In line with its efforts to promote sustainable practices in cultural heritage preservation, the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) launched the first sessions of its 2025 Training Program on Cultural Heritage Preservation. Implemented jointly with Sites & Cités remarquables de France (French National Association of Remarkable Sites and Cities), the program engages staff from engineering, cultural heritage, and public relations departments representing 15 local government units (LGUs). Held virtually via Zoom, the program consists of a series of specialized training sessions aimed at building the capacities of LGUs in documentation, inventory management, and community engagement. It is tailored to strengthen national identity and reconnect local communities with their cultural and historical roots. 

The training program featured two specialized sessions that addressed key issues and case studies related to heritage preservation and community engagement. Titled Heritage Preservation Techniques and Inventory Management, the first session focused on tools for historical documentation, field surveys, and database management. Sylvain Schombert, Project Manager at the Urban Planning Department of the Municipality of Bordeaux, presented advanced models for inventory management. Saly Abu Bakr, Director of the Cultural Development Department at the Municipality of Ramallah, shared the municipality’s experience in documenting houses by engaging the youth in surveying buildings and relevant social histories. Adel Liddawi, Head of the Geographic Information Department at the Municipality of Beit Jala, also showcased the municipality’s initiative to name streets using GIS tools, as a model for reviving cultural identity through toponymy.

The second session, titled Community Engagement and Building Heritage Ambassadors, served as a dynamic platform to present inspiring models of how communities, particularly youth, can contribute to heritage protection and foster local belonging. Maëlle Despouys, Project Officer for Permanent Democracy in the Directorate of Proximity and Citizen Relations at the Municipality of Bordeaux, offered an advanced perspective on youth engagement in urban planning. Uhoud Inayah, Director of Programs and Policies at APLA, presented the Association’s approach to strengthening heritage preservation in historic centers through effective community engagement tools. Maud Baccara, Heritage Development Officer at the Municipality of Rouen-Normandy, shared the experience of the “Heritage Ambassadors” initiative, which uses storytelling as a medium to revive collective memory. Amani Abu Ziyad, Director of Projects and Planning at the Municipality of Al-Eizariya, highlighted the “Hospitable Al-Eizariya” initiative as a model that integrates heritage conservation with sustainable community development.

This program marks a strategic step toward building LGUs that are more aware of the value of heritage as a component of national resilience and as a tool to redefine the relationship between people and place. By expanding international partnerships and adapting global experiences to the Palestinian context, APLA aims to empower LGUs to become key actors in protecting cultural identity – not only as heritage but also as a future resource that enriches public life and safeguards collective memory from erosion and erasure.