Prince Hassan meets bedouins of Levant at Wadi Rum event

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan on Wednesday met with bedouin communities from the Levant who gathered for the “Wadi Rum Meeting” as part of the Cultural Corridors of Peace programme.

The programme is organised by the UK-based Institute for Heritage and Sustainable Human Development (INHERIT) in collaboration with the American University in Beirut, the Council for British Research in the Levant and Coventry University, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The event provided an opportunity for participants from various mashreq countries to meet and celebrate their joint heritage, as well as discuss means to preserve their culture while facing various challenges.  

Prince Hassan at the gathering said that the Arab Islamic civilisation is based on pluralism, diversity and mutual respect away from talk about minorities and majorities.

Prince Hassan added that the qualities of hospitality, chivalry and of protecting the weak and vulnerable are an integral part of the bedouin ethics “that unite us”. 

The prince stressed the importance of citizenship and empowerment of the bedouins, adding: “When we talk about intangible heritage, we need to make sure that such meetings are put into context and that publications and digital documentations enhance the concept of human dignity and enable the bedouins to understand their Arab citizenship as part of their identity and their place as an Arab.”  

He said that the concept “our heritage is indicative of us” is “part of our shared humanity”.

“Such meetings should be an opportunity to share experiences and expertise and enhance mutual respect and shared values,” he said. 

An exhibition in Beirut is planned for later in the year and an online archive of photographs, film, interviews and other material is being produced, according to Petra. 

The meeting is an opportunity to “understand the whole story” of the bedouins’ cultural heritage in the past and present alike, and to celebrate the similarities and differences among cultures, which highlights that preserving their living heritage is the way for their development and for the next genration's.