Webinar - Projects in Heritage: Thinking, Planning, Executing, Completing

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_my8u_hyASoKzHvKf1v_Vmw

This is the seventh instalment of an eight-part series of webinars that focuses on the preservation of heritage across the Arab world. It has been made possible through the generous support of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s Education Department.

In this webinar, we focus on the practicalities of projects in the field of heritage, may it be conservation, restoration, documentation, education or research. Our three speakers will each cover different stages of the process drawing on their own experiences; from the initial project idea, to the importance of a detailed plan, to a realistic pathway to its execution, and, finally, its successful completion and evaluation of goals. The process can be daunting but this webinar hopes to clarify the potential difficulties that practitioners may face along the way. Our first speaker, May al-Ibrashi will elaborate on project design; not just how to write an application but how to think about the work that we do, its relevance and relation to the environment around us. Our second speaker, Seif el-Rashidi will explain what makes an appealing project in the eyes of grant providers and funding bodies. Finally, Therese Ghobriel will explain the importance of financial management and project operation once the funds have been secured.

This webinar will be ran slightly different from previous ones. To ensure that it remains interactive and relevant to those working in the field and the particular challenges they face we will invite participants to fill in the Google form below one week before the webinar with some brief information about their field, challenges they face in completing projects, and suggestions and advice they’d like to share with others. This information will allow the three speakers to tailor the discussion to your needs and interests.

This webinar will take place on Zoom entirely in Arabic.

Our Speakers:

May al-Ibrashy is an Egyptian architect whose work centres on community engagement through heritage conservation, rehabilitation, preservation, and re-signification. She is the founder of the Megawra – Built Environment Collective (BEC), a twinship between an architectural firm and an NGO that engages with the built environment with a focus on theory, praxis, arts, and linking cultural heritage to sustainability and social responsibility. Through her work she has managed to create a real difference for the, often marginalised, communities living in Cairo’s historic centre and has created an important counter-narrative to the current government’s focus on urban expansion and renewal, creating a new sense of hope and pride for the communities she works with.

Seif El Rashidi is an architectural historian with 20 years of expertise working on heritage preservation and managing projects related to promoting public engagement with heritage and culture. Seif was formerly the Project Manager of Layers of London (2016-2020), developed by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London; Project Manager at the Guildhall Library (2016-2018); Magna Carta Programme Manager for Salisbury Cathedral (2014-2016); the coordinator of Durham’s UNESCO World Heritage Site (2008-2014); a team member of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s Darb Al-Ahmar Revitalisation Project in Cairo (1997-2008) and at Ahmad Hamid Architects (1995-1997). Seif has been a technical reviewer for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s heritage projects since 2013, and was on the World Monuments Fund Project Selection Committee for 2019. He is an advisory member of the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund. Since 2018, he has developed a dynamic cultural heritage programme in London in partnership with Asia House, Leighton House, The Arab British Centre, London Craft Week, among others.

Therese Ghobriel has over 15 years of professional experience in the arts and culture sector across the Arab region and Canada with a focus on financial management, capacity building and institutional development. She currently serves as the administrative director of La Maison Théâtre. Since 2010, Therese has offered consultations to support cultural initiatives in developing and restructuring their financial systems. She holds a Master’s degree in management of cultural enterprises from HEC Montréal and is a member of Culture Resource’s (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy) artistic board since 2022