In the first weeks of November, a workshop and symposium under the project "Digitalization of Cultural Heritage" was conducted successfully at the German Jordanian University (GJU) in Amman. A diverse group of students from universities in Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq participated in an intensive week-long workshop on learning photogrammetry techniques to preserve cultural heritage in the field.
As part of this experience, the student groups visited iconic historical sites, including Jerash, Umm Qais, the renowned "Rose City" of Petra, and notable landmarks in Amman, such as the Temple of Hercules and the Roman theater. They scanned and digitalized various heritage objects at each location, collecting invaluable raw materials for future processing.
Over the coming months, the amassed data will be processed and finalized at the students' respective home universities. The collaborative efforts of these multinational teams are anticipated to yield diverse outcomes, ranging from films and virtual tours enriched with embedded 3D objects to innovative games and other immersive media experiences.
Throughout the workshop, the academic delegation received warm receptions and engaged in productive work meetings at partner universities in Jordan, namely the Jordan University of Science and Technology, Yarmouk University, and the German Jordanian University.
Culminating in a grand symposium on Sunday, November 12th, hosted at the SABE Campus of the GJU, the conference featured the esteemed presence of Her Excellency H.R.H Princess Dana Firas. As a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage and president of the Association of the World Council on Monuments and Sites, Her Excellency bestowed her patronage upon the entire project.
The symposium showcased several compelling case studies, delving into diverse aspects of cultural heritage digitization. Topics ranged from digitizing cultural treasures in Petra and the Museum of Jordan to exploring 3D Virtual Tours and integrating Arab Cultural Legacy into Metaverse platforms.
The Department of Informatics and Media at Technische Hochschule Brandenburg is head of this project under the supervision of Prof. Julia Schnitzer, together with a team of currently 3 project assistants, 3 teaching assistants and three tutors.
We are glad to have the support and patronage of the following external partner- institutions:
- PDTRA – Petra Development Tourism Regional Authority, Jordan
- Jordan Museum
- Bait Al Anbat, Jordan
- Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq
- Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission e.V., UNESCO Global Geoparks Unit Heritage, Nature, Society
Partner universities of DAAD Ta’ziz “Digitalization of Cultural Heritage”
- German Jordanian University, Jordan (GJU)
- Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan (JUST)
- Yarmouk University, Jordan (YU)
- American University of Beirut, Lebanon (AUB)
- Tishk International University of Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq (TIU)
- University of Mosul, Iraq (UM)
- University of Khartoum, Sudan (UoK)
- German University of Science and Technology, Maskat, Oman (Gutech)
- Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (HBRS)
- Hochschule Darmstadt (h_da)
- Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena (EAH Jena)
Hosting Universities:
- Technische Hochschule Brandenburg,
- German Jordanian University
- Jordan University of Science and Technology
Head of Organization:
- Technische Hochschule Brandenburg