Yesterday, the Tomorrow’s Generations Club for the Disabled, in partnership with the Beit Rahob Association for Tourism Development, organized an interactive activity entitled “Heritage for All” under the slogan “Heritage is a Right for All and Accessibility is the Basis for Participation and Integration,” with the participation of (25) people with disabilities, with the aim of assessing the reality of accessibility to heritage and tourist sites and enhancing their right to benefit from them on an equal basis with others.
The event witnessed the presence of the Chairman of the Umm al-Jimal Municipal Committee, Muhammad Khalil Abu Aleem, who during his speech reviewed the municipality’s experience in developing inclusive tourism services and improving the infrastructure related to accessibility for people with disabilities, stressing the importance of uniting official and community efforts to ensure everyone’s participation in tourism and social development.
The president of the Tomorrow’s Generations Club, Muhammad Mufleh al-Khaza’leh, the honorary president of the club, Counselor Muhammad Salman Abu Aleem, and the coordinator of the We Are All Jordan Youth Organization in Mafraq, Islam Hawamdeh, also participated in the activity, along with representatives of official and private institutions, experts in heritage and human rights, and community leaders.
The program included a field tour that included St. Mary’s Church, the heritage school, the tourist trail, and the heritage houses complex, accompanied by the two tour guides, Anwar Shdeifat and Asala Khazaleh. The participants monitored the challenges and obstacles facing people with disabilities while using heritage and tourist facilities and sites, and evaluated their suitability to universal accessibility requirements.
On the sidelines of the tour, a dialogue session was held that discussed the rights of persons with disabilities, international standards for accessibility, and the importance of involving them in planning, development, and decision-making processes, in the presence of visual artists Hisham Shdeifat and Ibrahim Al-Harahsheh, and members of the Beit Rahob Community Network.
In a touching humanitarian gesture, the event witnessed the holding of a birthday party for a child with disabilities inside the heritage houses complex, coinciding with his birth anniversary, amid an atmosphere of joy and interaction between the participants and attendees.
The event resulted in documenting a set of observations and challenges that participants with disabilities identified themselves, for the purpose of preparing a comprehensive report that includes recommendations and proposed solutions and submitting it to the relevant authorities and decision-makers, with the aim of developing heritage and tourist sites and making them more comprehensive and appropriate for all segments of society.
The Beit Rahob Association for Tourism Development granted the members of the Tomorrow’s Generations Club the title of “Inclusive Tourism Ambassadors” in recognition of their role in promoting the concept of inclusive tourism, while the head of the Umm al-Jimal Municipality Committee, Muhammad Abu Aleem, presented gifts of appreciation to all participants with disabilities, in appreciation of their effective contribution in supporting efforts aimed at making heritage accessible to all without exception.
The participants stressed that this initiative represents a practical model for translating the principles of inclusion and community participation into a tangible reality, and reflects the importance of involving people with disabilities in evaluating services and facilities that directly affect their lives, thus contributing to building a more fair and equitable tourism and heritage environment.
