Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi Foundation for Arts and Crafts (GHQF)
With the aim of continuing the legacy of the late President and her passion and loyalty in serving the communities of artisans and craftsmen through her position in the World Crafts Council AISBL (International), the Qaddumi family has initiated the process of registering a Crafts Foundation in the name of Dr. Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi.
The GHQ Foundation aims to save, sustain and promote crafts as an important component of national cultural heritage, and ensure the continuity of certain crafts that are in danger of extinction. To achieve its objectives, it aims to support artisans and artisan communities through different means.
The GHQ Foundation for Crafts would include programs related to:
- Craft Encyclopedias.
- Craft scholarships for artisans.
- Excellence Award on behalf of the Foundation.
- Posts relevant to your name.
- Your personal online library.
- It is expected that once the founding of the Headquarters is completed, it will appear on the WCC website.
Online encyclopedia of crafts in the Asia Pacific region (APR)
Traditional handmade products
When Dr. Ghada assumed her position as President of the WCC-APR (2013-2016), she decided to start the Encyclopedia Project during her first term as President. The draft concept was presented to the Board of Directors at the third meeting of the Board of Directors on June 1-2, 2014. The work process ran as efficiently as possible and was launched at a large meeting in Kokand, Uzbekistan, at the opening ceremony of the First International Craft Festival on September 12, 2019.
This project arose from his belief in combining academic studies and research with technical and practical knowledge. It aims to be an authoritative reference to traditional crafts in Asia Pacific countries and should be considered an investment in the future of crafts in the Region. It is a monumental project that will hopefully leave a lasting legacy in the Asia Pacific Region (APR).
The Encyclopedia is a new way to express, develop, progress and fulfill part of the mission of the World Crafts Council (WCC-AISBL) which advocates, among other things, “raising awareness about the value of the cultural heritage of peoples.” This academic project aims to link academic research with practical technical knowledge and document endangered traditional crafts, which will eventually be threatened by modernization. It also helps spread knowledge and awareness of the cultural importance of traditional crafts, generating interest in their beauty and giving due respect to artisans, as creators of art objects.
While this Encyclopedia helps instill in each community a sense of national pride, it also opens those communities to a wide and diversified spectrum of other cultures, to know them and learn from them.
The content of the Encyclopedia covers as many traditional crafts as possible in each member country of the Asia Pacific Region, describing the current crafts practiced there. Criteria were established that involve techniques with special skills, specific processes and uniqueness for each country in style, material or use. In the selection process, priority was used as a guide according to the rank of importance of the profession in the respective country.
Dr. Ghada thanked Dr. Kevin Murray, who managed the workflow of this publication, being the coordinating editor and who prepared a detailed guide and a complete list necessary for writers, editors and coordinators. In addition, he thanked the Editorial Board, Regional Coordinators, National Editors, Editors and VPs (Vice Presidents) of the WCC-APR.
This Encyclopedia is a non-profit project and is supported and financed by the Qaddumi family, her two sons, Dr. Nabil Qaddumi and Sa’ad Qaddumi, who supported her to fulfill her dream of realizing this monumental cultural project.
The Crafts Encyclopedia project has already been expanded to the WCC Latin America Region, which once completed will be expanded to the other three remaining WCC AISBL regions.
A brief profile of the late Dr. Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi
She was born in Nablus-Palestine and has held Kuwaiti nationality since 1953. She is the mother of two children, Dr. Nabil Qaddumi and Sa’ad Qaddumi, and the grandmother of 4 grandchildren.
He had a Ph.D. in History of Islamic Art and Architecture from Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA (1990), a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Lebanese American University (L.A.U.) in Beirut (1976), a Master’s degree in Arabic Literature from the American University of Beirut (A.U.B.) 1975, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from A.U.B. (1969).
His thesis for the Ph.D. The title was published by Harvard University Press and, in 2004, she was invited by the same university for a postdoctoral fellowship (2004-2006).
Regarding her previous professional experience, she began her service with the Government of Kuwait as Curator of the Museum of Islamic Art, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya, Kuwait (1983-1990), and ended her service in 2002 after having been Director. from the Publications and Distribution Department of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), Kuwait (2000-2001), and founded and headed the Cultural Studies and Research Department of NCCAL (2001-2002), after which he retired.
She was the first Arab elected President of the World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR) for the period (2013-2016). She was re-elected for a second term (2017-2020) as President of the WCC Asia Pacific Region. It is worth noting that she is the first President from the Asia Pacific Region to hold the Presidency of the WCC-APR for two consecutive terms (2013-2020). After her term as President of the WCC-APR, she was nominated and elected International President of the WCC for the term (2021-2024). She was involved in this voluntary work where she initiated, participated and collaborated in various Interregional craft events (Exhibitions, Symposiums, Seminars). He had initiated and sponsored the Online Encyclopedia of Crafts in the WCC Asia Pacific region.