UNESCO supports safeguarding urban living heritage practices in Irbid

The distinct way in which people from a particular community stitch a fabric together, weaving in different patterns, or their beliefs and rituals, how they know which plants and herbs to use to treat certain illnesses are all part of their intangible cultural heritage passed down from generations. These practices and knowledge give communities a sense of identity and belonging. They can also be a source of income through trade and tourism.

Irbid, in northern Jordan, is a city with rich and diverse traditions, expressions, and local knowledge. With a longstanding history of immigration due to its geographical location and the geopolitical context of the region, Palestinians, rural Jordanians, economic migrants and more recently Syrians have come to Irbid to live. This has contributed to the city’s diversity of culture and traditions, making it a strategic site for UNESCO’s Intangible Culture Heritage inventorying project. The coexistence of rich and diverse traditions with modernity has also led to its nomination as Arab Capital of Culture for 2022.

Collaborating with government, communities and young people

In partnership with the Ministry of Culture, the Petra National Trust, UNESCO has trained 11 young people from Irbid to identify and record their Intangible Cultural Heritage. The project was funded by the Yong Xin Hua Yun Cultural Industry Investment Group and is part of a global initiative to document living heritage practices such as oral traditions, local knowledge & traditional skills in an urban context.

Speaking at the closing event for the ICH project in Irbid, Princess Dana Firas, President of the Petra National Trust stressed the importance of cultural heritage in preserving national identity. She thanked UNESCO for its interest and to heritage and culture initiatives in Jordan, and the Heritage Directorate in the Ministry of Culture for its leadership on cultural heritage issues.

The living heritage practices inventoried under this pilot project will be recorded in the Ministry of Culture repository to inform future initiatives aiming at safeguarding intangible heritage representations, traditions and expressions within the city of Irbid and other urban contexts in Jordan.

Dr. Hani Hayajneh, from the Ministry of Culture said the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage has emerged in Jordan as one of the urgent priorities in light of the diminishing of valuable cultural heritage in modern times. 

"Jordan seeks to adopt a general policy that highlights the role of ICH within the community in harmony with sustainable development. This is evident from Jordan's development agenda which emphasizes that cultural development is linked to political, economic and social development.," he added.

For UNESCO, living heritage can be both an enabler and a driver of the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Recognizing the importance of intangible cultural heritage, as well as integrating it into development plans, policies and programmes at all levels, can shape a better future.

Living heritage meets urbanization

Urbanization is key in constructing and shaping the self-identity of a group. The changes caused by the urbanization process globally have in some cases resulted in the loss of ICH of communities, and communities in Jordan are no exception to this.

"Urban living heritage assets are threatened in an ever-changing urban context that is exposed to urbanization and evolution due to external influences and lifestyle changes. But at the same time living heritage assets can benefit from the influences of migration in urban settings and interaction with other cultures. It is therefore important to understand these linkages and safeguard these multifaceted practices," said UNESCO Jordan Representative Min Jeong Kim.

In two months, the youth participants documented expressions of living heritage by testing the community-based inventorying methodologies in the urban context of Irbid and created entries related to traditional embroidery, religious and traditional rituals related to Ramadan, and traditional medicine.

One of the participants, Ms. Rawa’a Gharaibeh, a postgraduate social anthropology major at Yarmouk University said; “Through our specialization, we worked on oral history and tangible cultural heritage, and frankly, this was the first time we talked about and documented intangible cultural heritage in an urban context, especially here in the city of Irbid, at a time when it was declared the capital of Arab culture, which is important for us”.