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Prof. J. Purchla at the Heritage Awards ceremony in Jordan

Professor Purchla, Vice-President of Europa Nostra and Chair of the Cultural Heritage Awards Jury, attended the official Heritage Awards ceremony and accompanying cultural events in Amman as a guest of honour. The visit was part of Europa Nostra’s mission to Jordan and aimed to strengthen cooperation with the Middle East and highlight the unifying power of cultural heritage.

From 1 to 5 June 2026, Prof. Jacek Purchla, as Vice-President and a member of the Europa Nostra delegation, took part in the organisation’s mission to Jordan. Professor Purchla was in Jordan at the invitation of Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas, President of the Petra National Trust and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. On 4 June, Professor Purchla – as chair of the jury for the European Heritage Award – represented Europa Nostra at the annual ceremony for the Petra National Trust and European Union Delegation in Jordan Heritage Awards. The ceremony took place at the Odeon Theatre in Amman. 

Heritage Award

The Jordanian Heritage Award, aimed at countries in the Middle East, is modelled on the European Heritage Award, which is presented annually in five categories by Europa Nostra and the European Commission. Its main aim is to recognise and promote best practices in the protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, to raise public awareness and to support good practices in the field of culture. The award aims to highlight the importance of local organisations working in the field of cultural heritage, including through networking and capacity building.

The Petra National Trust (PNT) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 1989 as Jordan’s first organisation dedicated exclusively to the protection of cultural heritage. In its early years, the PNT focused on Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Three decades later, PNT has become a centre of excellence in the field of cultural heritage conservation, working in the areas of conservation and restoration of monuments, community engagement, climate resilience, research and the promotion of relevant policies at local, regional and international levels. The President of PNT and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas, oversees the fulfilment of PNT’s mission and the implementation of its vision.

Professor Jacek Purchla on a mission to the Middle East 

Professor Purchla is once again working to promote cultural heritage in the Middle East and cooperation with that region. As a representative of Poland, he served, amongst other roles, as a member of the Advisory Board of the Anna Lindh Foundation (2012–2014). The task of the council, comprising eminent experts in the field of intercultural dialogue during the term in which Professor Jacek Purchla was involved, was, amongst other things, to identify the role of the Anna Lindh Foundation in the face of the so-called “Arab Spring” and to reflect on the consequences of the economic crisis for intercultural relations in Europe.

The professor also visited Bahrain. In 2018, during the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee, he was in the country as chairman of the Polish National Commission for UNESCO. In 2019, together with the director of the ICC, Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik, he also opened an exhibition entitled “Treasures of Krakow” at the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) in Bahrain. In 2019, the ICC hosted the exhibition “The Dark East”, which was a reflection by the Kurdish artist Ahmad Nabaz on the state of the Middle East at that time.

photo. Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

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