Taawon (Welfare Association) hosted a closing seminar on Wednesday December 7, in partnership with the Nijad Ze’ini Engineering Faculty at Al Quds University, for its EU-funded project, “Restoration and Rehabilitation of Housing in Jerusalem’s Historic Urban Core.” Over 100 participants from the local and international development community, as well as interested individuals and students attended the event.
The seminar included presentations prepared by the project team on the main activities and achievements of the project, which officially ends on December 14, 2016.
The workshop, entitled “Towards communal planning: historic cities and tactics of life” centered around individual practices and communal actions that are taking place in the Old City of Jerusalem, or in towns with similar conditions locally and internationally. In the workshop, the results and observations of the Housing Survey Study, that was conducted as part of the project, were also presented.
The three-year project was implemented by the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Program (OCJRP), and funded by a grant from the EU focused on upgrading the living conditions in the Old City through multifaceted interventions that included the rehabilitation of 18 homes, Housing Condition Study for 300 units including detailed assessment of the structural, physical and environmental conditions in the old city, the training of 12 craftsmen and 98 engineers and architects on all restoration related fields.
In addition, and in order to encourage continuous education in the sector, the project also developed a specialized Information and Documentation Unit with a training library, and produced technical publications and a project specific data base. Furthermore, it established networks for advocacy of architectural heritage preservation in Palestine.