A dialogue seminar titled 'The Jordanian Narrative: Land and People', organised by the Jordanian Kurdish Cultural Association under the patronage of Culture Minister Mustafa al-Rawashdeh, examined the importance of documenting Jordanian history and tracing the human story on Jordanian soil. The event, held on Saturday at the Royal Cultural Centre, brought together academics, historians and specialists in the fields of history, military affairs, education, politics and economics.
اضافة اعلان
Al-Rawashdeh told the seminar - attended by association president Engineer Abd al-Wadoud al-Kurdi and a number of cultural, academic and public figures - that the 'Jordanian Narrative' project represents a response to the need to document the rich civilisational heritage that Jordanian land has held throughout history. He noted that the project was launched by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II from the governorate of Tafilah, describing it as a national project aimed at reading and documenting Jordan's history alongside its human and civilisational dimensions.
Al-Rawashdeh commended the Jordanian Kurdish Cultural Association's initiative in organising the seminar, which he said featured scholarly dialogue involving academic, military, educational and economic figures, and was directed at examining the concept of the Jordanian narrative and the means of documenting it - contributions he said would strengthen national awareness and memory and consolidate values of belonging and pride in Jordan's history.
He said the Jordanian narrative is not confined to linking historical events with geography and chronology, but also encompasses a reading of human activity and the transformations Jordan's land has witnessed across different eras, up to and including the modern Jordanian state.
Al-Rawashdeh added that the Ministry of Culture had launched a participatory national cultural programme called 'Dialogues', which toured various governorates of the Kingdom to enrich the cultural content of the Jordanian narrative. He noted that the programme concluded its final leg in the capital, Amman, a few days ago, and said the project remains open to cultural bodies, clubs and forums wishing to contribute ideas and perspectives to the national initiative.
He also said the ministry had established a platform called 'Stories from Jordan', aimed at documenting the Jordanian narrative and encouraging community participation in preserving national history and heritage. The platform allows citizens, researchers, young people and enthusiasts to contribute photographs, stories, videos and personal experiences that document Jordan's cultural heritage and history.
Association president Abd al-Wadoud al-Kurdi said Jordanian history should be read as the product of the interaction between people and land, and noted that the country's various social and cultural communities had contributed to building the Jordanian state and shaping its development.
Al-Kurdi said the Kurdish presence in the region has been linked since early historical periods to administrative, security and community roles. He stressed that Jordanians of Kurdish origin, alongside all other components of Jordanian society, had participated in the founding of the state, the building of its institutions and the advancement of its progress.
The seminar was moderated by tourism and archaeology expert Dr Ibrahim al-Kurdi. Participants included writer and historian Dr Muhannad Mubaydin, who addressed the historical and academic aspects of documenting the Jordanian narrative, and writer and historian Dr Bakr Khazir al-Majali, who spoke about the national and military role in its documentation.
Education expert Dr Nabil Saadoun al-Kurdi addressed the administrative and political role of Jordanian Kurds in documenting the Jordanian narrative, while economic and financial expert Dr Imad al-Agha al-Kurdi reviewed the economic and financial contributions of Jordanian Kurds to the development of the Jordanian state and society.
The seminar programme included a video presentation of traditional Kurdish dabke folklore dancing performed by the 'Kurd Roj' troupe, which is affiliated with the Jordanian Kurdish Cultural Association, as well as the presentation of commemorative shields to participants and a screening of a short film titled 'The Jordanian Narrative'.
Participants called for broadening the dialogue around the Jordanian narrative as an inclusive space for documenting the story of land and people, and for highlighting the contributions of Jordan's various communities to building the state and shaping its historical and civilisational journey - in ways that strengthen national memory in public consciousness and pass it on to new generations in a documented and balanced form.
This article was originally written in Arabic for Al Ghad.
