Preserving Religious and Cultural Heritage in Jordan

NEA/AC seeks projects that will empower local religious communities to protect and preserve their religious and cultural heritage, both moveable and immovable, while also fostering inter-religious dialogue and cooperation around shared elements of cultural heritage, contributing to a shared Jordanian identity. The work will include training communities to preserve cultural artifacts to support stabilization of communities and Jordan's interfaith traditions and establishing best practices for the country and region, which could in turn result in an increase in tourism to Jordan and minority communities. The project should support community efforts to locally preserve cultural artifacts to prevent loss—whether due to decay or intolerance—and prevent destabilization of religious communities and erasing historical tradition. NEA will partner with a qualified organization that can map and assess vulnerable artifacts and sites, work with stakeholders to develop preservation capacity, and identify capacity gaps, including among non-traditional partners. This program should not include large-scale repair or maintenance of specific religious properties or artifacts as the primary purpose or outcome. This project complements USAID's programs that support cultural preservation in Jordan. This project is unique in its focus as it will combine both the promotion of interfaith tolerance and much needed support for vital religious heritage in one program.