Local capacity development and awareness raising is at the heart of the Soqotra Heritage Project which includes both training of heritage professionals and of members of local communities. Building on existing local capacity is fundamental for the long term implementation of effective conservation and management efforts with particular focus on ensuring the inclusion of heritage in sustainable local development as well as in ensuring the sustainability of the local communities.
Between 2018-2020 the project team members met at the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage in Manama, Bahrain, four times for training workshops on recognizing, documenting and recording cultural heritage on Soqotra. Training in documenting cultural heritage included detailed survey methods for a range of sites, including specialist training in recording rock art and in the use of Kite Aerial Photography. Recording intangible heritage included detailed training in cinematography to enable the full detail of traditional practices to be brought to life. Further training in education and awareness techniques, presentation, and story-telling also featured strongly. Additionally, interested members of the Soqotri community have been directly involved in documentation of cultural heritage assets.
The first enabling factor is to ensure that the requirements of the local team were met and matched to strategic outcomes agreed by project partners and stakeholders.
This was further supported by the involvement on the ground of ARC-WH’s Project Coordinator for Socotra who is fluent in English, Arabic and Soqotri, facilitating the communication and knowledge transmission.
The availability of travel funds to conduct face-to-face and in situ training is fundamental to ensure the effectiveness of these activities.
Good and inclusive capacity building activities requires close collaboration between project partners that bring complementary expertise.
The specific inclusion of women in the capacity building programme, allowing them to expand their technical knowledge is a clear rarity in an Indigenous society such as it exists in Soqotra, where women traditionally refrain from (or not always benefit from equal opportunities) having key roles in public activities. The inclusion of Soqotri women gave access to information sources which would have not been accessible otherwise.
It is critical to collect feedbacks throughout the training process to ensure that team members have the required skills, and also experience to pass skills on to communities and local professionals.
High quality translation services are necessary to be able to adequately communicate and engage with communities and local actors. Additionally, the direct involvement of heritage professionals with Indigenous language skills is a fundamental asset for the effective delivery of training and capacity building.
Multidisciplinary partnership of the Soqotra Heritage Project
Deqwelhel Leem.
Soqotra Heritage Project
Field team on Soqotra
Soqotra Heritage Project
The Soqotra Heritage Project is a coordinated by the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants (part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh) in cooperation with the Freie Universität Berlin, the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), the Senckenburg Research Institute, the Soqotra Culture and Heritage Association, the Yemeni Environmental Protection Authority, the General Organisation for Antiquities and Museums (GOAM), Carey Tourism (sustainable tourism partner) and Stories as Change (production of visual storytelling and project' films). Additionally, the project benefits from the initial support of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport through the British Council Cultural Protection Fund. Further funds are being acquired for follow on programmes.
The key element of the partnership established for the Soqotra Heritage Project is its interdisciplinary character that brings together different experiences in the field of cultural and natural heritage conservation, including the intangible cultural heritage of Soqotri communities.
The partnership is a fundamental element of the project, which through its interdisciplinary character seeks to enhance the biodiversity focus through increasing knowledge about the not yet fully explored cultural heritage of the Soqotra Archipelago.
The Soqotra Heritage Project is possible through the financial support of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the British Council received through the Cultural Protection Fund, with subsequent funds about to be implemented.
Planning and communication have been key components in the success of the project activities. Furthermore, having an ARC-WH staff member on-site who is part of the local community with the necessary indigenous language skills tremendously facilitated the successful implementation of the project.
The element of multidisciplinary partnership is the backbone for the implementation of the Soqotra Heritage Project. Bringing together institutions and organisations with different foci and experiences in the fields of cultural and natural heritage conservation, including the intangible cultural heritage has been of key importance for the successful implementation of the project.
Having ARC-WH’s Project Coordinator for Socotra on-site, facilitating and able to communicate in the local Indigenous language has allowed for a more effective communication with the participants in the project and local Soqotri.
Lastly, the simplification of the project management process has made the implementation of the project more straightforward. The multidisciplinary partnership has been based on agreed roles and responsibilities which were established at the beginning of the project.
Incorporating traditional knowledge Systems in management and safeguarding activities
Educating new generations
Creation of collaborative research projects on Indigenous and Local Knowledge
SITMo has developed partnership with local scientific institutions like the Ifugao State University, which is working with the FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) designation and has established the Ifugao Rice Terraces GIAHS Research and Development Center. Furthermore, connected to this initiative, SITMo is working in cooperation with the Ifugao State University and the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Chengchi University of Taiwan in the project “Center for Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, Local Knowledge and Sustainable Development”, where partner institutions are exploring together the sustainable safeguarding and transmission of their Indigenous knowledge through exchange and collaborative research, which would enable local communities to develop sustainably. A long-term partnership with the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been established in 2012 to undertake archaeological investigations in the terraces, leading to the establishment of community heritage galleries and publication of scientific articles.
GIAHS designation of the Rice Terraces (2004)
The local Ifugao State University is engaged in research and cooperation focused on the rice terraces, agroforestry and biodiversity conservation
The Department of Education embarked on a major overhaul of the curriculum where Indigenous knowledge and local Ifugao culture is to be integrated in all levels of K to 12. Research on traditional knowledge was required.
Common challenges with neighboring countries and other Indigenous communities
Involving research in the conservation of the Rice Terraces and the engagement of the youth and the community at large in the endeavor are mutually beneficial (for the research institutes and the local communities)
The interface of traditional knowledge learning through community elders and the formal schools through formally trained teachers can be conflicting at times so long-term strategies are to be put in place.
Administrative bureaucracy can be difficult for non-government organizations to work with government agencies and universities but patience is the key to success.
