Introducing SCHEP: Sustainable Cultural Heritage through the Engagement of Local Communities

Dr Bala'awi (Hashemite University) presents the results of a project of digital heritage documentation at Petra conducted by the Hashemite University

Dr Addison (SCHEP) talks about SCHEP's approach to engaging host communities in the preservation of cultural heritage resources in Jordan

Dr Clark (LaSierra, Madaba Plains Project) speaks of the issues involved in the protection of Tell 'Umeiri, a multi-period site in the Madaba region (central Jordan)

Dr al-Jaradat (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Palestine) speaks of the Palestinian national inventory of cultural heritage sites, for which work began in 2002 and is still ongoing Since the creation of a Palestinian Department of National Register, Palestinian authorities and international partners have work to build a comprehensive database of cultural heritage sites in the West Bank. This database comprises both published and unpublished data, recorded on an ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase. The main purpose of this inventory is to protect the main archaeological sites from ongoing building activities.

Dr Drzewiecki describes how archaeologists interviewed about the impact of Jordanian heritage databases have responded as regards the role of these databases in heritage protection

Mr Haroun (Department of Antiquities, Jordan) tells of how MEGA-Jordan has become the virtual memory of Jordan and the repository of its heritage

Dr Kafafi (Jordan Museum) describes the role that the Jordan Museum had in protecting the remains of the Hijaz railway within the framework of the Great Arab Revolt Project

Dr al-Khasawneh (Jordan Museum) speaks of the challenges facing Jordanian authorities in protecting the country's rich cultural heritage

Dr Drzewiecki has analysed the impact on researchers of online databases of archaeological sites in Jordan Dr Drzewiecki has conducted an opinion poll survey (with more than 100 respondents) of archaeologists with fieldwork experience in Jordan, asking them about the usefulness of resources such as MEGA-Jordan for their research and for the protection of cultural heritage in Jordan. He tells us about his preliminary results in this short speech.

Jeff DeKock (OpenHand Studios) reads a paper by Paul Christians (Stanford University) on the long-term involvement of the local community at Umm el-Jimal with the archaeology of the site