In this paper, researcher Hiba Qassar explains the prevailing educational role in Western museums, and the potential for museums in Syria. She points to the prevailing circumstances and the existing attempts to move towards a vital cultural relationship between the public and museums.
 
Hiba Qassar holds a PhD in Museum Studies from the University of Florence in collaboration with University College London in Qatar, and a BA in Archeology from the University of Aleppo. Her thesis discussed the potential of museums in the Middle East to facilitate social cohesion and build a positive national identity through the representation of diversity. Her research interests include the role of culture through museums and other cultural institutions to facilitate the social integration of refugees in Europe and the evaluation of past integration policies to find out how best to create cultural common ground between newcomers and European society. She is currently the Associate Director of Educational Programs in the International Institute for Mesopotamian Area Studies /IIMAS) and the coordinator of the One-on-One Project which is dedicated to empower the youngsters in Syria and around the world through heritage.