an initiative of the Fighting Erasure project
Resilient Communities, Resilient Archives Online Conference
Protecting Heritage, Memory & Land in Palestine & Lebanon
2pm to 8pm (Jerusalem) on December 5, 6 & 7
Register today!
Embedded Files
We are pleased to present the full program for the online conference, "Resilient Archives, Resilient Communities,” taking place on December 5, 6 and 7, 2025. Below, you will find the full conference schedule of keynotes and panels here, along with presentation abstracts and speaker biographies. Featuring 7 keynotes, 30+ speakers, and 9 panels that center the work and perspectives of archivists, memory workers and cultural stewards in Palestine and Lebanon. Register today!
Join us as we build community, strengthen networks, and fight erasure together. Through this conference, we are highlighting local voices in international debates on transitional memory, digital archiving in conflict zones, and community-centered models of heritage so we can together contribute to a broader global shift toward ethical, equitable, and community-embedded digital preservation. Register today!
The conference is sponsored and supported by the “Safeguarding Archives, Building Resilience in Palestine, Lebanon & the Global South” initiative of the Fighting Erasure project; International Council on Archives’ Programme Commission; International Council on Archives’ Palestine Archives Task Force; Middle East Librarians Association’s Archives & Records Advocacy & Training Group; Archives & Digital Media Lab; the Archival Community - Palestine; Lebanese Library Association; Litwin Books; Archival Technologies Lab at City University of New York; University of Amsterdam “Decolonial Futures”.
Donate to the Fighting Erasure project here, which funds the Archives & Heritage for Palestine|series. Your donations are crucial for us to be able to host these events and related activities. Tax receipts available through the American University of Beirut.
Conference Programme
abstract and biographies below
Abstracts
Day 1: Friday, December 5
Day 1: Friday, December 5
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mahmoud Balaawy
Title: Gaza's Experience in Documenting & Protecting Built Cultural Heritage During Wars and Crises
Keynote Speaker: Amani Rammal
Title: Family Archives as an area of resistance: History from the bottom to confront the threat of wars through the experience of Withaqiyya
Panel 1: Resistance, Memory & Archives Against Genocide in Gaza
Panel 1: Resistance, Memory & Archives Against Genocide in Gaza
Moderator: Omar Moussa
Title: The Only Survivor
Speaker: Shahd Qdeih
Abstract:
Being from within the orphan camp, I have seen children who lost both their parents—mother and father—as well as their siblings. Some were left entirely alone, like a five-year-old child and another who is fourteen, while many others now live with relatives such as an uncle, a grandfather, or any remaining member of their parents’ families.
Title: Traditional Crafts and Heritage Industries Revived by Gazans During the Genocidal War on the Gaza Strip
Speaker: Mohammad Mustafa Al-Shami
Abstract:
Gazans have endured a brutal genocidal war marked by severe deprivation and the denial of even the most basic necessities of life under the suffocating blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation since October 7, 2023. In the face of this oppressive reality, the people of Gaza sought to resist the siege and mitigate its effects by reviving traditional crafts and heritage-based professions—such as baking, water carrying, woodcutting, cobbling, tent making, animal-drawn cart work, soap production, and pottery making. Through these acts of cultural resilience, Gazans sent a powerful message: neither war nor blockade can extinguish their creativity or sever their bond with the history and heritage of their ancestors. It is a declaration that “we remain as long as thyme and olives remain.”
This research aims to document a heritage landscape rarely seen in the twenty-first century, yet revived under the pressures of war. Traditional crafts and industries—long eroded by technological advancement—suddenly reemerged in contemporary Gaza. This study captures a complex image that weaves together the hardship and endurance of Gazans with their determination to reclaim ancestral skills and revive traditional industries in an era otherwise defined by modernity and rapid innovation.
The study employs the historical-descriptive method, seeking to both describe and contextualize the phenomenon while comparing the professions and tools of the past with their modern equivalents. It also draws on sources and references that provide extensive insight into Gaza’s history, crafts, and industries, in addition to the firsthand observations of the researcher, who lived through the war and witnessed the revival of these traditional professions directly.
Title: From Ruin to Memory
Speakers: Najla Abu Nahla
Abstract:
This interactive session addresses the protection of at-risk archives in contexts of conflict and disaster, highlighting the importance of documenting heritage destruction as a fundamental step in safeguarding collective memory. Three scholars present complementary interventions: the first focuses on the technical and institutional challenges of preserving archives; the second examines emergency mitigation strategies and innovative community-based practices; while the third explores collective memory as an act of resistance that restores heritage to its role in shaping identity.
The session provides space for discussion on practical tools for documentation and protection and seeks to illuminate the interconnected relationship between archives, cultural continuity, and community resilience in the face of attempts at erasure and symbolic annihilation.
Panel 2: Archiving & Tracing Global Palestine
Panel 2: Archiving & Tracing Global Palestine
Moderator: Zaynab Nemer
Title: Between the Archive and the Self: Documenting my Father, Confronting my Palestinianness
Speaker: Amany Al-Sayyed
Abstract:
This talk traces and explains the unearthed story of anti-colonialist Palestinian journalist Hussein Al-Sayyed as it circulated through the global south, starting from Lebanon to Ghana and Malta. The talk will focus on one unearthed radio episode found in the refugee camps and archived at the American University of Beirut. The radio station in general was funded by the Algerian and Maltese governments—Malta was identified at the time as a post-colonial nation-state and understood its identity as part of the global south as opposed to the European continent. We interrogate this historical moment as humanistic knowledge by working through the material in Al-Sayyed’s radio episode. The talk hopes to properly showcase this overlooked dissident history, and to open discussion on the relationship between past, present and future in anti-colonial intellectual production and its relationship to legacy building
Title: Archiving Pro-Palestinian Activism During the Gaza Genocide
Speaker: Jenan Abu Shtaya
Abstract:
The talk will address the question of archiving the work of pro-Palestinian movements during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Using the case of archiving materials from a student-led occupation at a US campus, the talk will highlight the importance of preserving materials from global solidarity movements during the Gaza genocide. The talk will mainly focus on the archiving challenges posed by ongoing suppression and censorship of pro-Palestinian movements and activists and explore ways to address these challenges in the archiving process.
Title: Archiving Greek solidarity to Palestine: Past(s), Present(s) and Future(s)
Speaker: Christina Chatzitheodorou
Abstract:
The talk will first examine archives and Greek solidarity with Palestine, from the late 1960s up until now. It will start with archives from the late sixties and early seventies, during the Diktatoria ton Sintagmatarchon (trans. Regime of the Colonels), and move forward to examine archives from the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the Palestinian community played an important role in making the Palestinian cause visible to a Greek audience. It will also look into archives from more recent times, especially following October 7.
The second part will delve into the archive I have curated, which focuses on Greek solidarity with Palestine from the late 1960s up until the present day and the importance of open archives and digitization to counter erasure and create counter-narratives to dominant narratives that exclude radical and pro-Palestinian voices. It will also examine the archive as open space, looking into the past, the present, and the future.
Panel 3: Archiving Palestinian Genealogies & Struggles Against Displacement & In Exile
Panel 3: Archiving Palestinian Genealogies & Struggles Against Displacement & In Exile
Moderator: Yara Abu Khadijeh
Title: Archiving Photographs: Visual Memory and the Struggle Against Erasure
Speaker: Ahmed Ebeid
Abstract:
The presentation examines how photographs differ from written sources as channels of information and how these differences necessitate distinct methods of processing—particularly in terms of description and the assignment of keywords and metadata. It then moves to outline the principles of describing photographic materials, both in their formal characteristics and their thematic content.
Finally, the presentation addresses the specific challenges of archiving photographic collections related to Palestine. These challenges include:
the fragmentation and dispersal of photographic archives;
issues of description and determining the contextual background of images;
the preservation of original paper photographs; and
the archiving of modern and contemporary (born-digital) photographs.
Title: Documenting the history of the Palestinian family and restoring its cohesion as a means of resisting projects of identity erasure
Speaker: Yasser Qaddoura
Abstract:
The Zionist project has not been limited to the occupation of Palestinian land; it has also sought to erase Palestinian identity by obscuring the history of its families and their collective memory. In response, the “Hawiyya” initiative emerged as a national effort to construct and safeguard the Palestinian narrative in opposition to the Zionist one. The initiative documents the history of Palestinian families by compiling family trees, recording the testimonies of elders and Nakba survivors, and preserving historical photographs and documents that chronicle the story of the land and its people.
“Hawiyya” works to reaffirm the Palestinian right of return and to strengthen family cohesion and reunification across the homeland and the diaspora. In doing so, it offers a distinctive model for documenting and preserving identity in the face of ongoing attempts at erasure.
Title: National Archive of Palestinian Refugees
Speaker: Ammar Yassine
Title: Challenges of documenting Palestinian people's history and culture in the Lebanese exile; and the inclusion of youth in critical research,and creative expression
Speaker: Moataz Dajani
Abstract:
This is a presentation of the experience of the Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts (ARCPA/Al-Jana) in engaging Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon in documenting their epic historical journey and their cultural and civilizational contributions. The presentation highlights the Center’s work in producing resources grounded in the knowledge, experiences, and contributions of Palestinian communities, using an active-learning approach that encourages youth to pursue critical inquiry, creative expression, and the dissemination of their research outputs through publications, audiovisual materials, exhibitions, and artistic performances that inspire others. This work aims to strengthen a sense of resistant identity among young people and to document, disseminate, and draw inspiration from the grand human saga of the Palestinian people.
Day 2: Saturday, December 6
Day 2: Saturday, December 6
ICA Session:
Speaker: Marianne Deraze Programmes Manager, ICA
Title: The International Council on Archives: Its Programme Commission and Its Role
Keynote Speaker: Omar Khatib
Title: City Archives Emergency Interactions
Keynote Speaker: Basma Chebani
Title: Archives in the Time of Post-Colonialism and Cultural Memory Erasure: Digital Preservation for Sustainable Archives without Wall
Panel 4: From City to Village: Preserving Vital Records & Local Histories at Municipal Archives
Panel 4: From City to Village: Preserving Vital Records & Local Histories at Municipal Archives
Moderator: Rawan Mazeh
Title: Al-Bireh City and the Preservation of a Threatened Palestinian Identity
Speaker: Ihab Ghaizan
Abstract:
Driven by our deep belief in the importance of preserving the institutional, historical, and social memory of the city of Al-Bireh, I am pleased to present to you a proposal for establishing a City Archive Project. This project aims to collect, document, and preserve the records and documents that reflect the journey of our city and its development across the decades.
Al-Bireh, with its rich cultural heritage and its special place in the hearts of its people, deserves to have a comprehensive archive that safeguards its administrative, cultural, and social history. The significance of this project becomes even more evident in light of the difficult circumstances we face and the practices of the occupation that threaten the city’s landmarks and collective memory—making this initiative a national and ethical duty before being an administrative endeavor.
Title: The Ramallah Municipality Archive: Guardian of the City’s Identity, History, and Future—Archiving the Heritage and History of Ramallah
Speaker: Hama Freij
Abstract:
Ramallah Municipality presents its experience in preserving the city’s cultural heritage through the establishment of the Municipal Archive, a cornerstone of its Resilient Strategic Plan. The archive safeguards both historical and administrative fonds, ensuring the protection of Ramallah’s identity formed 117 years ago. It documents the city’s evolution across the Ottoman, British Mandate, Jordanian, and Israeli occupation eras up till now while securing institutional memory and citizens’ rights. By organizing and protecting municipal data, the archive reinforces transparency and trust, serving as a vital instrument to narrate Ramallah’s social, cultural, political, and economic heritage for present and future generations.
Title: Our Archive as Past, Present, and Future: The Imperative of Digitization
Speaker: Hanadi al-Kababji
Abstract:
The project “Resilient Archives—Hebron Municipality Archive” aims to preserve the city’s memory and safeguard its administrative and historical heritage spanning more than a century. The archive contains rare documents that record the stages of Hebron’s development and the successive municipal councils that governed it, highlighting transformations in the Old City and the evolution of public services.
The project seeks to digitize the archive, classify it according to modern archival standards, and ensure secure access for researchers and institutions. It also aims to protect the documents from deterioration and to strengthen cultural identity by showcasing Hebron’s history within the framework of the municipality’s digital transformation. Ultimately, the archive is envisioned as a dynamic national reference for future generations.
Title: From Threat to Protection: The Land Authority’s Strategy for Safeguarding Institutional Archives
Speaker: Abdallah Omar
Abstract:
This presentation explains the transformation led by the Land Authority from a reality in which archives were under threat to the development of a comprehensive strategy for their protection. It begins by identifying the risks that the archives had previously faced, then outlines the policies and procedures adopted to reduce these threats, such as improving storage systems, introducing digitization, and strengthening cooperation with relevant stakeholders. The presentation also highlights the importance of engaging all concerned parties—staff, experts, and technicians—in the protection process. The aim is to provide an overview of the institution’s journey from a state of vulnerability in the face of risks to a phase of effective protection of the institutional archive.
Title: The Municipal Archive as Memory and Identity: Electronic Archiving in the Tulkarm Municipality and Its Role in Safeguarding Tulkarm’s Local Identity
Speaker: Dr. Salah Falah Zaki Jallad, Eng. Rana Sabah, Musab Abu Salah
Abstract:
Municipalities in the West Bank play a central role in preserving the memory and identity of their cities through the archiving of official documents and records that reflect the history of their communities and the services they provide. The significance of the Tulkarm Municipality, along with other major municipalities—most of which were established more than 150 years ago—stands out as they serve as guardians of institutional and national memory.
This highlights the urgent need to shift toward electronic archiving as a strategic choice that ensures the preservation of Tulkarm’s local identity and protects the municipal archive from loss, damage, or deliberate destruction—as witnessed in the Gaza Strip, where the loss of archives has resulted in the erasure of part of the cities’ identities.
This reality underscores the necessity of exploring modern approaches that safeguard archives and protect identity through the adoption of electronic archiving. The role of the archive in the Tulkarm Municipality is not limited to administrative functions; rather, it extends to becoming a fundamental tool in preserving national and cultural identity. The preserved materials—ranging from manuscripts to administrative records documenting urban organization and municipal services—stand as witnesses to the life and history of the community.
Panel 5: Counter-Narratives of Palestine: Storytelling, Exhibition & Community Archiving
Panel 5: Counter-Narratives of Palestine: Storytelling, Exhibition & Community Archiving
Moderator: Tahani Nassar
Title: Remediating the Archive in the Face of Erasure:Insights from 7ajar School of Creative Research/Resistance
Speakers: Heba Burqan & Erik DeLuca
Abstract:
7ajar حجر School of Creative Research/Resistance is an annual audio and video storytelling workshop and pedagogical experimentation, centers the Palestinian voices in confronting the violent erasures of settler colonialism and global media narratives. Through collective storytelling and remediation of family and community archives, Our 2025 session–marked the school’s second iteration–hosted 16 participants from Art and Design post-secondary programs from Palestine and beyond. Participants joined thematic clusters, and using archival materials and mobile tools, they created 40 minutes of 5 short films exploring how personal memory intersects with histories of violence, resilience, and resistance. In our proposed session, we are sharing insights on how the remediation of archived materials can contribute to countering hegemonic narratives and resisting erasure.
Title: Archiving Absence: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Collective Memory in Times of Erasure
Speaker: Hala Alnaji
Abstract:
In the aftermath of the ongoing destruction and displacement in Gaza, the act of archiving becomes not merely a matter of preservation but one of ethical presence, how to remember amid erasure, and how to sustain memory when the archive itself is constantly under threat. This 15-minute talk explores the ethics and aesthetics of archiving absence through three interconnected projects that unfold between 2024 and 2025: my solo exhibition “Nazeh Exhibition” and the linguistic extension “Nazeh Lexicon” (Cairo, 2024); the collective initiative “The Trace of Absence” (Gaza, 2025); and the participatory textile mapping project “Stitching Gaza – Collective Artwork,” exhibited in the Istanbul Pavilion (2025).
The Nazeh Exhibition reimagines displacement as a curatorial and emotional condition, transforming the exhibition space into a site where fragmentation, slowness, and emotional labour replace representation and resolution. The accompanying Nazeh Lexicon extends this inquiry into language itself, gathering words, gestures, and utterances born from the experience of forced mobility to form an evolving archive of exile.
Emerging from this curatorial and linguistic terrain, The Trace of Absence is a community-based initiative that gathers fragments of destroyed or displaced life — burnt teacups, fabrics from tents, a child’s toy, pieces of rubble — as vessels of memory and resilience. Through collective storytelling and photographic documentation, it assembles a living archive that resists the logic of preservation-as-proof and instead enacts a phenomenology of survival.
Finally, Stitching Gaza, Collective Artwork extends this collective archiving into tactile space. In workshops between Cairo and Istanbul, displaced artists and participants embroider maps of Gaza using threads, fabrics, and stories. The resulting map becomes both a cartography of longing and an embodied archive of endurance, where the act of stitching reclaims geography through touch and care.
Together, these projects articulate an ethics of archiving that privileges listening, stitching, and holding over collecting and conserving. They propose that art can operate as a decolonial archive of the present, one that honours what has been erased by transforming absence itself into a medium of resistance, memory, and collective survival.
Title: A Resource for Medieval Palestine: Resisting Erasure, Reclaiming Place
Speakers: Nadine Aranki and Gabriel Polley
Abstract:
This presentation introduces a new project beginning at Queen Mary University of London, which aims to create an educational online resource dedicated to threatened medieval sites in Palestine. The presentation begins with an introduction to the first two sites selected for the project, the village of Zakariyya, depopulated and largely destroyed by Zionist forces in 1948, and Mamilla cemetery, a historic Islamic burial ground in West Jerusalem, systematically neglected by the Israeli authorities. The presentation then outlines the aim of the project, and welcomes discussion and input on the resource in the early stages of its development.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mona Akanan
Title: Radio stations’ experience in digitizing audio archives: exemplary practices and common pitfalls
Abstract:
A practical case study of a Lebanese radio station’s experience in digitizing its audio archive—an archive that remains at constant risk of destruction—will be presented. The project began under the pressure of imminent threat, as the station faced repeated Israeli bombardments of Beirut’s southern suburbs, culminating in the July 2006 war. The presentation examines the mistakes made along the way and the strategies adopted to address them. It also explores how the audio archive evolved into a form of collective memory, and how each archive manifests its own distinctive imprint.
Day 3: Sunday, December 7
Day 3: Sunday, December 7
Keynote Speaker: Rana Dubeissy
Title: War and Heritage: Quantitative and Qualitative Damage Assessment in South Lebanon — Integrating Field Evidence and Cultural Value Analysis
Abstract:
This paper presents an evidence-based assessment of war-induced damage to cultural heritage in five villages of South Lebanon during the 2024 Israeli aggression. Using integrated quantitative and qualitative methods, field documentation records the losses of heritage houses and their cultural implications. The study argues that documentation itself constitutes an act of resilience against the erasure of collective memory. By linking tangible architectural heritage with its associated intangible dimensions: traditions, identities, and social practices, the research highlights how the destruction of heritage buildings extends beyond physical loss, threatening the continuity of cultural life and belonging within the southern Lebanese landscape.
Keynote Speaker: Mohammad Hannoush
Title: Reflections from Gaza’s Municipal Archives
Panel 6: Fighting Erasure, Building Community: Cases from Palestine, Sudan & Tunisia
Panel 6: Fighting Erasure, Building Community: Cases from Palestine, Sudan & Tunisia
Moderator: Yumna Hamidi
Title: The Significance of Adapting the Tunisian Experience to the Palestinian Context: Archival Practices in Documenting Human Rights Violations
Speakers: Basma Benameur, Abed Maarouf, Khaled Awad
Abstract:
Archives play a fundamental role in safeguarding the rights of governments, communities, and individuals. At the same time, across different historical periods, they have served as key instruments for documenting severe violations of these human rights—whether driven by political, ideological, ethnic, or affiliation-based motives.
This presentation seeks to examine the international frameworks that guide the documentation of human rights violations, while focusing on the Tunisian experience in preserving and managing the archives of political repression during the years preceding the Arab Spring revolution. It will explore how these archives were handled, the measures adopted to reassess and rewrite the history of the pre-revolution era through the testimonies of former prisoners, detainees, and those injured during the Tunisian revolution.
Furthermore, the presentation will shed light on the establishment and operations of the body responsible for maintaining these archives, and will evaluate the extent to which the Tunisian experience—alongside similar initiatives worldwide—has succeeded in preserving and documenting these vital, living testimonies.
Title: Protecting the Archive
Speaker: Khalida Osman
Abstract:
In Sudan, where wars and conflicts have unfolded over successive generations, heritage, memory, and land are under constant threat of erasure. Museums and archives have been looted or destroyed, and communities have been uprooted from their homelands, causing oral histories and deeply rooted identities to disappear. In the absence of institutional support, individuals and civil society have stepped in—leading initiatives to digitize materials, document oral testimonies, and preserve popular memory, with women and youth often at the forefront of these efforts.
Safeguarding heritage in Sudan is an act of resistance, for it anchors people to their land and reaffirms their right to return. Supporting these initiatives—locally, regionally, and internationally—is essential to ensuring that Sudanese memory withstands the forces of war and erasure.
Title: From the Field to Memory: Palestinian ‘Aunah — Where Cooperation Becomes Resistance and an Enduring Communal Value
Speaker: Dalal Qeshta
Abstract:
Palestinian ‘aunah embodies the spirit of cooperation and collective labor among farmers, where community members come together during planting and harvest seasons to help one another without any monetary compensation.
‘Aunah is more than an agricultural practice; it is a social and cultural value that expresses belonging and steadfastness in the face of challenges. Through oral and digital documentation, ‘aunah has become a living archive of Palestinian memory, preserving people’s experiences and safeguarding their heritage from disappearance.
‘Aunah also reveals the central role of women and youth in maintaining the ethos of participation and volunteerism within the community. With the support of local and international institutions, this heritage has been revived through modern approaches that affirm that Palestinian cooperation remains a vibrant form of resistance—rooted in the land and bearing the fruits of belonging and dignity.
Panel 7: Preserving Palestine: Digital & Technical Cases
Panel 7: Preserving Palestine: Digital & Technical Cases
Moderator: Shaden Dada
Title: The Role of the Samaritan Museum in Preserving, Archiving, and Documenting the Heritage of the Samaritan Community
Speaker: Priest Husni Wasef
Abstract:
The Samaritan Museum is the first institution of its kind in the history of the Samaritan community and serves as a central hub for documenting the Samaritan religion and archiving the history and social fabric of the community. It plays a pivotal role in positioning the Samaritans on the global cultural map, introducing audiences to their beliefs and historical trajectory, and presenting their customs and traditions—thus contributing to greater awareness of this distinctive component of religious and cultural heritage.
Title: Mithaq's Experience in Safeguarding Documentary Heritage: Realities and Challenges
Speaker: Mahmoud Ashqar
Abstract:
This paper introduces Mithaq Initiative by outlining its origins, the circumstances that shaped its formation, and the reasons and motivations behind its establishment, as well as the significance it derives from its vision, mission, objectives, and archival holdings. It also examines Withaq’s current realities and the challenges it confronts, particularly in light of recent political developments. Finally, the paper highlights Withaq’s most urgent needs in its effort to safeguard our rich documentary heritage and ensure its accessibility to the broader community of users.
Title: Using AI in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and its role in processing digitized archives
Speakers: Ramzi Mansouri, Abed al-Aziz Tobal
Abstract:
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has emerged as an essential tool for converting digitized documents into searchable text. However, this technology has faced significant challenges when dealing with historical documents and linguistically diverse materials. Artificial intelligence and deep learning now play a pivotal role in improving the accuracy and efficiency of OCR, helping to overcome many of its traditional limitations.
This research paper examines the challenges associated with low-quality documents and varied scripts, and reviews deep learning techniques used in processing digital archives. The study emphasizes the necessity of integrating artificial intelligence into Algerian digitization projects in order to enhance accessibility and deepen historical understanding.
Panel 8: Fighting Scholasticide & Memorializing Martyrdom in Palestine
Panel 8: Fighting Scholasticide & Memorializing Martyrdom in Palestine
Moderator: Odri Klauss
Title: The Palestinian Archives Gathering Website
Speaker: Rasha Shaheen
Abstract:
The Palestinian Archives Gathering website will serve as a digital umbrella platform that unites and amplifies the voices, archives, and activities of various Palestinian organizations, researchers, and community members. This platform will act as a central hub, hosting and linking to existing websites while also creating a collaborative space where Palestinians can share their stories, photographs, and documents. It will be both an archival repository and a dynamic forum for engagement, research, cultural heritage preservation, and community-building.
Title: Elegies of War: Digital Lamentations and Martyrs' Testaments as Tools for Collective Memory in Palestine
Speaker: Dalal Bajes
Abstract:
This study examines digital messages of lamentation shared by Palestinians’ relatives, friends, and acquaintances via social networking platforms, including martyrs’ testaments and posthumous messages. Focusing on the period 2021–mid-2025, it investigates how these digital narratives document pivotal events—such as the Tufan Al-Aqsa and Seif Al-Quds conflicts—while fostering collective memory across Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Palestinian communities within the 1948 borders. Drawing on Judith Butler’s concepts of vulnerability, survivability, and the politics of mourning, alongside classical Arabic elegiac traditions, the research situates contemporary digital commemorations within global theoretical and local literary frameworks. Methodologically, it combines digital ethnography, content analysis, and oral history, using tools such as Meta Content Library, Brandwatch, snScrape, and Telethon to collect and analyze approximately 50,000 posts. The study illuminates how mourning and testimony circulate online, transforming oral history into a medium of resistance, resilience, and ethical engagement, thereby preserving and amplifying Palestinian collective memory under ongoing conflict.
Title: Remembering Palestinian Scholars Murdered in the Genocide in Gaza
Speakers: Rana Dajani, Sharif Elmusa, Miriam R. Lowi
Abstract:
We are a group of 5 scholars who have been engaged in researching and writing the biographies of Palestinian scholars who have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the genocide. We have already written close to 100 biographies and we are preparing to disseminate them as an archive. We will discuss our purposes, methods, and plans for dissemination.
Panel 9: Fighting Erasure: Cases from Palestine to North America/Turtle Island
Panel 9: Fighting Erasure: Cases from Palestine to North America/Turtle Island
Moderator: Dr. Ana Roeschley
Title: Digitizing Resistance: Decolonial Praxis and the Politics of Digital Preservation in Chicago’s Community Archives
Speaker: Kaitlyn Griffith
Abstract:
This presentation examines how community archives in and around Chicago, specifically the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Free Em All Radio, and the Dorothy Living Archive at Gerber/Hart, mobilize digital preservation as a decolonial strategy to contest archival erasure. Through collaborative, non-institutional approaches to metadata creation, oral history, and digital curation, these projects articulate alternative infrastructures of memory that privilege community epistemologies over institutional authority. By situating grassroots digitization within the politics of heritage at risk, this presentation argues for an ethics of “digitizing resistance,” one that reframes technical archival labor as an act of collective resilience and self-determination within the Global North.
Title: Reparative Description (Re)Contextualizing and (Re)Describing Canadian Indigenous Archival Materials at the University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections (UASC)
Speaker: Sadie Anderson
Abstract:
There are materials in the UASC archives where the Indigenous communities are unaware that they were being documented or that these materials would be donated and retained. Without proper metadata to restrict their access, these materials are problematic for Indigenous communities.
The process of (re)contextualizing and (re)describing these archival items to benefit the Indigenous communities that are featured in the document, (re)asserts their authority over the documents. It also gives the opportunity for communities to have beneficial self determination over their documents in our archives.
Title: Resilient Archives and Living Memory: Community-Based Preservation in Palestine and Beyond
Speakers: Dr. Shahd Qzeih, Prof. Diana Allan, Prof. İpek Türeli
Abstract:
This talk explores how community-based archives in Palestine operate as infrastructures of resilience and collective memory, connecting local experiences to broader movements of cultural preservation. Drawing on the Nakba Archive and related oral history projects, it examines how displaced communities preserve identity and belonging through everyday acts of remembrance such as storytelling, spatial documentation, and digital preservation. Rather than viewing archives as static repositories, the presentation understands them as living and adaptive systems that connect past and present, sustain cultural continuity, and challenge structures of erasure. Through an interdisciplinary lens bridging architecture and anthropology, the talk reflects on how material, social, and digital forms of resilience intersect in shaping decolonial approaches to heritage and memory work.
Title: Rendering Resistance and Resilience Through Art
Speaker: Deama Khader
Abstract:
Within my doctoral research, I analyzed five works of Palestinian art, and 16 written materials from memory workers, artists, and collectives. The notion of resilience and resistance recurred 43 times, 33 of which came from artists’ captions describing their work. The resilient spirit is a fundamental component of Palestinian art. Whether the art form is tatreez, street art, or traditional visual art, resiliency is present both in the land and cultural symbolisms and in the way artists describe their work. Palestinian futurism, whether conscious or not, is a framework utilized by artists and memory workers to fuel hope and resiliency.
Speakers' Biographies
Abdallah Omar is the Director General of Archives and Document Restoration at the Palestinian Land Authority, where he leads strategic initiatives to protect at-risk archives and advance digital transformation in records management. As a member and project coordinator within the Palestinian Archival Coalition, he contributes to national efforts aimed at safeguarding institutional memory. His work focuses on the sustainability of national memory, digitization, and data governance, emphasizing archives as foundations for national identity, informed decision-making, and resilient institutional systems.
Abed Maarouf is a Palestinian writer and journalist based in Lebanon, formerly WAFA’s Beirut office director for 18 years. He has published hundreds of articles and several books and serves as the representative of the Palestinian Archival Collective in Lebanon.
Ahmed Ebeid is a researcher, consultant, and trainer in records management and digital archiving, with a special focus on photographic archives. He holds a Master’s degree in Library, Information, and Archives Science and a PMP certification, with more than 25 years of experience. He founded and directed the digital archive project at Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and has authored several books and studies. He is also the creator and host of the “Archivology” podcast, a member of the International Council on Archives, and a fellow of the International Center for Journalists.
Amany Al-Sayyed is instructor of Rhetoric and Composition at the American University of Beirut, currently completing a second graduate degree in Communications and Social Justice in Canada. Amany spent the last ten years unearthing her late father's legacy as a Palestinian intellectual, novelist and radio broadcaster from Malta, Ghana and Lebanon. Her focus is on the history of the Palestinian Personality that protected the culture via acoustic/radio resistance and the writer's movement simultaneously. She reads in Italian, Arabic and Maltese which is no co-incidence - her upbringing and education marks the anti-colonial movement of her father's decisions as he moved away from the refugee camps into the decolonial European continent of the 80s and 90s.
Ammar Yassin: Director of the Archives Department at the Department of Refugee Affairs.
Basma Benameur is a law professor and an expert in archives and records management, serving as Assistant Director for Current and Intermediate Archives in Tunisia with over 22 years of experience. She is a member of national committees on access and governance, a certified trainer, and a member of the International Council on Archives.
Christina Chatzitheodorou got her PhD from the University of Glasgow, focusing on women’s participation in left-wing resistance movements during the Second World War in Greece, Italy and France. She is about to start a post-doc position at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, examining radical ephemera of Greek and Portuguese students and anti-imperialist narratives of solidarity. She has created and curated a digital archive of solidarity with material from the Greek solidarity to Palestine, which now has its own site and first publication in GR/AR/EN. She speaks fluently Greek, English, French, Italian, Spanish, and a bit of Portuguese and Turkish, while she is learning Arabic.
Dalal Bajes holds a PhD in Sociology from Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul and is an active member of both the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the International Sociological Association (ISA). She teaches Sociology of Resistance at Ibn Haldun University and has authored six monographs.
She is the co-editor of Women Sociologists and Social Reformists: Exploring the (Other) Women’s Question in Social Thought. Her postdoctoral project, Carceral Bodies, Unbroken Spirits, examines the resilience and resistance of Palestinian women in Israeli prisons. Dalal’s research focuses on resistance, gender, incarceration, political empowerment, and collective memory in Palestine and the Global South.
Dalal Qeshta graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza with a specialization in History, Archaeology, and Heritage. She works in oral history with Première Urgence Internationale, contributing to the documentation of Palestinian heritage and its transformation into digital archives.
She has practical experience in archaeological conservation, site restoration, and tourism guiding in Gaza, as well as multiple certifications in oral history, archival management, and digitization. Dalal is deeply committed to preserving Palestinian heritage and identity. Now based in Cairo, she plans to pursue graduate studies and expand her expertise in archaeology and archiving.
Deama Khader, PhD, specializes in cultural heritage preservation and archiving with an emphasis on documenting ephemera. Her dissertation examines Palestinian street art and other ephemeral art documents created in a conflict zone as a case study for understanding preservation practices for communities with culture at risk of erasure. At the University of North Texas, she leads courses in digital imaging and information retrieval. Khader has worked with the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas as a registrar intern. She is the Our Refugee Stories Archive curator and also manages the Ambreen Butt Art Studio as studio lead and archivist.
Diana Allan is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at McGill University and the founder of the Nakba Archive in Lebanon. Her ethnographic and film work examines Palestinian displacement, memory, and everyday life. She is the author of Refugees of the Revolution: Experiences of Palestinian Exile and the forthcoming The Nakba Archive: A Cultural History of Palestinian Displacement. Her research highlights the politics of representation and the ethical dimensions of community archiving and cultural preservation.
Erik DeLuca is a sound/media scholar and artist-educator with expertise in collaborative pedagogy and transnational media. He has led archival storytelling projects in Palestine, Europe, and the U.S., and is Associate Professor of Art Education at MassArt.
Gabriel Polley is a writer and historian from London. After attending the University of East Anglia, he lived and worked for a year in Ramallah, Palestine, in 2014/15. Subsequently he gained a PhD in Palestine studies from the University of Exeter, under his supervisor Ilan Pappe. His first book, “Palestine in the Victorian Age: Colonial Encounters in the Holy Land”, was published by I.B. Tauris in 2022. He frequently writes for outlets including Middle East Eye, the Markaz Review and the Institute for Palestine Studies. He is a consultant on the medieval Palestine project at Queen Mary University of London.
Hala Alnaji is a Palestinian architect, curator, and researcher whose work explores spatial justice, displacement, and counter-archival practices in Gaza and its diasporas. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Westminster (School of Architecture and Cities), where her research employs design, mapping, and storytelling as methods of resistance and care. Hala is the founder of the Butterfly Trace Collective, Ezwa Initiative, and Third Space in Cairo. Her recent projects — Nazeh Exhibition, Stitching Gaza, and The Trace of Absence — investigate how art can hold memory, reconstruct belonging, and transform loss into shared resilience.
Hama Freij is the newly appointed Head of Archive at Ramallah Municipality. She previously served as Head of the Children and Youth Cultural Department and worked as a librarian at the Children & Youth Public Library.
She holds a degree from Birzeit University (1994), a Diploma in Education (2005), and a Master’s in Educational Administration (2009). With over 15 years of experience, she has led major youth and community-engagement programs, including establishing the municipality’s first volunteer committee and leading the Children’s Municipal Council.
Hanadi Al-Kababji holds a diploma in Office Management and Automation and is currently completing her bachelor's degree in the same field. She has over 27 years of professional experience, including 18 years at Hebron Municipality, where she has served in various executive and supervisory roles such as Administrative Assistant, Director of Human Resources, Director of the President’s Office, Director of the Tenders Department, and Director of Administrative Affairs.
Hiba Burqan is a PhD student in Cultural Mediations at Carleton University, researching co-design as a decolonial curatorial method in Palestinian museums. Her work spans architecture, education, and exhibition-making.
Priest Husni Wasef, born in Nablus in 1944, is a leading Samaritan religious scholar and historian. Trained from childhood in the Samaritan language, jurisprudence, and astronomy, he went on to publish numerous studies and founded the Samaritan Museum in 1997. A former government employee and community leader, he has represented the Samaritan heritage in local and international conferences and media.
Ihab Ghaizan is the Head of the Central Archive at Al-Bireh Municipality and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Birzeit University. He leads the development of the municipality’s electronic archiving systems and is a founding member of the Palestinian Archival Collective. He has specialized training in archives and document restoration and is the initiator of the Al-Bireh City Archive, overseeing key collaborations with institutions such as Birzeit University.
İpek Türeli is an Associate Professor of Architecture at McGill University. Her research focuses on architecture, urbanism, and visual culture in the Middle East, emphasizing heritage, memory, and decolonial perspectives. She has published widely on spatial politics and heritage preservation and co-supervises projects on community archives and architectural memory, exploring participatory and digital approaches to resilience in contexts of conflict and displacement.
Jenan Abu Shtaya is a legal historian studying the relationship between land law and colonial power, with a focus on modern Palestinian history in the 20th century. She holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also earned an LLM in 2021 as a Fulbright scholar.
Judith Tucker, Professor Emerita of History, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA.
Kaitlyn Griffith is an archivist, oral historian, and educator whose work centers decolonial and feminist methodologies in community memory and digital preservation. Based in Chicagoland, she collaborates with cultural and political organizations to design participatory archives that challenge institutional hierarchies of knowledge. Her projects emphasize ethical metadata practices, accessibility, and the transformative potential of storytelling as archival praxis. Kaitlyn leads a project that received the Illinois Humanities Envisioning Justice grant and shapes public humanities programs that bridge academic research with community-based heritage work across Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods.
Khaled Awad is a Palestinian researcher and historian from Nazareth specializing in cultural heritage and collective memory. He is a member of several cultural bodies and author of multiple studies, including photographic records of historical Palestinian cities.
Khalida Osman Al-Jazouli is a Sudanese librarian with over 15 years of experience in library and information management. She worked at the University of Dongola in the Graduate Studies College and the Faculty of Medicine, where she oversaw collection development, automated cataloguing, reference services, and educational programs.
She specializes in digital library systems such as Koha and DSpace, and has extensive experience in digitization and the management of electronic resources. Khalida holds a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science and is currently pursuing her PhD. She and her team received the Professional Excellence Award from the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI). Her interests include supporting academic research, promoting information literacy, and safeguarding Sudan’s knowledge heritage.
Mahmoud Saeed Ibrahim Ashqar is the Dean of Maythaq: The Institute for the Revival of Islamic Heritage and Research, where he is currently completing the establishment of the Institute’s Museum of Documents and Manuscripts. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in History from the University of Jordan and has completed specialized training in Ottoman Turkish, Hebrew, manuscript conservation, and cultural heritage preservation.
Since 1996, he has played a central role in building and strengthening Maythaq and now works with its team on digitizing the Institute’s documentary heritage collections. Ashqar has taught at Al-Andalus College in Amman, as well as at Al-Quds University and Al-Quds Open University. He has organized and participated in numerous local and international conferences and has authored more than ten books and seventeen peer-reviewed scholarly articles. His work has been recognized with the Al-Quds Capital of Arab Culture Scientific Research Award (2009) and the First Yasser Arafat Award for Islamic Studies (2004).
Miriam Lowi, Professor Emerita of Political Science, The College of New Jersey, USA.
Moataz Dajani is an educator, artist, and activist from Jerusalem. He studied child psychology, history, arts, and art education in Lebanon, Egypt, and the United States. He founded the Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts (Al-Jana) in Beirut in 1990 and serves as its General Coordinator. He oversees programs on Active Memory, Active Learning, and Creative Expression. He has organized workshops, experiential presentations, and provided consultations in India, South Africa, Guatemala, Mexico, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Mohammad Mustafa Al-Shami is an academic researcher holding a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the Hashemite University in Jordan (2013) and a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic Language from the Islamic University of Gaza (2007). He has worked as a lecturer in the Department of Arabic Language at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, has published several peer-reviewed studies, and has participated in specialized conferences inside Palestine and abroad.
Mona El-Ghobashy, Clinical Associate Professor of Liberal Studies, New York University, NY, USA.
Musab Ali Abu Salah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Economic Policy Management. He serves as Director of the Education Tax Department in Tulkarm and lectures at several universities in the city. He is a board member of Wujood Association for Autism Care and a consultant to the Ministry of Education in developing educational tax systems.
Nadine Aranki is a curator and community organiser from Ramallah, living in London. She holds a BA from Birzeit University and a MA from Goldsmiths, University of London. She has worked for feminist and arts charities in Palestine, including the Palestinian Museum. Earlier in 2025, she completed a research fellowship at De Montfort University, producing a report entitled “Conversations with Culture, Heritage and Tourism Actors in Palestine: Needs and Challenges within a Context of Extreme Military Violence”. She is a consultant on the medieval Palestine project at Queen Mary University of London.
Najla Abu Nahla, a visual artist and cultural researcher from Gaza, works on safeguarding Palestinian heritage and collective memory through visual arts and community practices. Her focus is on protecting endangered archives and documenting cultural identity as a tool of resistance and resilience.
Ramzi Mansouri is an archival consultant holding a Master’s degree in Archival Science. He is a member of the Palestinian Archival Collective as well as the International Council on Archives.
Mr. Abdelaziz Toubal is a records and archives officer specializing in digitization. He holds a Master’s degree in Archival Technologies.
Rana Dajani Professor of Biology at University of Jordan.
Eng. Rana Tayseer Sabah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree in Computational Mathematics. She is the Deputy Director of the Information Technology Unit, an expert in administrative systems development, and works on developing specialized electronic archiving software. She has been a principal participant in numerous international conferences on governance and institutional work.
Dr. Rasha Shaheen is a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA II) for 2024–2025, where she conducts cutting-edge research in heritage science. She currently serves as Senior Archives Conservator at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. With a Ph.D. in the use of nanomaterials—specifically nano silver—for treating black-and-white gelatin silver photographic prints, and a Master’s degree in the conservation of heritage paper and photographs from Catania University, Italy, Dr. Shaheen brings deep scientific expertise to the preservation of cultural heritage.
Her recent research explores the integration of quantum technologies into conservation practices, including quantum sensing for monitoring environmental impacts on archival materials, quantum computing for optimizing digital archiving, and quantum cryptography for securing cultural data. She also investigates quantum imaging techniques for the high-resolution analysis of deteriorating artifacts and develops AI-quantum hybrid models for predictive conservation of archaeological sites. These pioneering contributions aim to revolutionize the field of conservation, especially in resource-limited settings.
Dr. Shaheen is widely published and an active contributor to international conferences and symposia. She has received numerous grants and awards and serves as a peer reviewer for journals such as the Egyptian Journal of Chemistry and Pigment & Resin Technology. Her professional affiliations include AIC/PMG, IIC, and ICOM, and she actively supports initiatives for emerging professionals in the conservation field.
Sadie Anderson (she/her) is a status member of the Peepeekisis Cree Nation and the Indigenous Archivist for the University of Saskatchewan in Archives and Special Collections.
Salah Falah Jallad holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, a Master’s degree in Strategic Policy Management, and a Ph.D. in Strategic Management. He currently serves as Director of the Internal Audit Unit at Tulkarm Municipality. He has held several positions and worked as a consultant in administrative and financial development with various donor organizations—most notably in performance evaluation with GIZ and USAID. He is also a board member of Wujood Association for Autism Care, a volunteer with the Red Crescent, and a fellow of several international auditing associations.
Shahd Hammad Khodr Qdeih, a graduate in Information Security Engineering, survived the early days of the assault in which she lost her father and brother. She is currently living in the orphan camp, where she is surrounded by stories that deserve to be heard. She believes each person carries a message in life—one of giving and learning—and hopes her participation in this conference marks the beginning of sharing her message with the world.
Dr. Shahd Qzeih is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Arab American University of Palestine. Her research examines how memory, place, and displacement shape identity in contexts of exile. Her current project, Memories in Exile, draws on oral testimonies from the Nakba Archive to explore how refugees reconstruct home through spatial and emotional memory. She teaches theory and design, emphasizing socially engaged, research-driven architecture that connects built form to belonging and resilience.
Sharif Elmusa Prof. of Political Science, formerly of American University of Cairo.
Yasser Qaddoura, a Palestinian from the village of Suhmata (Acre district), was born in Lebanon in 1970. He holds a BA in Mathematics and an MA in Islamic Studies and is currently pursuing a master’s degree on the Palestinian question. After more than 15 years in education, he dedicated himself to research and writing. Since 2011, he has directed the “Hawiyya” project, a national initiative documenting Palestinian family roots, Nakba testimonies, and historical records to preserve and strengthen Palestinian identity.
Keynotes & Moderators' Biographies
Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Amani Rammal holds a Master’s degree in Archival Science from the Faculty of Information at the Lebanese University. She specializes in archiving and oral history, with over ten years of experience in collecting oral histories. She has trained institutions, activists, and university students to develop documentation and oral history projects across Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. She is the founder of the Withaqiyya Archival Initiative. Withaqiyya is an archival initiative launched in 2017, rooted in a graduation project originally submitted in 2008 as part of the requirements for a Bachelor's degree in Archival Science at the Faculty of Information, Lebanese University. The initiative focuses on collecting archival materials related to the themes of occupation and resistance from the private collections of Lebanese families (family archives), with the goal of preserving them and making them accessible to researchers and the broader public. Withaqiyya also promotes awareness of the significance of archives and family memory as essential sources for writing history from below—particularly in the face of ongoing efforts to erase, marginalize, or distort Lebanon’s legacy of resistance to Israeli occupation and aggression since 1948.
Basma Chebani Associate University Librarian for Cataloging and Metadata Services, American University of Beirut Libraries, has had long experience in implementing library systems and automating the library catalog, beginning with the MARC 21 format, introducing RDA, and adapting the Dublin core format for the libraries’ digital collections. Basma is involved in most digitization projects at the University Libraries: Arabic Collections Online, from 2012; Building up the Palestinian Oral History Thesaurus (POHA), from 2014; and Al Adab Magazine Archives, 2014-2017.
Dr. Mahmoud A. Balaawy is a PhD researcher specializing in conservation legislation, with a Master's degree in Architectural Engineering focused on heritage conservation. Since 2004, he has worked at the Iwan Center for Cultural Heritage at the Islamic University of Gaza, an institution dedicated to preserving Palestinian cultural heritage.
Mohammed Hannoush is the Director of the Central Archives Department and the Director of the International Cooperation Unit at Gaza Municipality. He is also a specialist in digital transformation and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Mohammed leads the municipality’s efforts in securing funding for reconstruction projects by developing project proposals, coordinating with international organizations, and establishing strategic partnerships to rebuild damaged infrastructure and public facilities.
Technically, he has led extensive modernization initiatives by integrating advanced technologies into municipal operations and transforming decades of paper archives into a GIS-enabled digital system. He has developed multiple Decision Support Systems (DSS) for the urban planning and infrastructure sectors, utilizing historical archive data and technical records to improve planning efficiency and resource allocation.
He played a central role in rebuilding and governing municipal data systems after the widespread destruction, contributing to the establishment of modern data centers and implementing robust data protection and sustainability policies while strengthening the integration between digital data systems and historical archives.
Mohammed provides consultancy services in digital transformation for municipalities and organizations, including needs assessment, systems development, electronic archiving, database design, GIS solutions, project management, sustainability planning, and integrating AI into urban systems. His vision focuses on building resilient smart municipalities capable of recovery after the war while preserving Gaza’s historical identity.
Dr. Mona Akanan holds a PhD in Media and Communication Sciences and a Master’s degree in Information Management. She is an Assistant Professor at the Lebanese University and the Coordinator of the Information Management program at the Faculty of Media. She has also served as Programming and Implementation Director at a Lebanese radio station for more than twenty years.
Dr. Rana Dubeissy is an architect and cultural heritage expert specializing in the protection of heritage in conflict and post-conflict contexts. She is an Associate Professor at the Lebanese University, where she leads field-based documentation and emergency response initiatives. Her research focuses on disaster risk management for heritage, community resilience, and the interrelation between tangible and intangible heritage in recovery planning. Dr. Dubeissy has coordinated numerous national and international projects on heritage protection in Lebanon and is an active member of Blue Shield Lebanon and the Order of Engineers and Architects.
Omar Khatib is an archivist and heritage specialist dedicated to strengthening community memory and safeguarding Palestinian identity. His work focuses on advancing archival culture, increasing public awareness, and supporting institutions in building resilient archival practices.
He is the Founder and General Coordinator of Archival Community – Palestine (ACP), a regional Arabic technical network that develops archival capacity across communities and institutions. He also leads the Al-Bireh Municipal Archives project, a pioneering initiative to preserve vital records and local histories.
Khatib is a member of the International Council on Archives (ICA), serves on the ICA Palestine Archives Task Force, and is the Chairman of ICOMOS Palestine. He is also a member of professional organizations such as the European Academy of Executive Leaders and SANASTO, and works as a training expert with the German Board for Consulting & Training.
Moderators
Moderators
Dr. Ana Roeschley is Assistant Professor and Director of Archival Studies in the Department of Information Science at the University of North Texas. She is the founder and Co-Director of two research labs: the Archives Learning Lab—dedicated to investigating the relationships between people and archives in an ever-changing world; and the Computational Humanities and Information Literacy Lab—an interdisciplinary lab focused on the exploration of social and technological issues impacting human culture, heritage, and the arts and humanities. Her research on personal and participatory archiving practices, as well as her own experiences as a refugee, led Roeschley to her role as the Principal Investigator of Records of Refuge: Supporting Refugee Communities’ Archival Needs (RoR), an applied research study aiming to close gaps on the documentary and archival needs of refugees in the United States. Through her work with RoR, Roeschley co-founded the Our Refugee Stories Archive, a community-based archival initiative to create digital collections for and by refugees, as well as openly available resources on best practices for archiving personal records for personal use.
Omar Moussa A writer and journalist from Gaza, he is a graduate student in sociology at the American University of Beirut and a contributing editor for the Gaza Poets Society platform.
Ordi Klausse is a Honduran-born, maker, meandering researcher and archival studies student, working where heritage, archives, and displacement meet. Trained in architecture and spatial planning, she studies how race, queerness, disability, and migration shape archives and built environments alike. Her work traces how records – personal and institutional – hold and withhold memory, using anarchival and participatory methods to reimagine repair. Through writing, mapping, and stitching ancestral testimony into her research, she explores how we inhabit what was never meant to remember us.
Rawan Mazeh is a Lebanese documentary conceptual photographer. Her work explores the complex relationship between people and their land, with a particular focus on the aftermath of war in Lebanon. She examines how conflict and displacement shape personal and collective experiences of belonging and memory.
Since 2022, Rawan has been working as an Archivist at the Arab Image Foundation (AIF). She is currently responsible for the collections, their preventive preservation, and all preservation projects at AIF. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Photography and Multimedia from Notre Dame University, Lebanon (2018), and a Master of Arts in Photography and Visual Design from Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milan, Italy.
Shaden Dada is a proud graduate of the Lebanese University, where she completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Library Science, and later earned a second master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently an archivist at the American University of Beirut’s University Libraries, working across the full life cycle of archival collections—from processing and description to access, outreach, and engagement.
Tahani Nassar is a Communication Arts lecturer at the Lebanese International University and the co-founder and director of Dar – the Creative Hub cultural initiative. She holds a Master’s degree in Media Studies from the American University of Beirut, with research interests in Palestinian oral history. She is the author of two books: Simulacra: A Reading of Evets: the Flood, the Matrix, Jean Baudrillard, and Others (2025), a collection of 28 newspaper articles on the genocidal war in Gaza; and Hikayat Sitty (2018), a collection of short stories that explore intergenerational Palestinian memories in the Borj Al-Barajneh camp.
Yara Abu Khadijeh is a Master's student in the Archival and Information Studies program at the University of Amsterdam, with a background in film studies, digital media, and historical research. Her work focuses on decolonial archival practices concerning Palestinian memory, identity, and resistance. Her master's thesis examines the Palestinian missing persons archive held by the JLAC, exploring how archival practices influence the representation and visibility of Palestinian narratives in contexts of disappearance, displacement, and loss. This builds on her BA thesis, which investigated the theft and colonization of the Palestinian Film Archive. Drawing from academic inquiry and hands-on experience—including an archival internship at the Institute for Palestinian Studies in Palestine—she analyzes how archival infrastructures can either perpetuate or challenge systems of erasure. Her broader research interests include digital curation, activist memory, and community-driven approaches to archiving, with a particular emphasis on ethics, accessibility, and restorative justice. Yara has contributed to projects centered on trans-Atlantic slavery, indigenous heritage, and decolonial media practices during her master's.
Yumna Hamidi, Palestinian student from the West Bank, Palestine. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Media Studies at the American University of Beirut, as a recipient of the Shireen Abu Akleh Scholarship for Palestinian women journalists.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Media from Birzeit University in Palestine. She currently works at the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) on oral history projects that document Palestinian experiences and memories. In addition to that, she have worked on several archival projects related to the genocide in Gaza, focusing on collecting and preserving materials that reflect the everyday realities of Palestinians under the genocide.
She is mainly interested in analyzing media discourse and production, and in understanding how media shapes public narratives.
Zaynab Nemer is a researcher and GIS specialist at the American University of Beirut (AUB), working at the intersection of agroecology, post-conflict recovery, and settler colonial studies. Her work examines how war and occupation reshape land, biodiversity, and communities. At AUB, she manages interdisciplinary research projects under Dr. Rami Zurayk, leading fieldwork, spatial analysis, and proposal development for initiatives funded by the Agroecology Fund, CEPF, and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
Her GIS expertise includes mapping the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure through satellite imagery and analyzing Israeli settlement expansion in Bethlehem. She also leads regional research on climate change, conflict, and migration in Sudan. Zaynab’s work has been published in Springer Nature, Jadaliyya, and Current Muslim Affairs, and presented at conferences such as From Lebanon to Palestine – Archiving Against the Genocide (2025).
Beyond academia, she is a project leader with Dalla NGO in South Lebanon, coordinating crisis response, food sovereignty, and youth programs. Her work bridges scientific rigor with community-based action, combining GIS, environmental geoscience, and participatory research.
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