DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

OUR PAST, OUR FUTURE, ALL TOGETHER IN FAYNAN

Project disclaimer

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Description

Faynan is located south of the Dead Sea on the eastern side of Wadi Araba in southern Jordan. This is an economically deprived area, with pastoralism and irrigation-based farming providing livelihood to members of four Bedouin tribes who live within Faynan: the 'Ammarin, Sa'idiyyin, Rashaydah and 'Azazmah. It has a remarkable archaeological landscape that has been discovered and explored by research teams from the UK, US and Germany over the last forty years, all with support from the Jordanian Department of Antiquities. While there have been many academic publications, this cultural heritage has not been sufficiently used to support eco-tourism into Faynan which could be a major source of income for sustainable economic growth. Neither has the cultural heritage been made accessible to the local community and used to support social cohesiveness, education and well-being. The establishment of the Faynan Museum by the Department of Antiquities has provided an opportunity to make progress on both of these matters. Between 2016 and 2018, an AHRC funded project (Discovering WF16) established the first displays within the museum and provided a small number of information boards at the archaeological sites. The success of that project demonstrated the value of further developing the museum. This new project will involve a close collaboration between UK and Jordanian academics, and the Faynan community. It has the full support of the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities will make a step change in the ability of the museum to support the local community for sustainable development. By raising awareness and understanding, the project will also help protect and conserve the cultural heritage of Faynan in the face of an expansion of irrigation farming, road and dam development. The project involves six sub-projects that will: 1. Co-create an enhanced gallery space to include representation of the last 100 years of Faynan's history within the musuem 2. Facilitate members of the local community to tell their own history and stories about Faynan in their own way, and represent this within the museum. 3. Support the six schools in Faynan to develop an awareness and understanding of Faynan's cultural heritage and embed this into the learning and teaching 4. Connect the museum to the landscape by installing information boards at a further 20 archaeological sites, 5. Make accessible the archaeological sites of Faynan to those who cannot visit Faynan or cannot access the sites in its remote areas by using photogrammetry to document and digitally represent the sites within the museum and on the Faynan heritage website 6. Enable the museum to become a community hub by designing social and play space for adults and children in its immediate vicinity. Each of these projects will be developed jointly with members of the local community in Faynan via workshops. The outcome will be a museum that will support eco-tourism in the region, provide the local community with a means to represent their own history in their own way, support education, social and individual well-being, and help to protect and conserve Faynan's cultural heritage.

Objectives

The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.

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Location

The country, countries or regions that benefit from this Programme.

Jordan

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