Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage at Beirut Arab University (BAU)
Beirut Arab University (BAU) demonstrates a strong commitment to recording and preserving Lebanon’s intangible cultural heritage – including local folklore, traditional arts, language, and community knowledge – through a wide range of programs, services, events, and policies across all its campuses (Beirut, Debbieh, Tripoli, and Bekaa). BAU integrates cultural heritage into its educational mission and extracurricular life, aligning with national and UNESCO efforts to safeguard intangible heritage. Below is an updated overview of BAU’s academic initiatives, student-led activities, partnerships, and community outreach dedicated to preserving folklore, traditions, language, and local knowledge.
Academic Programs and Research Promoting Heritage Preservation
Curriculum Integration:
BAU embeds cultural heritage topics in its academic curricula to raise awareness among students. For example, the Faculty of Human Sciences offers the course “Heritage Education for Elementary Education” (EDSS406), which trains future teachers to incorporate Lebanese heritage into teaching. This course emphasizes local culture, history, geography, architecture, traditions, festivals, folklore, music, language, and cuisine bau.edu.lb. Similarly, BAU offers Cultural Anthropology (EDSS407) and related social science courses that engage students with Lebanese traditions and social heritage bau.edu.lb. By including such courses, BAU ensures that graduates in education and humanities are prepared to transmit intangible heritage knowledge (e.g. folk tales, customs, and dialects) to younger generations.
Heritage in Architecture and Design:
In its architecture and design programs, BAU stresses the importance of cultural and historical context. The “Theories, History, and Humanities in Architecture” track explicitly supports Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities) by emphasizing the preservation of cultural heritage and social sustainability in the built environment bau.edu.lb. Architecture students study vernacular building techniques, historic preservation, and the intangible values of heritage sites. This humanistic approach sensitizes future architects and planners to Lebanon’s cultural landscapes – from traditional urban fabrics to the stories and social practices associated with them – ensuring that development is culturally inclusive.
Research and Publications:
BAU faculty and students actively engage in research on heritage and folklore. Through its digital research repository and journals, BAU has published studies on intangible heritage preservation – for instance, exploring how to conserve social memory and folklore in urban development digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb. Architecture research at BAU has examined community traditions in historic districts and the Historic Urban Landscape approach to rehabilitation pdfs.semanticscholar.org. These scholarly efforts generate new knowledge on safeguarding intangible heritage (such as oral histories, traditional crafts, and community rituals) amid modernization. BAU’s commitment to research that serves society is reflected in its vision to be a center of scholarship benefiting Lebanese culture bau.edu.lb.
Policy Alignment:
At the institutional level, BAU’s strategy and policies recognize cultural heritage as a pillar of quality education and sustainable development. The university explicitly states that “history and heritage contribute to quality education by providing a deeper understanding of the past, cultural diversity, and historical events” bau.edu.lb. BAU’s participation in global initiatives like the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (SDG 11) underscores its policy commitment to preserving heritage. In its sustainability reporting, BAU highlights projects related to cultural heritage, aligning with UNESCO conventions on safeguarding intangible heritage. This top-level support ensures that resources and attention are devoted to heritage-related initiatives across faculties and campuses.
Student Clubs and Extracurricular Activities
BAU’s vibrant student life includes several clubs and events that actively preserve and promote folklore, traditional arts, and cultural exchange. These extracurricular initiatives engage students in living heritage activities and often involve the broader community:
BAU’s UNESCO Club was relaunched in March 2023 as a student-led society focused on upholding UNESCO’s values, including the protection of cultural heritage instagram.com. Its revival kickoff event was a hike to Kadisha Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lebanon known for its cultural and spiritual significance instagram.com. By organizing trips to such heritage sites, the UNESCO Club reconnects students with their cultural landscape and traditions. The Club provides training for students to lead sustainability and heritage-awareness campaigns, developing their leadership while promoting Lebanon’s cultural legacy. Under the patronage of BAU’s President, the club has fostered partnerships with the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO, evident in events like the 8th NGO Fair (April 2024) which it co-organized to bridge gaps and celebrate cultural rights bau.edu.lbbau.edu.lb. Through seminars, workshops, and community service projects, BAU’s UNESCO Club is cultivating a new generation of heritage champions on campus.
BAU boasts a very active Folk Dance Club that helps keep traditional Lebanese dance (Dabke and other folk dances) alive among the youth. The club regularly practices and performs folkloric dances at university functions and public cultural festivals. Notably, the “Folk Dance Club”, often collaborating with the Modern Dance Club, organizes campus-wide dance showcases. For example, the clubs jointly presented a production titled “Dance with Passion”, featuring Lebanese folk routines alongside contemporary numbers bau.edu.lb. Such performances highlight Lebanese dabke steps, costumes, and music, allowing students to experience the joy of their heritage through dance. BAU’s folk dance troupe also participates in inter-university cultural festivals and national events. According to BAU, “we participate in cultural festivals hosted by other universities and organizations. All our performances are open to the public and completely free of charge.” bau.edu.lb. By performing traditional dances for diverse audiences, BAU students actively preserve an intangible art form and share it with the community. For instance, at the conclusion of a recent cultural season, BAU’s Folk Dance and Modern Dance Clubs held a joint public concert where students showcased a number of folkloric dances bau.edu.lb. These events not only keep age-old dance traditions alive on stage, but also encourage young people to take pride in their cultural identity.
Complementing the dance club, BAU’s Music Club often performs Arabic songs – including folkloric and patriotic tunes – at university events, thus preserving traditional music and lyrics. In end-of-year festivals, BAU’s student art groups have presented sets of Arabic folk songs alongside foreign music bau.edu.lb. The Drama Club gives students a chance to revive literary heritage and folklore through theater. BAU drama productions sometimes draw on local stories or historical themes, and the club’s participation in local and Arab theater festivals provides a platform to celebrate Arab cultural narratives bau.edu.lb. These performing arts clubs are supported by BAU’s Student Affairs and have dedicated facilities on each campus bau.edu.lb. Collectively, they ensure that oral expression, music, and performing arts – key components of intangible heritage – remain a vibrant part of campus life.
- Cultural Exhibitions and Festivals:
BAU frequently holds cultural days and exhibitions initiated by students or departments that highlight Lebanese traditions. For example, student societies have organized heritage exhibitions featuring traditional costumes, handicrafts, cuisine, and folk music. Such events often invite local artisans or folklore troupes, forging a link between the university and community knowledge-bearers. Even BAU’s Homecoming celebrations at the Beirut, Debbieh, and Tripoli campuses have integrated cultural elements – with folk dance club performances, traditional food stalls, and storytelling sessions – to reconnect alumni and students with their roots bau.edu.lbbau.edu.lb. By supporting these festivals and fairs, BAU provides a venue for intergenerational transmission of heritage and promotes multicultural understanding among its students.
Partnerships and Community Outreach Initiatives
BAU extends its impact beyond campus through partnerships and projects that engage with communities to document and safeguard intangible heritage:
- “Heritage in Our Life” Conference (Tripoli Campus):
BAU’s Tripoli Branch has actively collaborated with local cultural organizations. In one notable initiative, the Tripoli campus – in partnership with the Tripoli Victor Lions Club – hosted a public conference entitled “Heritage in Our Life”. This conference gathered government representatives, academics, and community figures to discuss the role of cultural heritage in contemporary life wanderlog.com. Topics included folklore and identity in sustainable tourism, as presented by experts like Dr. Maha Kayyal in her talk “Folklore Identity and Tourism.” The forum underscored how Lebanese folk traditions and narratives can be leveraged for community development while preserving their authenticity. With the BAU President and local officials in attendance wanderlog.com, the event demonstrated BAU’s convening power to raise awareness on intangible heritage in northern Lebanon. It also gave students and faculty in Tripoli an opportunity to actively participate in cultural discourse and connect with heritage advocates. Such community conferences help document local customs, oral history, and traditional arts of Tripoli and emphasize their value for future generations.
- UNESCO “MOST School” on Youth and Heritage:
At the national level, BAU has partnered with UNESCO on capacity-building programs that link education, youth, and heritage. In 2019, BAU co-organized a UNESCO Management of Social Transformations (MOST) School – a three-day workshop on “Youth Civic Engagement and public policies for urban inclusive governance through cultural heritage” iau-hesd.net. This program, conducted in cooperation with UNESCO and the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development, trained young researchers and decision-makers from across Lebanon. It focused on how engaging youth in cultural heritage promotion can foster social inclusion and sustainable urban development iau-hesd.net. BAU faculty contributed research methodologies and case studies, and students participated in developing policy recommendations. By hosting and leading this UNESCO workshop, BAU actively contributed to national heritage-safeguarding strategies, underlining the importance of intangible cultural heritage (such as shared community values, oral traditions, and civic memory) in urban policy. The success of the MOST School illustrates BAU’s role as a bridge between academia, youth, and policymakers in the realm of cultural heritage.
- Herbal Heritage Conservation (Bekaa Campus):
BAU’s commitment to preserving local knowledge is also evident through initiatives at its Bekaa campus. The university’s Research Center for Environment and Development (RCED) in the Bekaa has established an “RCED Herbal Garden” in collaboration with the NGO Green Hand Organization and the Faculty of Pharmacy bau.edu.lb. Occupying about 11,000 m² of BAU’s Bekaa campus land, this living garden conserves native Lebanese medicinal and aromatic plants, many of which are tied to folk medicine traditions bau.edu.lb. By cultivating and documenting these plants, BAU helps safeguard the intangible heritage of herbal remedies and ethnobotanical knowledge passed down through generations. The RCED Herbal Garden serves as an educational resource where students and local farmers can exchange knowledge about traditional uses of plants. It also supports research into natural remedies, bridging scientific inquiry with ancestral wisdom. This project, launched jointly with community partners, demonstrates BAU’s innovative approach to preserving intangible heritage: rather than books or dances, it preserves practical knowledge – the healing practices and plant lore of Lebanese communities – ensuring they remain part of the country’s living heritage bau.edu.lb.
- Lectures and Public Talks:
BAU frequently invites distinguished figures in culture and heritage to speak, thereby raising public consciousness about preservation. For example, BAU’s Debbieh Campus hosted a high-profile lecture by Dr. Ismail Serageldin (Emeritus Librarian of Alexandria) titled “The Value of Cultural Heritage”. In this lecture, Dr. Serageldin highlighted the multifaceted value – historical, economic, and social – of cultural heritage assets and the need to safeguard both tangible and intangible heritage in the Arab world bau.edu.lb. Such events, open to students, faculty, and outside attendees, reinforce BAU’s role as an advocate for cultural heritage. They align with BAU’s public responsibility to spread knowledge on preserving identity and heritage. Likewise, BAU often marks occasions like the World Heritage Day by organizing seminars, and it has participated in government-led heritage initiatives (e.g., sending student volunteers to help inventory and restore heritage sites after the 2020 Beirut blast, as part of BAU’s social responsibility bau.edu.lb). These outreach efforts ground BAU’s policies in action, connecting academic insight with on-the-ground heritage preservation.
Institutional Support and Policies
BAU’s diverse heritage-related activities are underpinned by supportive institutional policies and recognition at the national level:
BAU’s leadership regards the preservation of cultural heritage as part of the university’s mission to serve society. The President of BAU, Professor Amr Galal El Adawi, has patronized cultural clubs (like the UNESCO Club launch) and emphasized student engagement with heritage. BAU’s strategic plan for sustainability (aligned with the UN SDGs) includes goals for cultural sustainability, ensuring that heritage preservation is an objective alongside environmental and economic sustainability. This integrated approach treats cultural heritage as a resource for community well-being and identity, echoing Lebanon’s national cultural policy frameworks.
- Museum and Cultural Spaces:
In addition to intangible heritage, BAU has also invested in preserving tangible cultural heritage through on-campus museums and archives which complement intangible efforts. Notably, in 2022 BAU inaugurated a university museum (the “BAU Museum”) at the Beirut campus, which houses historical artifacts and documents. The Lebanese Minister of Culture praised BAU as an institution “faithfully safeguarding heritage” during the museum’s opening, even announcing the museum’s inclusion on the official cultural map lebanonfiles.com. While the museum preserves physical heritage, it also plays an educational role in highlighting the stories and knowledge behind those objects – thereby intersecting with intangible heritage education. Moreover, BAU’s libraries curate collections on folklore, local history, and languages (for example, BAU’s library catalog includes works like “Tripoli of Olden Days: Customs and Traditions”librarycatalog.bau.edu.lb), supporting research into Lebanon’s intangible cultural practices.
- Community Engagement Policy:
Through its Office of Student Affairs and the Center for Continuing & Community Education, BAU encourages students to undertake community projects that often relate to cultural heritage. The university has a policy of forming partnerships with cultural organizations and NGOs, exemplified by its collaborations with UNESCO, Lions Clubs, and local heritage NGOs mentioned above. These partnerships are formalized through MoUs and joint activities, ensuring continuity and institutional support for heritage projects. BAU’s community engagement guidelines highlight respecting local culture and working with communities as custodians of their heritage. This ethos was evident after the Beirut Port explosion (2020), when BAU volunteers assisted in saving broken stained-glass from historical buildings and recording oral histories from affected residents, in cooperation with heritage organizations iau-hesd.netiau-hesd.net.
BAU’s efforts in cultural heritage have gained recognition both nationally and internationally. The university often features its heritage-related projects in its annual reports and sustainable development goal (SDG) reports. For instance, BAU’s overall SDG report showcases the UNESCO Club activities and the herbal garden project as key contributions to preserving local heritage bau.edu.lbbau.edu.lb. By transparently reporting these, BAU holds itself accountable to heritage goals. Additionally, BAU’s participation in competitions and forums – such as the “Arab Culture Week” exhibitions or student competitions on folklore – provides students a platform to showcase Lebanese intangible heritage beyond campus. All these efforts contribute to a growing reputation for BAU as a university that not only educates, but also safeguards cultural patrimony.
Conclusion
Across its Beirut campus and branches in Debbieh, Tripoli, and Bekaa, Beirut Arab University plays a proactive role in recording, safeguarding, and celebrating intangible cultural heritage. Through academic programs (courses on heritage, anthropological research), student and faculty-led projects (folk dance performances, cultural clubs, heritage conferences), and strategic partnerships (with UNESCO, cultural NGOs, and community groups), BAU ensures that Lebanon’s rich tapestry of folklore, traditions, language, and local knowledge is passed on to future generations. These initiatives are supported by BAU’s policies that integrate cultural heritage in its educational mission and community engagement strategy. BAU’s multifaceted approach – from classroom to community – illustrates how a university can serve as a custodian of intangible heritage, nurturing pride in local identity and contributing to the broader national and global efforts to preserve humanity’s living cultural treasures.
iConnect
