Through a collaboration between IDS, Suryoyo Youth Department of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Refcemi for the Middle East People’s Culture Conservation Collective (MEPCCC) initiative, heritage gatherers in Syria aimed at preserving Syriac Christian cultural heritage by documenting traditions, engaging communities through events and social media, and ensuring these practices endure for future generations.
Syria is a country rich in religious, linguistic and ethnic diversity and one of its most ancient communities are the indigenous Christian churches established in the first century, some of whom contain to speak a variation of the Aramaic language, that which was spoken by Jesus Christ.
During this project, 24 young people became heritage gatherers. These young people were trained by a previous cohort of young women and men who had started their journeys as heritage gatherers and coordinators, through support from a previous British Council grant.
Syrian Christian heritage documented included celebrations and traditions, including social practices associated with key life events (baptism, marriage, death), food, traditional clothes, occupations, and art (such as hymns and songs).
Additionally, topics shared across all communities included oral histories, building the church, serving the church, harvest season and agriculture, artisans and special professions.
The project involved 9 males and 23 females in Syria (SOC). Of these participants, 53.1% were aged 19-25, and 34.4% were aged 26-35, reflecting significant youth engagement.
In the second phase to the project, the young people were trained to become session facilitators and document these sessions by video. The young people organised and convened 179 sessions: 34 in Tartous Coast and Al-Wadi, 57 in Damascus and rural Damascus, and 78 in Daraa and Sweida). A total of 15 topics were introduced during the sessions, with an outreach to 1,393 members of the community, however the ripple effects extended to thousands in view of the impact of the participants on their extended family, neighbours and friends. Most innovative about their work was involving children and young people in the heritage revival processes.
A total of eight Facebook pages and groups (6 pages and 2 groups) were utilized to share and discuss local heritage.
These platforms averaged around 3,116 followers per page and 615 members across the groups, providing a space for communities and young people to connect online.
By the end of the first year of the project, community presentations were held in local churches, schools, and community centres were crucial in promoting heritage knowledge and pride, these events averaged 52 attendees per event.
A 23-year-old female heritage gatherer from Khabab Town in Daraa Governorate, Syria, shared her experience through the River of Life activity.
The exercise was aimed at assessing the HGs’ experience in the project for identifying what they learned and how they feel about it, it also gave them a chance to express their feelings about events, people or other useful components they faced in their journey.
She said:
“When the project started, I didn’t have any idea about what heritage is or how to gather heritage, which made me feel afraid of what was coming next.
“This made me think of leaving the project at the start because I had doubts about my knowledge and capacity.
“Then I started preparing for my first interview, which was about Easter traditions in my community, and this was the spark that started my exciting journey.
“After doing this first interview, I was so happy and excited, and it showed on me—when others asked me why I was so happy, I told them I finally understood heritage gathering, what heritage is, and the importance of my role.
“This feeling of fear and anxiety turned into motivation and excitement to learn more, so I arranged for my next interviews, and then the fear barrier was demolished, and I became very confident.
“Then I started learning about topics and people from my community that I never knew about before.
“I faced challenges like not having enough time and the stress of filming during the summer, but I started filming when the temperature was lower.
“I also faced challenges in photography and recording, but with practice, I was able to overcome them.
“My favourite experience was the community presentation, as it was my first time presenting.
“I am a bit sad that this phase of the project is ending, but I am certain that I will continue gathering heritage and contribute more to our heritage collection.”
