3/13/2019
Busayra City of Culture for 2019
USAID Sustainable Cultural
Heritage Through Engagement of Local Communities Project is pleased to share
that Busayra has been selected by the Ministry of Culture as one of Jordan’s
Cities of Culture for 2019. Busayra, located in Tafileh Governorate, is one of
nine sites at which SCHEP has done significant work over the past four years.
As one of the Kingdom’s 2019 Cities of Culture, the Ministry of Culture will
implement a series of activities to advance art and culture in the district.
SCHEP welcomes this decision as an opportunity for further development of the
site itself and an increase in the economic benefits that art, cultural, and
tourism activities can bring to the local community.
Through ongoing collaboration
with the community in Busayra, SCHEP has made improvements to the
archaeological site to prepare it for tourism, including the installation of
interpretive signs to help visitors navigate and understand the site and its
unique history. SCHEP has recently installed a mural painting depicting the
historical timeline of Busayra at the entrance to the site, designed by local
architect Toqa al Oran from Tafileh and painted by local artists and teachers.
SCHEP has also helped establish a Heritage Lab for children and youth in a
school bordering the archaeological site the first of its kind in the Kingdom.
Finally, SCHEP worked with members of the local community to initiate a local,
women-led enterprise, the Busayra Foundation for Cultural Heritage, which will
carry on the work of caring for the site and conducting heritage and tourism
activities. SCHEP is proud to support such an organization, which will not only
benefit the community at large, but also serves as a platform for the women of
Busayra to play an active role in the management of local cultural heritage
resources.