Arab American University Concludes the 4th International Digital Heritage Conference with wide Arab and International Participation

The participants recommended to take care of social tourism programs that focuses on community life, entertainment education by enriching courses with heritage content and entertainment to deliver them smoothly, organize guided tours to heritage sites and sites, promote heritage sites, developing courses and improve university electives covering heritage issues. 

Participants also stressed on the importance of cooperation among Information Technology sector, telecommunications, heritage, tourism and related sectors, empowering citizens to manage and interact with heritage, propose cultural-heritage postgraduate programs, establish open heritage database, develop mobile applications targeting cultural heritage, develop virtual reality applications in museums and archaeological sites and promote the use of IoT in Cultural Heritage.

 In the second and last day of the conference, Dean of Engineering and Information Technology Faculty Dr. Mohammad Hamarsheh gave a word in the name of AAUJ President Prof. Dr. Ali Zeidan Abu Zuhri, who praised the French Consulate and Ministry of Tourism and Antiques role and thanked the participant experts and international researchers, saying “Using technology to document Palestinian Heritage is a way of documenting the Palestinian right. Also using technology serves human heritage in general”.

He talked about the Palestinian sites listed on the UNIESCO International Heritage Sites list, and praised the researches presented earlier for being enriching and informative.

“This conference was distinguished from all aspects in terms of organization, participation and the scientific papers. It tried to deliver modern pioneering heritage idea and using technology to serve the human heritage and preserve it”, said the France Consul Advisor for Cultural Cooperation Mr. John Locke.

 Dr. Amjad Rattrout, supervisor of the International Conference at Arab American University, said the conference achieved its objectives, the sessions were meaningful discussions in which participants presented everything new used in heritage technology and its conservation. He praised some international participations and what they presented on digital heritage information, social and historical sides, ways to register and deal with heritage as future idea called Smart-Heritage.

On the conference second and final day, two main sessions were held. The main speaker of the first session was Professor Zanvon Zambulis from University of Crete in Greece. He spoke about intelligent interaction of cultural heritage and museum guides. The session dealt with a set of worksheets, University of Paris VIII paper on biological piracy in the intangible cultural heritage: traditional medicine case, Dr. Labib Arafeh from Al-Quds University research on tourism increase in Jerusalem, and Ashraf Amad, Nasir Aldeen Bouhi and Khaldoon Zreik research paper entitled Interactive method to document heritage. Dr. Amjad Ratrout, Nael Zeidan and Ahmed Abu El-Hof presented paper on Palestinian digital heritage. While, Iman Batitah, Hatem Bejar, and Pierre Lücklerk of University of Belgium presented a paper entitled Technology tools to Serve Rediscovering Heritage.

The second session, keynote speaker Prof. Alan Mil from Claude Bernard Leon the first university talked about manage observations on intelligent customers’ activity as translate actions process (model for tracking digital impact approach). The session dealt with scientific papers where Jinn G, Juolum Pisaseh and Khaldon Zreq from University of Paris VIII presented paper on audiences’ situation in cultural heritage. Also Anis Simlali from Higher Institute of Design and Technology in Canada presented research on restoration, broadcasting, location and role of technology.

By the end the participating delegations visited Sabastia archaeological site.