Amidst the traditional atmosphere of Hathat Palace, Heba told three inspiring and interesting Palestinian Hikaye to sixty girls aged 10 to 15 titled The Crowing Rooster (Aldeek Alhadir), Golden Pomegranate (Fart Ruman Aldahab) and The Tiny Little Bug (Khunefesah). Each tale helps children to get acquainted with Palestinian folk themes, provides them with knowledge of their intangible heritage such as Palestinian values, songs, accents, dialects, dabkeh dancing, traditional food and embroidered dresses and clothing.

The successful storytelling session was organized in Gaza at the Hathat Palace archaeological site by the UNESCO Office in Ramallah on 22 October 2015, within the framework of the #Unite4Heritage campaign and in partnership with the Qattan Foundation\Qattan Center for Child in Gaza. The activity aims to raise awareness among children on the importance and value of intangible heritage, its safeguarding and promotion. Indeed, the Palestinian Hikaye (folktales) were inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (to read more about Palestinian Hikaye please visit: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/?RL=00124).

"I loved all of the Hikaye and enjoyed every second of it," says Aya Olayan, a school student, 10 years old. Aya and all other children expressed their enjoyment of being part of such an activity and they found the Crowing Rooster to be a beautiful story as the 'Rooster' was funny and clever. The children especially enjoyed the comical touches of the tale in terms of imitating animal sounds and body language. The activity served as a great way of prompting the children to ask questions about their culture and heritage, keeping the children entertained by listening to stories that enable them to become good listeners and communicators and then have the chance to tell a story or read one out in front of everyone. Through listening and telling stories children build up their confidence and communication skills in public.

The storytelling activity in Gaza Strip has enabled the children to create a positive attitude and to contribute to a change of behavior towards heritage preservation. "We should not write on the walls of the archaeological sites and keep it clean," Says Aya.

UNESCO’s #Unite4Heritage campaign was launched in March 2015 with the aim to mobilize global support, especially amongst young people, for the protection of cultural heritage, and in response to the unprecedented attacks on the region’s cultural diversity and heritage.

To learn more about the campaign worldwide, visit: www.unite4heritage.org

For further information on UNESCO’s activities in Palestine please contact Ms. Majd Beltaji, Public Information Officer of the UNESCO Office in Ramallah at m.beltaji@unesco.org