TRANSITION

TRANSITION builds on two assumptions: the first relates to the education’s pivotal role in society to the fulfilment of human rights, peace, and responsible citizenship from local to global levels; the second relates to the social responsibility of universities in outreaching and raising awareness about cultural heritage preservation and, in particular, protection of the cultural heritage of minorities.

Kurdistan region of Iraq and Yemen are countries that, according to their history, have experienced severe damage to cultural heritage because of political crises that have generated war and turmoil and are therefore in dire need to develop conflict and post-conflict strategies to deal with cultural heritage. This is all the truer for the heritage of minorities, which is the most endangered in conflict-zones. The activities proposed are meant to train university teachers and update existing teaching modules that may enable students and researchers to deal with such issues more effectively.

Moreover, TRANSITION aims at building awareness in civil societies of Partner Countries as well as among decision makers to create positive synergies between academia and society.

The overall objective is indeed promoting a unique and ground-breaking teaching environment addressing minorities and combining a multidisciplinary approach to fostering a culture of cooperation between higher education institutions, scientific communities, and other stakeholders including policy makers. Developing capacity in universities will allow the birth of a new generation of heritage specialists possessing the critical capacity of working with the tangible and intangible heritage of minorities, a direly felt need of Partner Countries. KAO and ICOMOS are associated partners.