Abu Dhabi, March 25: The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) is organizing the Fourth International Heritage Symposium under the title “Heritage and Education: A Future Vision”, from 29 March – April 1, 2010.
The four-day symposium falls in-line with ADACH’s strategy to promote the status of its heritage, both in the overall development of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general. The symposium also compliments the framework put in place to promote the role of the government and community establishments in their support of ADACH’s commitment to achieving its goals and plans.
The Symposium will take place at the Park Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi, where more than sixty academics, experts and researchers, representing thirty Arab and foreign countries, will be present.
Mohamed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Director General of ADACH, said “this global symposium is a great addition to the ever-increasing list of ADACH’s achievements with regard to the preservation of UAE heritage. It will help to communicate its excellent ethos to the younger generation. The Symposium is an interpretation of the directives of our leaders, and is keeping our heritage alive in the fields of social and cultural life.”
Dr. Nasser Ali Al Humairi, Director of Heritage Department at ADACH, pointed out that ADACH’s strategy excels in leading the international effort in a variety of projects related to heritage.
The latest effort concerned the submission of an international file for the registration of falconry onto the preservation list for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. This developed from the belief that the cultures of different countries are alike in many ways.
More methods of highlighting these variations and encouraging interaction between civilizations for the good of humanity are being examined.
He added that the symposium is the first of its kind, in the UAE and the region as a whole, to discuss the relationship between heritage and education and the role of educational institutions in the teaching of heritage matters.
Twenty work papers are expected to be delivered to the Symposium on the following topics:
§ Methods of promoting heritage in the curriculum.
§ The role of higher education and community establishments in providing education about heritage.
§ Leading Arab and international experiences in heritage education.
§ New strategies in heritage education.
§ The role of international organizations in heritage education.
—Agencies