The interview opened with reflections on the state of heritage in societies affected by war. The discussion pointed to a common tendency to focus on material heritage—such as archaeological sites, monuments, and historical buildings—which are often damaged or destroyed during conflict. However, Aziz and Eva stressed the critical importance of the living heritage, which includes traditions, cultural practices, customs, and shared values that are embedded in the everyday lives of communities. This intangible heritage cannot be separated from the tangible one, they argued; heritage is a tool to activate social values and practices that enhance community resilience, social cohesion, trust, and reconciliation—key ingredients for peacebuilding.

Heritage: More Than Just Preservation

Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj (Aziz) highlighted the evolving nature of heritage, emphasizing that it should not be seen as something static, merely a relic of the past to be preserved. Instead, heritage is a living process that societies continuously reshape in response to their needs. "Our societies, like most others, have faced profound challenges throughout history," Aziz noted. "Part of these struggles stems from societal negotiations that led us to be one people, one society." He pointed out that heritage, particularly intangible heritage, is often mobilized during times of crisis to help communities resolve conflicts, rebuild consensus, and find common ground. In Syria’s case, where war has fractured communities along political, ethnic, and religious lines, this shared heritage can serve as a unifying force. 

Aziz drew on examples from Syrian history to demonstrate how heritage was constantly reinvented after wars and strife to re-affirm the values of peace. He described how local cultural traditions were elevated to create both local and national cultural ethos by referencing examples such as Palmyra and the singer Sabah Fakhri, whose legacy has transcended local origins to become part of a shared Syrian identity. But he stressed that many of today’s identity markers were the result of long negotiations and were subject to innovation and reinvention. He also stressed that living heritage practices have played an essential role in mediating local disputes and re-establishing social order and drew on examples of how economic practices as well as art and music were the results of complex social interactions between different communities and social protagonists. He argued that that heritage should not be about nostalgia or the preservation of physical artifacts or cultural stereotypes, but about a dynamic process of negotiating identity and social values in times of upheaval.

"Heritage is not a luxury," Aziz asserted. "It has become central to people’s survival, particularly in communities that have been devastated by war." By tapping into the shared memories and practices that make up their collective heritage, Syrians can rebuild not only their physical infrastructure but also the social bonds that are crucial for long-term peace.

Intangible Heritage as a Tool for Peacebuilding

Eva Ziedan expanded on these ideas by providing concrete examples from her research and fieldwork. She described how local communities across Syria have turned to living heritage practices to find resilience amidst conflict. "There are countless examples of communities reviving and preserving aspects of intangible heritage as an entry point for building peace," Eva said. "In many cases, these heritage projects may not have started with peacebuilding as their primary goal, but over time, they’ve evolved into something that helps communities heal and rebuild trust." In that sense, she argues, tangible and intangible should be carefully re-assessed as normative definitions, lest they become a top-down tool of exclusion. 

Eva pointed to several heritage projects that focus on community-driven efforts to sustain cultural practices, including traditional agricultural and water rights traditions that were vital for sustaining local economies. She emphasized that heritage offers a framework for social solidarity, which has become critical for survival in war-torn Syria. By leveraging the notion of living heritage, communities can build new forms of economic cooperation and governance that prioritize local needs and foster resilience against external pressures.

One example highlighted by Eva was the revitalization of agricultural heritage in the Ghab Plain, where traditional farming practices have helped sustain livelihoods despite the ongoing conflict. "These practices are not just about preserving the past," Eva explained. "They are about creating a future where communities can continue to thrive, even in the face of extreme adversity."

Is Now the Time for Heritage-Based Peacebuilding?

A key question raised in the interview was whether now is the time to pursue heritage-based peacebuilding, given the continued presence of conflict in parts of Syria. Both Aziz and Eva agreed that waiting until the war is over would be a mistake. Instead, they argued that heritage projects should be part of ongoing efforts to build peace, even while the conflict persists.

"Heritage has always provided a means for societies to heal and move forward," Aziz explained. "It’s not just something we wait to recover after the conflict; it is something we actively use to foster peace, trust, and a shared identity even in the midst of war." History preserves the records of violence and hatred as well as those of peace and reconciliation, he argued, it is up to us to recover the memories and practices of peace building to begin our healing processes.  

Eva added that the urgency of working on heritage projects now is tied to the fragility of both tangible and intangible heritage in Syria. With communities displaced and many cultural practices at risk of being lost, the time to act is now. "If we don’t work on these heritage projects today, we risk losing vital elements of our shared identity forever," she warned. Peace cannot be recovered through exclusion; to preserve our heritage we need to draw on all of society’s memories and practices of reconciliation. 

The interview underscored that peacebuilding in Syria is not solely the responsibility of political actors and international mediators. Instead, it can be driven from the ground up, using heritage as a tool to rebuild trust and social cohesion. As Aziz concluded, "Now is the time to look for the commonalities that unite us, to rediscover the heritage that can help us live together as Syrians once again." Syrians need to reconcile with each other, with their past as well as with their environment to forge a new future.

This discussion illuminated how living heritage, far from being a relic of the past, can be a key to Syria’s future peace.