The first phase of the project “Documenting the intangible heritage of Fayoum” has been launched by Waheed Omran, Head of Fayoum University’s Heritage and civilisation Centre. The project runs over a period of two years that end June 2019. The first phase includes conducting fieldwork through a number of visits to Fayoum villages and towns over six months.
“The project also includes workshops, exhibitions, and training programmes with the aim of raising public awareness of heritage and cultural issues and to promote community participation and tourist development,” Dr Omran said.
The main objective of the project is to document the most important customs, traditions, dialects, folk and religious celebrations, traditional songs and dances, traditional handicrafts, and how to make use of the intangible cultural heritage to enhance non-traditional tourism in Fayoum.
Among its objectives, the project will design a state-of-the-art website in the English language, and will produce a documentary on Fayoum’s intangible heritage, CDs and a library for heritage at Fayoum University. The university will also issue a book that contains all the documented intangible heritage in Fayoum, and will establish the Fayoumi House of Heritage. It will also offer activities, training courses, workshops, and discussions that aim at engaging all the sectors concerned with heritage in Fayoum.
The two-year project is financed by the Scientific Research Academy, and sponsored by Khaled Hamza, President of Fayoum University and Dr Ashraf Abdel Hafiz, Vice President of Fayoum University for Community Service and Eco-Development Affairs.
Watani International
24 September 2017