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New archive to protect memory of the nation
More than 400 government and cultural representatives, librarians and archivists gathered at a workshop yesterday dedicated to ensuring that the "memory of the nation” would be officially protected through a permanent national archive.
The plan to establish an integrated and comprehensive national archive in 15 years is being led by the National Centre for Documentation and Research, which will co-ordinate between the different ministries and governmental offices.
"There is no developed nation without its own national archive, which is why this project is of such importance,” said Abdel Kareem Bijaja, an expert in the science of archives at the centre.
One of the biggest challenges for the project, called "The Memory of the Nation,” will be training ministerial departments in "the correct procedures” to store and keep information for long periods of time, he said.
Dr Abdulla el Rayes, the director general of the national centre, cautioned that such an ambitious initiative would take time, noting that active government ministries issue more than 30 million documents a month. "Imagine how many documents there are then, since the 1970s,” he said. "We must find a way to preserve these documents for decades and decades to come.''
The archive's main vision, he said, is to provide future generations with information of their heritage and culture that they can be proud of.
Recommendations have been submitted by a group in the national centre to establish branches in each emirate.
Part of the project will include setting up an archive in every ministry within two years, said Salma al Mansouri, director of the centre's documentation department.
In the coming weeks, a delegation from the centre will be conducting two-day field visits to the different ministries and will issue recommendations for improvement.
"A lot of government entities have no idea what an organised archive is supposed to look like,” Ms al Mansouri said.
The event yesterday is the first of many workshops and training sessions scheduled in the months ahead. They are aimed at familiarising Government departmental representatives with proper methods for storing important documents. The workshops will include sessions on how to protect documents from common threats such as fire, dust and mice, and on modern, internationally recognised methods for digitising documents, speakers at the workshop said.
"This is a timely and highly important initiative,” said Mr. Mohammed Hammadi, a librarian at the Zayed Centre for Heritage and History. "It is important to have a centralised archive because it makes it easier for researchers and journalists to do their job.”
The Zayed Centre in Al Ain, for instance, has more than 200 rare publications on the history of the UAE, as well as a bibliography on Sheikh Zayed, the founding President of the UAE.
It is necessary to document collections like this, he said, to provide researchers with an extensive list of information available at various ministries and research centres and guidelines on how to access it.
The Juma al Majid Cultural and Heritage Centre in Dubai set up links with the national centre almost two months ago.
Its first step will be to digitise its own manuscripts. The Dubai centre will also continue to give free workshops and provide associations with complimentary equipment to restore historical manuscripts relating to the region.
"This kind of project is a duty, and it should not be seen as a tedious job,” said Sheikha al Mutairy, head of national heritage at the Dubai centre, "because through it we are preserving our country's history. This archive will be the witness to our past.” – The National
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