Press conference disseminates results and actions of four major projects within the framework of the Euromed-Heritage 4 program

Minister Al Fayez told the gathering which included managers and staff from the ATHENA, Med-Mem, Medliher and Foundations for a Strong Future projects as well media representatives and those from cultural and educational institutions and civil society institutions, he is very pleased about these projects that support cultural heritage in the region.

"All of these projects are powerful landmarks to build on because they touch 'tangible' aspects of our lives, revolving around a structure of actions in the field of cultural heritage for a better environment and sustainable human and economic development," he pointed out.

"It has been remarkable to see how the notion of cultural heritage has been dealt with by these projects, tackling different aspects from creating the mechanisms for safeguarding heritage, reinforcing institutional capacities and civic institutions, to creating extensive multi-media archiving to targeting youths and local communities and getting them involved in projects and training that support culture and heritage," the Minister added.

It was a full program. Nizar Al Adarbeh, Manager of the ATHENA Project in Amman, an initiative in the Department of Antiquities made a full presentation on Euromed Heritage IV Program. Speaking on behalf of Christian Dabdoub Nasser, team leader in the Regional Monitoring and Support Unit in Brussels responsible for the projects, he stressed the importance of projects in supporting cultural preservation.

"We are disseminating presently the results and achievements of four projects out of 12 regional projects under the Euromed Heritage IV Program which took effect from late 2008 and is ending in early 2013 at a total budget of 17 million euros," he said.

"The Euromed program shows the commitment of the European Union to the euromed area that includes Algeria, Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries in the region, having started in 1998 with total spending of 57 million till 2007 all in the field of heritage," Al Adarbeh added.

Representative of the EU mission in Amman and First Councillor Ms Irene Mingasson and expressing the European Union's when she said the Mediterranean has a rich cultural legacy that provides a vital link to promote coexistence, international relations and dialogue.

The importance of the four projects lay in their regional dimension. All of the project leaders gave presentations in their support of heritage.

Khaled Al Abdallat said the Med-Mem which stands for "Sharing our Mediterranean Audio-Visual Heritage is a 14-television network from Jordan, Italy, Algeria, Morocco and France that had collected a massive 4000 videos and can beu site.

"It's a large video library that covers history, culture and tourism and can be viewed onli viewed free at the online archive of www.medmem.ene in English, Arabic and French," Abdallat said.

The second project was presented by Mercy Corp in Amman Director Robert Marony whose organization represented the "Youth in Lebanon and Jordan Promote Cultural Heritage" project through the Foundations for a Strong Future. The project was about instilling culture and heritage amongst youths in both countries and developing programs for these young members of society to make sure they identify and develop pride in their cultural heritage.

The Safeguarding Mediterranean Living Heritage, Medliher, involved protecting heritage through strengthening the institutional organizations on the local, national and international levels and raising their capacities and creating the avenues to safeguard cultural heritage.

The last presentation was on the ATHENA Project for the Ancient Theaters Enhancement for New Actualities. Nizar Al Adarbeh spoke about the successes and moves to sustain ancient theaters and make people and local community more aware of the need to sustain these structures by safeguarding them from long-terms risks.

"Lots of work has been achieved in the last year on the research, documentation and digital scanning levels of ancient theaters across the Euromed region," Al Adarbeh told the audience which included media personalities from the press, radio and terrestrial and satellite channels, and representatives from archaeological institutions in Jordan as well as civil society organizations.

"This included networking with major regional meetings with the partner countries of Jordan, Tunisia, Italy, Algeria and Spain, and this involved regional meetings in Amman and Tunis to ensure a smoother work process," he added.

Much banners were hoisted around the hall that highlighted different ancient sites in Jordan as well as laser scans while two banners of Alladin's Magical Journey to Ancient Theaters were displayed to signal the children's book of the name that was written by award-winning local writer Mohammad Al Thaher.

At the end of the press conference there was a book signing ceremony of Alladin's tale that was distributed amongst the audience. The children's book is to be disseminated across many public schools in Jordan.

Another book on the stand was Crossing Viewpoints: Living Heritage in the Mediterranean. This is a latest publication of the Euromed Heritage Program in cooperation with the Adverbum and Jarouss Press to stress the importance of cultural heritage in the region.