JCI in Damascus carries out a project on documenting the tangible and intangible Syrian heritage

35 young men and women, who are  members of the Junior Chamber International ( JCI)  in Damascus toured a number of  neighborhoods of the old Damascus, during which they documented a number  of  Syrian traditional handicrafts for which Damascus has been famous .  

 

During their meeting with a number of craftsmen and elderly citizens of the old neighborhoods , the members of the JCI  took  photos  and recorded information  about the deep-rooted Syrian traditional handicrafts. 

 

“ This  cultural tour  comes within the  framework of “Syria Dylan” project, which is a Syriac designation that means “our Syria” in Arabic. This project   was launched by the  JCI  in Damascus last March” , according to the project’s director, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Hajjaj.  

 

The project aims to highlight the tangible and intangible Syrian heritage and publish it on  the JCI’S  pages ,  social media sites  as well as on the project’s   special page  in coordination with the Ministries of Information and Tourism. 

 

According to the project’s director , the participants in the tour were divided into several teams distributed in a number of lanes and old markets. They met a number of owners of workshops for the manufacture of silver, gold, copper, brocade and mosaic in the markets of Medhat Pasha, Al-Buzuriya, Straight Street and Sulaymaniyah Avenue. One of the teams also visited the Bimaristan Al-Nouri (Museum of Medicine and Science). 

 

In this context, Vice-President of the JCI in Damascus Alaa Soukia clarified   that the team visited the Museum of Medicine and Science and documented it architecturally and what it presented in the field of science, in addition to highlighting the spatial surroundings of the museum and meeting a number of its residents.  

 

The youth  Samer Ishaq considered the project an opportunity to communicate directly with the craftsmen and take information about their handicrafts  from them. 

 

For his , another  Vice-President of the JCI  in Damascus Dr. Khanum Marani pointed out  that the community programs implemented by the JCI  in Damascus during the current year also included  “Noun” project, which aimed  to introduce Syrian laws related to women’s rights through holding awareness sessions in coordination with the Bar Association and the Syrian Trust for Development. 

 

In this regard other projects, which were  carried out by the JCI in Damascus , according to Dr. Marani,  included  “You are the Entrepreneur” project for adolescents aged between 14 to 16 years old, with the aim of training them on entrepreneurship, in addition to another project concerned with mental health through yoga sessions and psychological first aid. 

 

JCI Syria was established in 2004 under the supervision of the International Chamber of Commerce and currently includes eight local chambers in Damascus, Tartous, Aleppo, Sweida, Homs,  Al-Wadi, Lattakia and Apamea, where  various projects are being carried out  within four domains  including individuals, society, business and international scope. 

 

Rawaa Ghanam