Young innovators from Jordanian universities gathered at Al Hussein Technical University (HTU) on 14 August 2025 for the Heritage Hackathon 2025, a pioneering event blending technology and cultural heritage protection. Organised in collaboration with the CBRL, ICOMOS-Jordan, and HTU, the event was held under the patronage of HRH Princess Dana Firas, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage and President of ICOMOS-Jordan, and in the presence of HRH Prince Firas Bin Ra’ad. The hackathon offered students a unique platform to create digital solutions for safeguarding Jordan’s heritage. 

Bringing together students from diverse fields—including architecture, archaeology, heritage management, game development, and programming—the hackathon encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration to design innovative tools addressing the challenges facing Jordan’s cultural heritage. 

The day began with welcoming remarks by HTU President, Prof. Ismael Al-Hinti, who expressed pride in the partnerships uniting HTU with national and international institutions in the service of heritage. “This event reflects the university’s belief in the importance of integrating technology with the humanities to graduate a generation capable of creating realistic and sustainable solutions to protect our cultural heritage,” he said. 

Eng. Shatha Mubaideen, on behalf of the CBRL Amman team, noted that the hackathon grew out of a fruitful partnership between ICOMOS-Jordan and CBRL to mark World Heritage Day in an interactive way. She highlighted HTU’s dynamic learning environment as a catalyst for innovation and expressed gratitude to HRH Princess Dana Firas, ICOMOS-Jordan, and CBRL for their support in making the initiative possible. 

In her keynote address, HRH Princess Dana Firas underlined the shared responsibility of protecting cultural heritage, stressing that “innovation and technology have become essential tools in addressing the challenges facing our heritage. Initiatives like this empower young people to become true guardians of our national legacy.” She further highlighted the importance of partnerships between ICOMOS-Jordan and national academic institutions to strengthen heritage protection while harnessing youth creativity. HRH Princess Dana also pointed to ICOMOS’s role as an international leader in setting standards and generating knowledge across diverse heritage fields, while offering opportunities for young people to engage in leadership. She emphasized that the hackathon serves as an interdisciplinary platform for developing digital solutions to safeguard heritage sites, reminding the audience that heritage represents identity, collective memory, and shared human values, and that its protection is an ethical responsibility that requires everyone’s participation. She concluded by thanking the organisers and participants for their dedication. 

The hackathon drew a strong response from students, with over seventy teams registering for the competition. Thirty-eight teams submitted projects, which were reviewed by a preliminary evaluation committee consisting of Eng. Shatha Mubaideen, Eng. Bara’ah Alshorman, Waed Altamimi, Eng. Dania Alsaid, and Eng. Alaa Qamo. From this stage, seventeen projects advanced to the final judging round. 

A distinguished panel of experts—including HRH Princess Dana Firas, Prof. Zeidan Kafafi, Prof. Naif Haddad, Eng. Mohammed Kanakri, Eng. Aseel Majali, Dr. Nemeh Rihani, Eng. Alaa Qamo, and Eng. Dania Alsaid – evaluated the shortlisted projects.

The competition concluded with three winning projects: 

1st Place: Sulay – Guardian of Petra
Project by Sondus Al Otaibi and Roa’a Al Qudah (Hashemite University)

2nd Place: Unleashing Amra
Project by Ladis Al-Jaberi and Heba Altamimi (Al Hussein Technical University) 

3rd Place: Map of the Jordanian Spirit
Project by Waleed AlBarqawi and Layan AlRifai (Princess Sumaya University for Technology) 

As a co-organiser, CBRL played a central role in shaping the vision and outcomes of the Heritage Hackathon 2025, supporting the event as part of its mission to foster research collaboration, innovation, and youth engagement in the humanities and social sciences across the Levant. Held for the first time this year, the hackathon marks the beginning of what we hope will become an annual initiative in partnership with Jordanian universities, with plans to expand it to a regional scale to engage students from across the Arab World.