From April 29 to May 4, the Department of Conservation and Built Heritage of the University of Malta had the pleasure of hosting four academics from the Department of Architecture of Birzeit University, Palestine, as part of an Erasmus+ EU exchange programme. The academics who visited Malta were Dr Shadi Ghadban (who is also Dean of the newly established Department of Arts, Music and Design of Birzeit University), Dr Mohammad Jawabreh, Dr Yasid Reifayi and Architect Lana Judeh.
A two-day seminar entitled 'Safeguarding Urban Centres and Historic Buildings' was held at the University of Malta Valletta Campus on 2 and 3 May, with Day 1 dealing with Approaches and Tools and Day 2 on Critical Reflections. Other invited speakers were Prof. Alex Torpiano, Dean of the Faculty for the Built Environment, and Perit Konrad Buhagiar, AP. The audience consisted of University of Malta academics, and professionals from Heritage Malta, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the Restoration Directorate and private architectural firms working in the field of conservation.
The Palestinian academics gave lectures shedding light on the sterling work on the conservation and documentation of Cultural Heritage carried out in Palestine – ranging from the classification of historic buildings, to a description of a manual for rehabilitation, to urban regeneration plans for historic centres. Work being done at Birzeit University on interactive virtual tours of archaeological sites was also presented.
The seminar was introduced by Prof. JoAnn Cassar, Head of the Department of Conservation and Built Heritage. The session moderators were Dr Reuben Grima and Dr Shirley Cefai, from the same Department. Discussions at the end of each day were moderated by Prof. Alex Torpiano and Dr Shadi Ghadban, respectively.
During the week-long visit, discussions were also held on future collaborations between the University of Malta and Birzeit University, with the Dean of the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta Prof. Alex Torpiano, and Pro-Rector for Research (University of Malta) Prof. Saviour Zammit.
This exchange, which was a follow-up of another visit to Birzeit University by members of staff of the Department of Conservation and Built Heritage, was possible through the work and dedication of the International Offices of the University of Malta and Birzeit University. Special thanks go to the Representative of the Malta Government in Palestine, Mr Reuben Gauci for his tireless support of such exchanges.
