Living labs to promote cultural heritage in Kingdom, Med region

AMMAN — The Jordan Society for Scientific Research, Entrepreneurship and Creativity (JSSREC) and the Department of Public Antiquities, funded by the European Union, on Saturday began establishing living labs in implementation of the “ICT Mediterranean Platform for UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage” project, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The project aims to promote cultural heritage in the Kingdom and the Mediterranean region.

Project Coordinator Talal Akasheh indicated that living labs will enable universities, scientists and small- and medium-sized companies to develop prototypes, select products and services, and engage the most creative minds at an international level.

According to Akasheh, a number of programmes will also be designated for training researchers, encouraging them and familiarising them with marketing skills.

He called on companies and the competent authorities to apply for support from the project in order to design creative applications that promote heritage.

Chairman of the UNESCO Chair for Heritage and Sustainable Tourism in Jordan Hani Hayajneh said that Jordan is one of the first countries to sign the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was ratified by more than 90 per cent of world countries.

Hayajneh reviewed the Kingdom’s achievements in the field of preserving the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, pointing to the establishment of the Heritage Directorate at the Ministry of Culture in 2010.