The Planning and Urban Development of Historic Buildings Unit

This unit aims at developing planning policies to protect cultural and architectural properties in historic cities, and at developing a model for the rehabilitation of historic centres in various Palestinian villages and cities. This unit also aims at establishing laws, which protect the cultural properties, whether as building regulations by local authorities, or as laws and legislations specific for the protection of cultural properties. Work in this unit started with a project collaborating with the Municipality of Ramallah and a mission to find mechanisms to help revive the historic parts of the old city of Ramallah and to integrate the economic, social and cultural aspects to create an economic commercial centre in the old city. RIWAQ's experience with the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee was more or less similar, but it took a different shape. The work is executed by the Committee, it renovates large parts of the old city within a structured plan aiming at reviving the historic city comprehensively taking into consideration practical obstacles.

Work in this unit focuses on two main issues:

A. The planning and reviving of the old city of Hebron project, in collaboration with the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee. The second phase of this project has been completed. Detailed architectural studies of the old city, which were incorporated with the social and economic studies, were prepared. The final report involved these studies, detailed maps and proposed future projects. This report was translated into English and presented to Swedish experts towards holding a study session to discuss the results of the second phase and schedule the plan of action for the third and final phase. This phase included preparing a detailed plan to be approved, in addition to stipulating laws and recommendations to revive the old city of Hebron. This session was held for three days in September 2002 in Hebron and was attended by the members of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee and RIWAQ and Swedish experts.

B. Constructing the Palestinian law for the protection of cultural and natural properties. The bid for constructing this law was delivered to the Institute of Law in BirZeit University and RIWAQ. RIWAQ acts as consultant in matters relating to architecture and antiquities and as the owner of the National Registry of historic buildings in Palestine. Work on this project will continue until September 2003. This project is divided into three phases. The first is concerned with preparing the general policies for the law. The second is drafting the law depending on the general policies. The third and last is the preparation of the memorandum explaining the law and a list of secondary legislations which are related to the law. The work team is constituted of 20 experts, divided on three work groups. The first includes legal experts, the second consists of experts in cultural and natural (movable and unmovable) heritages, the third is a technical work group, which includes social experts, international management experts, general management and management of financial resources.

RIWAQ's participation in sessions and conferences on cultural properties

During the year 2002, RIWAQ has taken part in many specialized sessions and conferences on cultural properties. Following is a list of some of them:

27/11-6/12, Dr. Nazmi Al Jubeh and Mouhannad Hadid participated in the 13th ICOMOS General Assembly, held in Madrid, Spain.

18/11-13/12, Farhat Yousef participated in a session entitled "integrated conservation of" which was conducted by the ICCROM Foundation in Rome, Italy.

20/-12/9, Fida' Touma and Yara Al Shareef participated in sessions on urban planning organized by the International Federation for Housing and Planning IFHP along with the Municipality of Sabaudia and the University of La Sapiansa in Rome, Italy.

11-13/9, Khaldoun Bshara participated in a conference dedicated to discuss the ENAME list regarding heritage and means of local development, held in Gent, Belgium.

28/2-1/3, Khaldoun Bshara participated in the final conference for the P.I.S.A. project, held in Rome, Italy.

1/6, Dr. Suad Amiry participated in the first meeting of the board of trustees of the Swedish Institute in Alexandria, held in Stockholm, Sweden.

28/8, Dr. Suad Amiry participated in a lecture in the city of Sabaudia entitled "The Palestinian Cultural Properties", held in Sabaudia, Italy.

12/11, Dr. Suad Amiry participated in the preparatory committee meeting to organize for a conference on the Arab Culture in Palestine, organized by Al Furqan Institute in London, Britain.