ASOR Trains Syrian and Yemeni Students and Heritage Professionals in Tools for Cultural Heritage Documentation
Oct. 7, 2025 | By Darren P. Ashby | ASOR Cultural Heritage Programs Manager
Over the past few months, ASOR has offered free training in its cultural heritage documentation curriculum to Syrian and Yemeni students and heritage professionals in collaboration with SIMAT and Heritage for Peace. ASOR’s freely accessible curriculum aims to help cultural heritage specialists perform surveys and condition assessments through mostly open-source tools and software, including KoboToolbox, QGIS, LibreCAD, and Agisoft Metashape. Available in Arabic, English, and French, these tutorials provide step-by-step tutorials on how to download, install, and effectively use these applications and software for data collection, analysis, and visualization.
Together, these tools offer the flexibility to meet a wide variety of needs. In Syria, ASOR and SIMAT are working with the University of Damascus to train students and faculty in the Department of Archaeology. Syria’s heritage has been badly affected by more than a decade of war. The future of Syria’s heritage depends on the ability of its students, teachers, heritage professionals, and community members to identify problems and questions and act on them.
In Yemen, ASOR partnered with Heritage for Peace to train members of the General Authority for Antiquities and Museums in Taiz. The General Authority, in collaboration with Heritage for Peace and other partners, is now working to restore Al-Qahira Castle with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. Although ASOR is not a formal partner in this project, we are happy to have contributed in a small way to its success.
Training is only a beginning, but it helps build the foundation for so much more. ASOR is proud to support Syrians and Yemenis working to conserve and celebrate their heritage.
