Paper short abstract:

"I wasn't very interested in culture. I never really thought about researching my heritage, documenting it or presenting it in an exhibition. Now that has changed. Now as soon as I hear someone reference to the past, I think about interviewing them and learning more. "

Paper long abstract:

"I never really thought about researching my heritage, documenting it or presenting it in an exhibition. Now that has changed, as soon as I hear someone reference to the past, I think about interviewing them. "(Female, South Hebron Hills, 2018)

Since 2017 around 30 young Palestinians from 33 Bedouin and villager communities in the South Hebron Hills, Palestine (SHH) have been trained on oral history methodology and have recorded the life-stories of older generations in their community about the different aspects of cultural heritage. The Bedouin communities of Palestine have a rich cultural heritage, which is intertwined with that of their non-Bedouin neighbours. The creation of Israeli closed military zones, the imposition of severe restrictions on movement, and forcible evictions have threatened the connection between Palestinians and their land. Collecting oral history stories has demonstrated the value of cultural heritage protection as an important resource to support Palestinian social and economic life.

The paper will critically reflect on how through participatory video recording conducted by the youth researchers the asymmetry of power relation was addressed? Who generated knowledge and how? How Coventry University staff with the power and privileges they hold facilitated the transformation of the power relations? How power relations were negotiated between the different groups of people - community leaders, young women and men as youth researchers and village elders? How the youth researchers utilised participatory video, learning, action, and reflection as a process of empowerment and contribution to decolonising knowledge and for protecting their own cultural heritage?