Young Omanis as Digital Curators


Wednesday 9th Feb 2022, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Young Omanis as Digital Curators

In this webinar, Nicholas Mellor, Andrew Hadley, and Dr Heba Aziz will be talking about their 4DHeritage project which involves a collaboration between universities, businesses and young people in both the UK and Oman with a focus on the value of heritage and how we share the stories that embody it.

People tend to think of heritage as being all about the past, and mainly of interest to older generations. Young people’s engagement is limited, even though it is all around them in tangible and intangible forms. They may live in the shadow of a world heritage site, or next door to a notable but obscure building, but they do not see a connection with their present lives or future aspirations.

Professionals working in the heritage sector are mainly concerned with research, conservation and education. They have a respected role as custodians of historic sites and interpreters of things, with an additional responsibility for reaching different audiences. The “consumers” of their work are mostly tourists, students or academic colleagues.

Most heritage projects are based around conservation, education or tourism. The focus is heritage itself, and young people are a target audience, to be taught or attracted as visitors or future supporters. Monuments are protected and promoted as an end in themselves. Increasingly this is a matter for experts, using scientific methods and expensive equipment.

The Coronavirus crisis has undermined the tourism industry put many services that relied on travel on hold. At the same time it has created opportunities for innovation and much greater readiness for people to work in a virtual format. Most heritage organisations are looking for ways to introduce digital innovation into their work, both for conservation and education. But not everyone has access to the funding or expertise for this. Young people themselves are naturally the right people to lead a digital reinvention of heritage. They have the energy, enthusiasm and often the entrepreneurial thinking required; they are attracted to the digital / virtual world and they can do more to inspire their peers than teachers or formal educators.

Young people have been disproportionately affected by economic trends as well as Covid. Unemployment is high and they need opportunities to develop transferable (soft) and digital skills.

Communities everywhere need economic regeneration, cohesion and security. All countries wish to promote their cultures, increase tourism and contribute to intercultural understanding.

Their approach

Nicholas, Andrew, and Heba have reimagined heritage education by putting young people at the centre of the process, so heritage becomes a resource for youth development: the means rather than the end, facing firmly towards the future. The team believe it's the smart thing to do for heritage organisations, because the young people they help today will become their employees, leaders and supporters tomorrow.

They suggest that what excites young people to begin with may not be heritage itself, but the process of digital innovation and the chance to learn 21st century skills. Through this they then come to appreciate their heritage as a source of identity, community, employment and self-worth. and build a sense of ownership. Ultimately, this gives young people a meaningful role in heritage conservation, communication and education, facing both inwards towards the heritage sites and surrounding communities (acting as curators), and outwards (as communicators) towards schools, young people, tourists and others at home and around the world.

In this webinar, the team will especially discuss the recent 4DHeritage Course at GUTech, which has seen a team of Omani students digitally preserved Matrah Fort, Bahla Fort, and Bahla Souq. To find out more about this incredible project and see footage of these sites, make sure to register here!

This course was sponsored by the British Omani Society, STID, and GUTech.

The Speakers

Nicholas Mellor, founder of 4D Heritage will be introducing the project

Andrew Hadley, founder of the Centre for International Learning and Leadership will be talking about how young Omanis were engaged and supported during this project

Heba Aziz, Dean of GUTech University in Oman will be talking about the project from the Omani perspective and how it might be built on.

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