Conferences and Workshops
The British Institute has co-organised and hosted a number of conferences and workshops in the past, bringing together researchers in the humanities and social sciences from all over the world.
Recent Events
Jordan’s Prehistory: Past and Future Research in collaboration with The Department of Antiquities of Jordan, ACOR, GPIA and IFPO
25 - 28 May 2009
Programme details can be found here.
Traditions and Transformations: Tourism, Heritage and Cultural Change in the Middle East and North Africa Region
4 - 7 April 2009
More information can be found here.
Aerial Archaeology Workshop
April 2007
Organised by Dr Robert Bewley and Prof David Kennedy with the support of the Department of Antiquities, Jordan, this workshop was held to train archaeologists from the region to expand awareness of the importance of aerial reconnaissance and develop expertise.
Since 1997, the aerial reconnaissance programme in Jordan, under the direction of Prof David Kennedy and Dr Robert Bewley (see, for example, Ancient Jordan from the Air, CBRL, 2004), has been the only one of its kind in the Middle East.
Landscapes in Transition: Understanding hunter-gatherer and farming landscapes in the early Holocene of Europe and the Levant.
March 2007
The British Institute in Amman organised and hosted this conference. More information, participants and paper abstracts can be found here. The publication of this conference in preparation.
Shifting Boundaries
February 2007
In co-operation with the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS), the British Institute organised the workshop Shifting Boundaries with participants from different backgrounds and disciplines to debate and challenge some of the popular perceptions of division between ‘East’ and ‘West’ that are often encouraged for example in modern journalism and even some academic debate.
More information can be found here.
Traditions and Transformations: Tourism, Heritage and Cultural Change in the
Middle East and North Africa Region
Amman, Jordan 4-7th April 2009
Under the direction of Professors Mike Robinson and Bill Finlayson, the
conference received support from Dr Rami Daher, Daniela Carl (Research Officer
of the CTCC), Suleiman Farajat (PhD researcher from the CTCC), staff from the
tourism department of the Greater Municipality of Amman and from the King
Hussein Cultural Centre.
The conference was held in the Al-Hussein Cultural Centre in downtown Amman
as part of the centennial celebrations of the Greater Municipality of Amman. The
venue was donated to us through the Greater Amman Municipality and the Mayor of
Amman.
The aims of the conference were:
to critically explore the major issues facing the MENA region with regard to
the development of tourism and its relationships with heritage and culture; and
to draw upon research, ideas, cases and best practice from international
scholars and help develop new understandings and research capacities regarding
the relationships between tourism, heritage and culture in the MENA region.
The opening of the Conference was attended by over 300 people. It included
speeches from the following:
Professor Bill Finlayson, Director of CBRL
Professor Mike Robinson, Director, CTCC
Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya Bint Al Hassan
Her Excellency Maha Khatib, Jordan Minister of Tourism
His Excellency Dr. Sabri Rbeihat, Jordan Minister of Culture
His Excellency Eng. Omar Al-Ma’ani, Mayor of Amman
Dr. Ghassan Assaleh, ISESCO
In 10 sessions, 116 papers were presented. 284 delegates attended the
conference, most of whom were academics/researchers but there was significant
representation from policy makers and professionals from around the Middle East
and North Africa Region. UNESCO, ICCROM and several Ministries of Tourism were
represented at the event. The delegates represented the following disciplines:
anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art and design history, cultural
geography, cultural studies, ethnology and folklore, history, heritage studies,
landscape studies, linguistics, museum studies, political science, sociology,
tourism studies and urban/spatial planning.
A number of exhibitions accompanied the conference, notably from the
following organisations:
CBRL & The British Institute, Amman
Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change/ Leeds Metropolitan University, UK
Channel View Publications Ltd., UK
EU Euromed Heritage Programme, UK
Greater Municipality of Amman
ICCROM
ISESCO
Jordan Department of Antiquities
Jordan Ministry of Culture
Jordan Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
Jordan National Museum
Jordan Tourism Board
Mrs Mary Tahan
Petra National Trust
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Salt Development Corporation
The Makhad Trust
Turath
USAID / Jordan Tourism Development Project II
The conference was generously supported by:
The Greater Municipality of Amman
The Jordan Ministry of Culture
Jordan Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Jordan Tourism Board
The Jordan Museum
USAID / Jordan Tourism Development Project II
The Salt Development Corporation
The British Ambassador to Jordan
Royal Jordanian Airlines
Tourism Around the World Monthly