Queen Rania chairs National Museum Board of Trustees meeting

12 كانون الثاني 2005

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - Amman) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah on Wednesday underlined the significance and responsibility in preserving and displaying Jordan’s rich heritage in order to pass it on to coming generations. Queen Rania’s remarks came at the first meeting of the National Museum’s Board of Trustees which discussed forthcoming steps to transform King Abdullah’s vision of having a national museum focusing on furthering the values related to the country’s history, culture and civilization thereby strengthening the feelings of identity, belonging, pride and citizenship. During the meeting chaired by Queen Rania, the board discussed the museum's mission and objectives and elected HRH Princess Sumayya Bint Al-Hassan as vice-chairman of the board which also includes His Majesty’s advisor Mr. Aqel Biltaji, the Minister of Tourism, the Mayor of Amman, the Director of Antiquities, Secretary General of the Ministry of Planning, Mr. Ghazi Bisheh, Mr. Jafar Toukan, Mr. Rami Khouri, Mr. Widad Kawar, Mr. Fawaz Sha'lan, Mr. Ammar Khammash, Mr. Khaled Nahhas, Mr. Mohammad Al-Asad and Mr. Akram Abu Hamdan. Queen Rania also underlined the need to utilize the exhibits as an educational tool for students, highlighting the need to continuously train staff in order to maximize on museums and their value throughout the country. Minister of Tourism and President of the Higher Committee of the Tourism Sector Development Project Alia Bouran, briefed the board with a presentation on the National Museum project. She explained the objectives behind the designs and exhibit halls which cover the various periods of civilizations spanning the country’s history up to modern Jordan starting with the Great Arab Revolt and the Kingdom under the Hashemite leadership. Construction of the three-storey 10,000 square meter museum, funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), will begin next month and is scheduled to end in two years time in the heart of the capital, close to the Amman Municipality. It will include main exhibition halls covering Jordan through separate galleries on history, culture, the Hashemites, and contemporary Jordan. Wednesday’s board meeting also discussed the museum’s objectives stressing the need that it reflect various historical civilizations and interaction between peoples and cultures on Jordan’s land. Director of the Museum Mr. Asem Al Barghouti gave an overview on achievements, internal structure and division of duties and responsibilities.