The Bedouin Heritage Project was founded to help safeguard the unique cultural heritage of Bedouin communities around the globe. Founded on the principles of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Non Profit Association will foster projects to help safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of Bedouin communities throughout the Middle East following the basic principles:
* The collection and intergenerational transmission of oral heritage; and
* The transmission and adaptation of knowledge and know-how.
The Wadi Rum project in Jordan is promoted by the Bedouin Heritage Project. The principal goal of the project is to safeguard the main features of the lifestyle and oral history of the Bedu that have developed in Wadi Rum region over the course of millennia and that are being lost due to inevitable societal changes.
The BHP’s Wadi Rum project goal is to participate, record, represent and ultimately safeguard the many facets of the Bedouin lifestyle, social system, traditions, medicine and oral history. This two year project will incorporate the best practices of cultural and media anthropology including video, photography, audio, figurative art, journalism, academic research, sensory memory and genealogy.
While the initial project is local in nature, the best practices established should serve as a model for future projects throughout Jordan and the middle east. In order to achieve the project’s goals and deliver a living memory to the Bedu themselves, new methodologies for authenticate representation of intangible heritage and oral traditions will be required and, ideally, will be transfered to similar projects around the world.
BHP is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium with operating offces in Florence, Italy and Berlin, Germany. The project’s founders; Ingrid Bouilliart, Mark Abouzeid and Nora Mertens; have arranged for sponsorship and logistical support from Royal Jordanian Airlines, Canon Italia S.p.a., AssistAmerica and PhotoAid.