Newton Prize-shortlisted project to draw students to Jordan’s museums

AMMAN — In March 2019, a group of scholars and local decision-makers launched a project to engage students with Jordanian museums and educational institutions, whereby they created a list of guidelines for museum staff and professors.

“These recommendations and guidelines stem from two years of work conducted by Jordanian and British researchers,” noted Arwa Badran, an archaeologist and museum specialist.

The initiative involved the Department of Antiquities, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Jordanian Museum Association, Sela for Training and Protection of Cultural Heritage, Durham University, the Jordan Museum, Hashemite University and the University of Jordan, Badran outlined. 

He also added that decision-makers were invited to support the development of a new cohort of museum educators to engage and educate youth. 

There should be a more cohesive and communicative museum sector in Jordan with a new educational agenda, Badran said, adding that a set of tried and tested practices should be implemented, whose costs would be low.

Moreover, the two main sets of activities are building museum employee competence and involving schoolchildren and university students online, Badran said.

Capacity building involved trainings of 45 trainees from 20 museums all over Jordan, organisers said.

“Another training programme involved 24 Jordanian employees from 17 institutions and museums, and it took place in the UK in October of 2019,” Badran explained.

After a COVID hiatus, the new event will be launched on May 18 this year, Badran said, adding that during the pandemic the main focus was on new cyber technologies that can connect museums with students and researchers through online sessions, webinars and presentations.

“Young people, educators, museums and heritage professionals need a vision that recongnises and promotes the educational value of museums to make a positive difference in terms of knowledge and youth identity; one that sees a museum staff playing a proactive role in engaging with the requirements of diverse learners and one that sees fundamental structural change as both necessary and achievable,” Badran said.

The project was shortlisted by Newton Prize in 2020.