Who are we?


Our mision

Heart of Damascus was founded in April 2007 by Waed ALMHANA, Syrian, engineer and journalist at El-Thawra newspaper and Oriane MATTE, French, computer scientist.

Before the foundation, this journalist was already volunteer since the years 2000 to preserve Syrian Heritage. He contributed actively to build the team of Amrit volunteers, and created the website. He became more and more specialist about Middle-East Heritage and Culture.

Oriane MATTE discovered Syria, in April 2006, invited by Syrian computer scientists to present her work in ICTTA 2006. She was interested from a long time by Estearn Civilization and History.

She met the journalist in the conference, and step by step, he guided her to discover the beautiful Syria and Damascus in particular. She found a ground of welcome, very open mind people, a magnificent and unique cultural, architectural and historical heritage, the contrary of the description made by the European medias. He showed her also a wounded Syria which needed urgently to take awareness to its heritage, not preserved at its real value, sometimes stolen, destroyed or forsaken.

They decided to put their force in this way together, and they built the first organisation in the world who wants to take care of Syrian Heritage only, because it is World Heritage and for that they try to interest all people, because this heritage needs all love. Organisations for World Heritage supported them in this noble cause. Day after day, members and volunteers join them.

Heart of Damascus wants to develop programs to preserve and valorize Syrian heritage in particular through the exchanges with the Mediterranean countries and all the goodwills of the world who feel concerned.


Office and Council of Administration

  • Oriane MATTE, Founder, President
    PhD in Biotechnologies,
    HDR in Text Mining,
    Professor and Computer Scientist in Artificial Intelligence.

    Email: oriane.matte@heartofdamascus.org
    French mobile: 0033 (0)6 76 27 33 33
    Syrian mobile: 00963 (0)932 08 31 86

  • Adnan DARGAZANLI, Vice President
    Doctor in Medecine.

  • Franck GHITALLA, Treasurer and Educational Exchanges
    PhD in Linguistics,
    Computer Scientist in Artificial Intelligence.

  • Waed ALMHANA, Founder, Secretary and Communication
    Engineer in Mechanics,
    Journalist Specialist of Heritage and Culture.

  • Vicken ABAJIAN, Scientific Exchanges
    Engineer in Electronics,
    Information Systems Expert, specialist in Archeological Computing.


    Heart of Damascus Team

    Heart of Damascus Association counts today about 50 members Syrian and French,
    among whom doctors, engineers, computer scientists, writers, historians, architects, artists are represented.
    Amoung the members, some of them work as volunteers in the different programs.


    Heart of Damascus is a non lucrative and non governmental organisation (French Association Law of 1901), independent of all political, religious and economic intervention.