Photo Credit : WAM
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has opened applications for LanD 2027, an international training programme designed to strengthen the documentation and management of cultural landscapes.
The Training on Cultural Landscapes Documentation is the first regional programme of its kind to examine cultural landscapes as living systems shaped by communities, nature, history and heritage. It is co-organised with the CHEDAR project in collaboration with ICOMOS International Scientific Committees, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and other international heritage organisations.
A total of 20 heritage professionals from across the Middle East and North Africa will be selected. Participants will attend in-person training in Al Ain from 26 April to 5 May 2027, supported by introductory Massive Open Online Courses running between January and April 2027.
The programme will explore people-centred and nature-culture approaches to heritage documentation. Participants will learn how traditional knowledge and advanced technologies can be combined to record the tangible and intangible elements that define cultural landscapes.
Hili Oasis will serve as the programme’s practical case study, allowing participants to examine how comprehensive documentation can guide conservation decisions and support sustainable heritage management.
LanD 2027 is open to early and mid-career professionals working in architecture, landscape architecture, archaeology, urban planning, geography, GIS, environmental sciences, anthropology, ethnography, social sciences, heritage conservation, management and policy.
Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline and have three to five years of professional heritage experience. Knowledge of documentation or fieldwork methods will be an advantage. Candidates must also have working English proficiency and be comfortable collaborating in international, multidisciplinary teams.
Applications will remain open until 15 October. Eligibility details and the application form are available on the official LanD 2027 webpage.
Through the programme, DCT Abu Dhabi aims to develop the regional expertise needed to document, conserve and manage cultural heritage for future generations.
