"Iraq, historically called the Mesopotamian land, is well known for its diverse heritage and its various historical buildings such as Jewish temples, Christian churches, Muslim mosques and Al-Shanashils’ houses. They represent an important era of peaceful coexistence in southern Iraq, specifically in the provinces of Dhi Qar and Maysan, which are about 110km far from Al-Rifai, the small county where I am from.
The Dhi-Qar province is known for its more than five thousand years of civilizations history. As a young Mesopotamian guy, I developed a deep passion for the heritage and multiculturalism of its ancient communities and decided to study their living patterns to understand how they organized their living styles despite their different beliefs and traditions. The common heritage of these ancient communities appeared to be one of the strongest tools to create unity and reinforce social cohesion. This is why, in today’s challenging context where discrimination and hate speech continue to increase, it is crucial to shed the light on their inspiring way of living together peacefully.
Unfortunately, due to the instabilities and conflicts that happened after the liberation in 2003, most of Dhi Qar’s and Mayson’s heritage has been subjected to both natural deterioration and human threats. Documentation and evaluation of these threats are key to showcase and raise awareness on the importance of protecting and promoting heritage among local communities. This is the reason why, with the support of the UNESCO-UNOCT Project on the prevention of violent extremism, I started some detailed on-site inventories of 40 selected, undocumented heritage buildings in Dhi Qar and Maysan provinces. These assessments included, among others, building name, location, class, age, construction materials, type of impact causing the deterioration associated with the site, percentage of deterioration or damage, and photographs, with a particular focus on minority communities who were the most vulnerable during the conflicts, such as the Christians, Jewish, and Mandaeans (Sabians) communities.
In the second phase of this initiative, the results of the geodatabase were presented to the local communities, students and relevant institutions through different meetings and workshops that fostered participants sense of belonging and social cohesion. This database quickly became a powerful advocacy tool to raise awareness among the population and local stakeholders on the necessity to protect the regions’ multicultural heritage, as it constitutes the baseline for peaceful coexistence and for preventing any form of violent extremism."
– Muntadher Aloda
Learn more about Muntadher’s project here.
Following the success of the Arab World Heritage Young Professionals Forum, and continuing their sense of engagement and purpose beyond the participation in the Forum, five young professionals implemented follow-up projects in the region, making heritage accessible to all, and leveraging it as a channel for peacebuilding in the communities. Through these projects, the participants put to practice the skills acquired during the Forum, particularly through the communication approaches, and took concrete actions towards the recommendations made by them in the Action Plan for the region.