(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Heritage experts call for getting the local community reconnected to history through reconstructed sites .
Dubai — Taking heritage to the younger generation of Emiratis through renovated or reconstructed old heritage sites and buildings could help them connect with their roots feel experts.
Experts in conservation of architectural heritage who recently converged in Dubai have called for getting the local community reconnected with its past and reviving their tangible and intangible heritage through rebuilt heritage sites.
“We have a problem in getting local people back to the old town” said Rashad Bukhash director of the Architectural Heritage Department at the Dubai Municipality.
“Dubai being a rich society it is difficult to make people live there again. That is practically not a good idea either. What we want is to revive the heritage areas with the community’s participation” he said. However a survey conducted by the department has shown that many youngsters had very less interest in heritage buildings.
Shatha Al Mulla an architect with the department who studied the community’s attitude towards the reconstruction of historic buildings said the younger generations are rather disconnected with the built heritage right now. “We need to think about the best approach within the context that we have in Dubai that could integrate them. We need to see what they need from heritage rather than seeing what we need to give them” she said.
Reconstructed historic buildings are likely to help today’s young generation — which is losing its ties with the past — get reconnected with history and original identity through built heritage.
Plans are being chalked out after local and international experts advocated getting the focus of reconstruction of architectural heritage to the local community so that the soul of the rebuilt buildings is preserved. Experts in conservation of architectural heritage who recently converged on Dubai have called for getting the local community reconnected with its past and reviving their tangible and intangible heritage through rebuilt heritage sites.
“We have a problem in getting local people back to the old town” said Rashad Bukhash director of Architectural Heritage Department at the Dubai Municipality.
“Dubai being a rich society it is difficult to make people live there again. That is practically not a good idea either. What we want is to revive the heritage areas with the community’s participation” he said. However a survey conducted by the department has shown that many youngsters had very less interest in heritage buildings.
Shatha Al Mulla an architect with the department who studied the community’s attitude towards the reconstruction of historic buildings in Shindagha said the younger generations are rather disconnected with the built heritage right now.
“We need to propose strategies and ways of reconnecting them to their past” she said.
“We need to think about the best approach within the context that we have in Dubai that could integrate them. We need to see what they need from heritage rather than seeing what we need to give them” she said.
Connecting with the identity
Special advisor to the director-general of ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) in Rome Jukka Jokilehto said heritage is a concept which helps people learn and appreciate their identity.
“In the case of the UAE one of the aspects of the identity here is the multicultural environment. It is an identity which evolves continuously. But we have to understand where it has come from how it has been gradually built. Therefore these places of memory are a useful part of the process” he said.
“You have to remember (the past) and have a perspective though you don’t have to go back to that life. The built heritage will help in that” he said.
Zaki Aslan from ICCROM’s Athar Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah said the reconstruction of buildings also implies the reconstruction of traditional skills and traditions associated with them as well as the establishment of a relationship between the community and the building reconstructed.
“By examining recent developments in historic areas in Dubai and Sharjah we can re-establish the spirit of a place the people aspire for. We should be moving towards development of new tools that will enable communities and future generations to enjoy the essence and livelihood of their historic areas” he said.
Heritage place-making
However an expert with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) the only global organisation for the conservation of monuments and sites observed that it is change — technological and economic — not hostile forces that obliterated much of Dubai’s built heritage.
Neil A. Silberman president of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Interpretation and Presentation (ICIP) said with the combined contribution of historians heritage experts planners and memory bearers Dubai’s reconstructed historic built environment can serve as an accessible public space to foster knowledge of and appreciation for local tradition and memory.
“More than just creating modern facsimiles of historic monuments and ensembles this example of “heritage place-making” through meticulous research and reconstruction facilitates creative activities and connections that help to define and communicate the traditional spirit of the place before its modern transformation” he said.
Bukhash noted that this is exactly what the government is trying to achieve. Reconstructed and restored historic buildings in Dubai have largely been converted as museums and galleries that showcase the life of the past.
“We also have the new projects coming up which will again show the life which was there.”
In February His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai approved plans to develop the Historical District the oldest part of the city centred around Khor Dubai (Dubai Creek).
The initiative is expected to transform the area into the leading culture and heritage centre of the region in three years with Shindagha Bur Dubai Al Fahidi and Deira districts getting a new look to revive the old charm of the historical sites.
“The initiative will see pearl diving sea faring and other aspects of Bedouins social life coming back to life for the people of the modern world to see” said Bukhash.
Dubai document
He said the interaction and exchange of ideas with the experts were held as part of Dubai’s efforts to preserve the heritage in areas around the Dubai Creek which is striving to be enlisted as a World Heritage Site by the Unesco.
As per the Unesco’s requirement the experts were in town for a two-day seminar on “Urban Conservation and Reconstruction in the Arabian Gulf” that was aimed to come up with a Dubai Document on architectural heritage reconstruction.
Having discussed the subject at length the experts have deferred the final drafting of the Dubai Document to include comprehensive analysis on the subject. The final draft is expected to be announced in three months as agreed upon after the seminar.