1600 Lebanese students to learn about heritage protection

UNESCO- Beirut Office is organizing, under the patronage of the Minister of Culture, HE Raymond Arayji, and in collaboration with Biladi, an NGO specialized in heritage preservation, eight workshops targeting students aged between 11 and 15 years, in order to increase their awareness about the protection of heritage in times of war, and to introduce them to UNESCO Conventions (1954, 1970,1972). These activities fall into the framework of the International Campaign #UNITE4HERITAGE, launched in Lebanon by the UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova during her visit to the Lebanese National Museum, in May 2015.

1600 students from various schools in Lebanon will be invited to participate in a guided tour, either in one of the World Heritage archeological sites of Lebanon or in the National Museum. During these visits, the students will have the opportunity to acquire information on UNESCO International Conventions for the protection of heritage by following interactive educational methods designed especially for this initiative , namely maps, pictures and publications, aimed at helping students to assimilate the acquired data.

In addition, the young students will be introduced to the art of mosaics, and will have the chance to create their own artifacts, which they will keep as a souvenir. A brochure on the project and on the conventions will be distributed to them.

This initiative is launched by the UNESCO-Beirut office at a time when so many relics and archaeological sites are in danger, and as many historical sites have already been devastated by violence, so it is crucial to increase the young generation’s awareness on the urgency to protect the region’s heritage, against the attempt to erase their collective memory.

The workshops will be organized as follows:

The National Museum on Tuesday 20 and Thursday 22 October

Byblos and Tyre on Thursday 29 and Saturday 31 October

Baalbeck on Thursday 5 and Saturday 7 November.