Workshop description:

AMAL in Heritage is a programme for managing disaster and conflict risks for cultural heritage through a combination of tools, training, planning, and community development. Through user-friendly mobile/web applications and a participatory design process with local partners, AMAL builds capacity for both heritage professionals and laypeople to respond to cultural crises proactively.

The first element of AMAL’s mobile application is Rapid Damage Assessment tools and related supplementary training materials. The information gathered through AMAL Rapid Damage Assessment helps to prioritize emergency response and identify cultural heritage assets that need further assessment. It can also Identify the type and nature of the required interventions based on the type and degree of damage.

Global Heritage Fund (GHF) launched AMAL in Heritage as an international initiative and partnership with the International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS-ICORP), the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), the International Centre for the Study and the Preservation of Cultural Property (ICCROM), and the Cultural Emergency Response (CER) programme at the Prince Claus Fund.

Learning Objectives:

The objectives of AMAL in Heritage workshop are:

  • Introducing AMAL in Heritage and its mobile application for rapid damage assessment
  • App installation and training on AMAL’s application
  • Damage assessment exercise with AMAL’s application near the university campus
  • Feedback and discussion on the application by the workshop participants

What operating systems are supported?

AMAL mobile app works on any iOS device running 9.0+ version of iOS software.

Workshop presenters: 

Dr Bijan Rouhani is Director of AMAL in Heritage at Global Heritage Fund (GHF) and Training Manager in Endangered Archaeology (EAMENA) at the School of Archaeology of the University of Oxford. He is also Vice President of the International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness of ICOMOS (ICOMOS-ICORP). Bijan is also Vice-chair of ICOMOS Working Group for Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Syria and Iraq, and has been involved in designing and implementing various training, monitoring and capacity building activities for the protection of built heritage in the Middle East. He is ICOMOS’ representative on the board of International Committee of Blue Shield Board..He received his PhD in 2010 in Conservation of Architectural Heritage from La Sapienza, the University of Rome, Italy. His research was on International Principles for the Protection of Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflict. His research and professional interests include the management and conservation of built heritage; assessing and recording risk and damage from natural and human-induced disasters and armed conflict to archaeological sites and monuments in the Middle East and North Africa and developing risk preparedness and management plans and methodologies for endangered cultural heritage sites; post-war and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction of cultural heritage; and new technologies, including mobile applications, for data recording and emergency management for archaeological sites.

Andres R. Acosta is AMAL in Heritage Product Design Director. He has worked for 16 years at the forefront of product design in San Francisco. In 2005, he helped a team at Stanford University design the first prototype of TeachAIDS – a learning application to promote global HIV/AIDS prevention. Used in more than 80 countries, TeachAIDS provides the most effective HIV education for free under a Creative Commons License.
Since 2006, Andres has worked as Design Director for David Perry & Associates, a San Francisco based global public relations firm. He contributed to digital marketing campaigns for The City & County of San Francisco, The San Francisco Travel Association, The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Wilhelmina International, The 2013 America’s Cup, and The Port of San Francisco.
In 2013, Andres worked with Shazam on several Shazam-for-TV initiatives, a Spotify integration and an overall product design update for iOS and Android. In 2014, Andres helped launch Luxer One, a smart self-serve package delivery platform for multi-family properties.
Currently, Andres leads the product design for “Amal in Heritage,” an emergency management platform for cultural heritage.

Soroush Khanlou is a New York-based iOS developer. He’s written apps for the New Yorker, David Chang’s restaurant Ando, and Genius. Soroush has worked with the New York Public Library and Brooklyn Historical Society to build an app called Urban Archive, which includes geotagged historical photos and the ability to “recreate” a photo by taking a picture at the exact same spot in the city. He blogs about programming at khanlou.com. In his free time, he runs, bakes bread, and collects suitcases.

Cost: 

Free for Registered Symposia Delegates !, thanks to the Global Heritage Fund’s support

CAD$200 General
CAD$100 For registered Symposium participants

Registration here – Deadline EXTENDED to August 21, 2017