Qualifying youth in the field of restoration and preservation of architectural heritage in Karak
Amman4 min read
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The "RE-BUILD" project, implemented in cooperation between the Greater Karak Municipality, the Jordan Engineers Association - Karak Branch, and the Italian Formedil Foundation, and funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, has contributed to qualifying a group of young men and women in Karak in the field of restoring and preserving architectural and cultural heritage, in an effort to open new horizons for them for employment and production.
At the Youth Training and Empowerment Center in Karak Governorate, which was recently opened to activate the joint cooperation agreement between the municipality and the Engineers Association in Karak, and funded by the Italian Agency as part of an initiative to support local authorities and civil society organizations, the participants who had their skills developed to enhance their economic and social opportunities in the tourism sector were graduated.
Acting Head of the Karak Municipality Committee, Maysoon Al-Mubaideen, who sponsored the graduation ceremony in the presence of the Head of the Engineers Association branch, Engineer Wissam Al-Majali, the Acting Executive Director of the Municipality, Dr. Sameh Al-Hamaydeh, and the project manager, said that the municipality welcomes fruitful partnerships that aim to build and raise the capabilities of youth and empower them with modern practical skills, stemming from its firm belief in the role of the youth sector in developing the city of Karak and preserving its historical identity and architectural heritage.
She added that this project embodies a successful model of effective cooperation, as it contributed to training and qualifying 16 male and female trainees from Karak on the basics of heritage preservation and documentation to be a primary arm for participating in architectural heritage preservation projects and upcoming development initiatives in the governorate, expressing appreciation for the existing partnership with the Italian Agency and the Engineers Association and their continuous support for developing youth skills and enhancing their opportunities in the tourism sector and related professions.
Italian expert and project manager Cristiana Bartolucci said that the RE-BUILD project, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, is making efforts to qualify Jordanian youth in many of the Kingdom's governorates and develop their professional skills in the field of restoring and preserving architectural heritage, through theoretical and practical training programs implemented by the Formedil Foundation, Perugia.
She indicated that the project, which will continue to be implemented until 2028, aims to train 150 unemployed Jordanian young men and women, in the age group of 18 to 35, through two specialized tracks that include reinforcement and conservation techniques using innovative materials, and heritage preservation using rope access techniques, in an effort to enhance local competencies in the field of preserving heritage sites and buildings, and open new professional horizons for them, while providing opportunities for paid field work for those who excel in training.
Head of the Engineers Association branch in Karak, Engineer Wissam Al-Majali, said that the implementation of this project comes as an activation of the cooperation agreement with partners to hone the skills of youth by holding training courses that combine the theoretical side with practical field and site application within two tracks: the first is restoration and tourism, and the second is specialized occupational safety and health to ensure a safe work environment, where 25 people were trained in this track, while another batch will be trained next month, and a course for a restoration and construction site supervisor engineer will be held during the coming period.
Al-Majali stressed that the association's branch, through its partnerships with local and international entities in the field of tourism and related engineering fields, seeks to advance local communities, create real and sustainable job opportunities, and make Karak a center for restoration at the level of Jordan.
