is to work with the government of Jordan to provide effective high quality education-al, scientific, cultural and communications programmes.

For more information about the work of UNESCO in Jordan, please visit www.unesco.org/en/amman

Contact InformationMailing Address:UNESCO Office in Amman(Jordan University) UNU building - 2nd floor274, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah St. P.O. Box 2270 Amman 11181 Jordan

Office Email Address: amman@unesco.org

Phone Number: +962-6 5340891

Fax Number: +962-6 5340896

Anna PaoliniHead of UNESCO Office in Amman+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-444+962 6 5340896

Paul MazzaAssistant to the Head of Officep.mazza@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-135

Randa Morcosr.morcos@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-444

Henrietta SukhunAdministrative Officerh.sukhun@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-118+962 6 5340896

Rana Salem r.salem@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-121+962 6 5340896

William Nemehw.nemeh@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-120+962 6 5340896

Claude AkpabieEducation Specialistc.akpabie@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-139

Hadeel TalliEducation Officerh.talli@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-123

Fadia JbaraEmergency Education Specialistf.jbara@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext. 130

Our Team

Director’s office

Administrative Unit

Education

Science

Culture

IT Sector

Ma’aly HazzazProgramme Specialist Communication & Information Officerm.hazzaz@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 ext 1-137

Lama MasalhaScience Officerl.almasalha@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-149

Sawsan BatarsehScience Officers.batarseh@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-150

Zainab Soomarz.soomar@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-127

Giorgia Cesarog.cesaro@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-147

Azadeh Vafadaria.vafadari@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-146

Valentina Gambav.gamba@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-150

Sa'id Al SaaidahIT ManagerUNESCO Office in Ammans.alsaaidah@unesco.org+962 6 5340891 Ext.1-111

Communication & Information

Follow us on Twitter: @UNESCOJordan

Watch us on YouTube:unescoamman

The UNESCO Office in Amman Newsletter is published quarterly by the UNESCO Office in Amman. Articles may be freely reproduced, with credit to the UNESCO Office in Amman.

Editing, layout and design by Ms. Maaly Haz-zaz. For comments and suggestions, contact the editor at m.hazzaz@unesco.org

Page 14