A conference on reviving the ancient cities, organized by the Jerusalem Old City Reconstruction Program, was held today at An-Najah National University in cooperation with the University’s Center of Urban and Regional Planning.  The opening session was attended by Prof. Rami Hamdallah, the University’s President, Mr. Munib AlMasri, Chairman of Welfare Association’s Board of Trustees, Mr. Adli Ya’aish, Nablus’s Mayor, Dr. Hamdan Taha, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Tourism, Dr. Shadiya Touqan, Director of the Technical Office of the Program of Jerusalem Old City Reconstruction, Dr. Khalid Qawasmi, Head of the Reconstruction Committee in Hebron Old City, Mr. Jibril AlRjoob, Chairman of the Palestinian Olympic Committee.

Dr. Ali Abdul Hamid, the Director of the Center of Urban and Regional Planning, welcomed the participants, thanking the Welfare Association and UNESCO, which sponsored the conference.  He said the conference aims at reaching out to the best results regarding revival of Palestinian heritage and reconstructing the centers of historic cities.

In his speech, Prof. Hamdallah talked about the importance of preserving Palestinian Heritage, emphasizing the role of the University in maintaining the civilizational and architectural heritage, through its academic programs such as architecture engineering and archeology, and the MA programs in Architectural and Urban Planning.

He also emphasized the importance of creating awareness among the Palestinian society, and preparing the staff in the public and private sectors to be part of the preservation of Palestinian heritage. He also referred to the University role in maintaining the architectural heritage through renovation of buildings such as the Agency Inn in Nablus, which was conducted in cooperation with Nablus Municipality, UNESCO through the funding from European Union. He invited all to put efforts together in order to protect our heritage and archeology.

Dr. Al Masri expressed his pride and happiness for the city of Nablus hosting of the conference, and especially at An-Najah National University.  He presented a brief introduction on the Welfare Association and the goals that it was established to achieve since its inception in 1983 in order to support the Palestinian Society. The Welfare Assocation has conducted over 4200 projects in Palestine, and took care of maintenance of cultural and civilizational heritage, and revival of historic cities centers of religious and spiritual value. He assured that this conference aims at preserving heritage and exchanging experiences to protect the Palestinian identity.

Mr. Ya’aish thanked the organizers of the conference and he stressed the importance of the Old City for Nablus which is a symbol for their belonging and a scent of the past memories. He also talked about the economic importance of the historic cities which is an attracting tourism.

Dr. Taha pointed out the importance of such conference and highlighted the humanitarian aspects of the historic cities which helped it through the historic phases under big changes in terms of demography and geography.  He also emphasized the need to put special plans for maintenance and renovation.

Dr. Touqan said it is important to discuss the ways to maintain the Palestinian heritage through projects conducted by Welfare Association and funded by the UNESCO and EU. The program of reconstruction includes the documentation and the surveys on how the city heritage can be preserved. During the conference, a number of sessions were moderated in different arenas with the participation of experts in archeology and renovation of historic cities.