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Quarterly Newsletter Inside this edition:
It is an unfortunate fact: the situation has deteriorated tremendously in the last few weeks and Bethlehem has suffered yet another blow to its territorial integrity and its viability as an important urban centre. This blow came in the form of a ‘military order’ declaring the territory around the fated Rachel’s Tomb site confiscated for ‘military purposes’. This confiscation is an instance where contested religious spaces are claimed for political ends. Another unfortunate fact is that life will continue no matter how often and how severely pound the successive blows of the continuing occupation. But under what terms and to what effect? The results of the socio-economic survey we have undertaken in cooperation with the Social Sciences Department of Bethlehem University and with the support of UNDP, have brought to our attention staggering facts about the low level of self-esteem within the community. The objectives of the survey were to define the public’s needs regarding their urban spaces, and assess their understanding of cultural heritage and their readiness to be part of its preservation in the larger civic sense. What transpired form the data analysis report was a general sense of frustration about the situation of the city and the hopelessness of attempting any changes because “the Israelis will come and destroy as they please” but also because “we do not deserve any better”! On a more positive note, there are those who are aware of the drawbacks of the situation on public behaviour and believe that with guidance and awareness raising, things could improve. Having proved ourselves robustly tenacious, those who care will conjure quite a few answers as to why we will should no effort to continue on our impossible trek towards self-realisation and self-assertion. It is certainly not business as usual for our Centre, but we choose to beat to the cadence of perseverance and growth and will continue to do so for as long as the Centre exists. We have come to realise that the healthiest course is not to be deterred by political impediments, as daunting as they may be, and to continue our work with the community in order to help create a better environment for everyone concerned. Because improving our quality of life underpins all our projects and orientates our thinking, and because all of us deserve it.
Public Awareness and Community Development
Awareness Campaign around Manger Square: Manger Square is the focus of life in Bethlehem and its rehabilitation was completed in December 1999 as part of the general preparations for the millennium celebrations. However, this rehabilitation process did not include a public awareness campaign and the original plan to have the Square closed to traffic and turned into an agreeable and friendly space for the inhabitants and visitors went to naught. As a result, and due to additional damages brought on by the Israeli incursion, the physical appearance of the Square has deteriorated remarkably. In the absence of alternatives, it has reopened to the heavy flow of traffic and reverted to being a parking lot for cars, heavy vehicles and such, which has remarkably damaged its surface. The lighting and furniture have not been spared and the fountains and tree beds have become depositories for garbage. In association with Bethlehem Municipality, which is currently rehabilitating the Square, and with the support of Sida, Swedish International Development Agency, our Centre is leading an ambitious awareness campaign that should lead to the social, economic and cultural revival of the Square and maintain it as an attractive and agreeable space for the use of the community and visitors. This campaign will include a series of workshops targeting public and private organisations as well as various sectors of the public. The training of students from Terra Sancta school will be part of an exercise in public custody of urban spaces. The first workshop related to the campaign took place on 20th August 2003 at the Bethlehem Peace Centre, under the title “Perspectives on the Future of Manger Square”, and was attended by several representatives. The presentations on the programme covered the history of the Square; the concept design for its re-closing and the awareness campaign planned around this closing; the new traffic management plan and parking options; and the tourism sector view on urban spaces and their central role in projecting the cultural profile of Bethlehem and Palestine as a destination. These presentations highlighted in their different ways the various issues, historic, physical, urban and philosophic, related to the Square. The importance of the Square as a centre of community life with a multiplicity of functions and the firmer role the Municipality should play in its maintenance were subjects of lengthy debate among the participants. The next workshop targeting the commercial sector around the Square has been scheduled for 9th September 2003. Euro-Mediterranean Heritage II Programme
One of the ten projects financed by the European Commission within the Euro-Med Heritage II programme, the Delta project will contribute to preserve and develop the cultural heritage of the Euro-Mediterranean area and increase the capacity in enhancing and managing that heritage. A major activity underpinning the project is the collection of data on all cultural and natural heritage resources, both tangible and intangible, and the processing of this data in view of elaborating a comprehensive action plan for the development of the whole territory of the Bethlehem District and the creation of better conditions for the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage. Since the beginning of June of this year our Centre has been involved with the collection of this data in partnership with several organizations in the Bethlehem Governorate and under the supervision of the Centre. Site visits of cultural and natural heritage sites and research of gastronomic and celebratory traditions have produced rich data, which will be catalogued in a guidebook. Each site will be rated in terms of employment capacity, potential for tourism attraction, state of conservation and priority within the action plan; each tradition will be catalogued according to relevant criteria, including category, level of practice and so on. All this data will be entered in the GIS (Geographic Information System), a tool for analysis and presentation. The next step is the elaboration of an Action Plan based on a thorough evaluation of all entries. The final goal is to facilitate the birth and growth of integrated processes and projects of local development by promoting local (material, cultural and human) resources. The strategy is to promote broad local partnerships between decision-makers, administrators, public and private economic parties and representatives of the local cultural and social world. GIS Training Course: Our Rehabilitation Projects’ Manager has attended a six-month course in Geographical Information System sponsored by the Italian Government and designed by Arij in coordination with the Bethlehem Governorate. The course was intended for engineers of the Municipalities in the District, as well as specialists from various organisations. The aim of the training was to introduce the programme, its components, and its application potentials to the respective organizations. Its applications have become indispensable to our Centre’s involvement in various multi-disciplinary projects, including the Delta project and research around rehabilitation works in the Anatra Quarter in view of publishing a case study. Cycle of Conferences Our Centre is organising a series of conferences, which started in July and will continue through October, on a bimonthly basis. In holding these conferences, we aim to bring to the public’s attention the various issues related to the preservation and management of cultural heritage and the development of historic cities, as well as inform them of specific projects accomplished in Bethlehem and other parts of Palestine. To the core group of faithful participants, these conferences are a venue for the exchange of expertise and experiences in the fields of conservation and development and a source of information about the various preservation and development projects implemented in Bethlehem and other cities. On the programme:
Workshop: Under the title Perspectives on the Future of Palestinian Tourism and Pilgrimage, a workshop took place on August 14, 2003 at the Centre in order to identify and discuss some of the basic issues of the Palestinian tourism and Pilgrimage industry in these difficult times. Invited speakers, specialists in the field of cultural heritage, pilgrimages, alternative tourism presented the situation of the Palestinian tourism offer including its economics, the geographical implications that determine it, as well as the cultural issues arising from Palestinian tourism and the image of Palestine abroad (including issues of stereotyping). This workshop was occasioned by the visit of Professor Tom Selwyn, Metropolitan University, London, who was invited to share with us the relevance, if any, of his recent work within the Euroepan Union TEMPUS programme and the development of a post graduate Masters level education and training in tourism and the cultural industries in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Exhibition: Nablus: the architecture of a city The exhibition, featuring panels of important preservation works that occurred in Nablus in1999, was inaugurated by Jean Brétéché, Representative of the European Commission in Jerusalem, on Thursday 21 August 2003. It is part of our Centre’s attempt to disseminate information among the Bethlehem public about cultural heritage projects in different parts of Palestine. The exhibition was planned in co-operation with the European Commission and the French Consulate in Jerusalem.
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