The National Archives Provides the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Center with Documented Publications and Multimedia of National Content



The National Archives Continues the Cooperatation with the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center in the Dissemination of Documented Historical Information and in the Upbringing of Young Generations

The National Archives continues its joint cooperation with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan’s cultural and educational institutions, with the aim of disseminating documented information that enhance national knowledge in writings and through exhibitions of historical documents, multimedia and photos that document the efforts of loyal leaders who devote a lot of efforts to advance their country. The National Archives aspires by this constructive cooperation to raise a conscious generation capable of bearing its national responsibilities as that is consistent with its role in the national upbringing of generations.

In this regard, the National Archives provided the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center with a number of short documentaries from the “Memory of the Nation” project and provided Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Future Generation Society with its publications which document important chapters of the history of the UAE and the Gulf region.

It is noteworthy that the cooperation and coordination between the National Archives and the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center resulted in the organization of two events per month. These events include lectures, reading workshops and educational games. Coordination between the two parties continues in the summer program for children. Regarding this cooperation, Her Highness Sheikha Dr. Shamma Bint Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural and Educational Institutions, said: “The national and cultural goals of the National Archives are in harmoney with the goals of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan institutions and the frameworks for joint cooperation between the two parties represent strides towards realizing the visions of the UAE; as the modern National Archives system aims to provide integrated research and knowledge services and undertakes to develop the center’s holdings and enhance their accessibility to community institutions and the members of society by strengthening the corporate and community outreach in order to achieve its mission by providing and publishing specialized historical research materials, and issuing a number of books and periodicals that act as refernces to students and researchers interested in the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region. The Center also presents seminars and participates in regional and international conferences and seeks to organize exhibitions of historical archives. With this we can reach community participation together to shed light on the history and civilization of the UAE; in a way that supports and enhances the national identity and belonging to the homeland.”

About this cooperation, His Excellency Abdulla Majed Al Ali, the Executive Director of the National Archives, said: “The National Archives has strong cooperative relations with the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center. These relations aim at creating the integration between the two parties in some mutual tasks and roles that would be in the interest of the community and residents in the UAE.

These relations are based in the fact that the National Archives is a source of serious and documented publications that review the aspects of the civilizations that the UAE has gone through and its modern history in which one feels full of pride as well as the multimedia, historical records and documents and documentaries that can enrich the historical dimension of the UAE in the activities of the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center.”

He added: “We highly value the national role the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center plays at the level of national upbringing. This mission coincides with the strategy of the National Archives, which has taken upon itself the task of national upbringing of generations. Whereas the National Archives is keen to fulfill its mission in providing decision makers and public with trusted information with the aim of promoting the sense of belonging and national identity, it is keen to strengthen relations with the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center, which carries out an important national mission.”

His Excellency pointed out that the efforts of the National Archives combined with the efforts of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Center will have a great impact on the national upbringing of the children of today, the men of tomorrow as they enhance their children’ sense of belonging to the homeland and loyalty to its wise leadership. Moreover these efforts consolidate their national identity and instill in them the principles of good citizenship and inform them about the lives of the great leaders in the history of the UAE, which makes it easier for them to choose real role models that will help them carrybear the mission and follow the path of the fathers and ancestors in building the nation and preserving its gains.

The National Archives:

The National Archives of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs was first established in 1968 upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting documents and information relating to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years later, His Higness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President, issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to the National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR), and assigning it to organize the archives of the various UAE government entities. Finally, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. (1) of 2014, renaming it the National Archives.

The National Archives evokes and recalls the "Early Formal Education in the Emirates" in a virtual interactive discussion session



    As part of a its knowledge and cultural activities, and its national role and mission to eduacate future generations about the UAE history, the National Archives organized a virtual interactive discussion session entitled: "The Early Formal Education in the Emirates- Interviews with the Early Teachers". The session discussed the impact of education on the Emirates region.

   The National Archives sought to discuss and tackle this journey that goes back about 68 years to remind generations how the educational process developed and advanced since its early stages, and how the UAE shifted from “traditional education” of limited oral and written contexts to a modern“formal education” since 1953 with the establishment of Al Qasimia School in the Emirate of Sharjah. Following which establishment in 1971,  the UAE witnessed tremendous civilizational transformation that duly brought about an unparalleled openness through which the UAE, lead the innovations and smart education era, and invaded space, and became an icon of science and knowledge, and a leading country and a role model in educational and cultural enlightenment in the region, in less than 50 years after its estalishment.

At the beginning of the session, Dr. Mohammed Faris Al-Faris, a Historian and Researcher Specialized in the history of the UAE and the Gulf region, praised the efforts of the National Archives and the great services it provides to researchers, through offering them easy access to all specialized sources and references, and the various needed historical documents on the history of the UAE, the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula regions.

Dr. Mohammed Al-Faris stressed that the introduction of formal education resulted in breaking the isolation and seclusion the Emirates region had suffered from since 1820, following the general agreement’s conclusion with its Rulers. Before, the Emirates did not have any links with their Arab surroundings, and when formal education was introduced there, it was an overlooked and almost forgotten region, as the Arab world was preoccupied with many issues, at the forefront of which was the struggle for liberation from colonialism; Thus, the formal education which started in the Emirates in 1953 was a major shift and a quantum leap from complete seclusion and isolation to wide openness and receptiveness to its Arab surroundings which- according to British documents - led to confrontations and clashes between the British on one hand and the teachers and students on the other, this was confirmed by some of the teachers with whom Dr. Al-Fares met upon conducting his research.

The session indicated that traditional education in the Emirates before 1953 was limited to teaching religion, Arabic language, and Mathematics principles, and did not tackle or address any historical or political aspects. Then Kuwait began opening schools in the Emirates, and "semi-formal education" began, after which “formal education” was introduced in 1953, and after the British saw Kuwait rushing to help the emirates in developing education, they offered modest contribution, namely, some simple educational facilities, and also suggested that technical education replace formal education, so it established two schools: the Industrial School In Sharjah, and the Agricultural School in Ras al-Khaimah, but technical education would not have been a suitable and effective substitute or alternative to formal education.

It is noteworthy that the Researcher, Dr. Mohammed Al-Faris met a group of the early teachers who had remarkable efforts in establishing formal education in the Emirates since 1953 and teaching in its schools, including Emirati teachers who worked side by side with their fellow Arab teachers, such as: Ali bin Mohammed Al-Mahmoud, whose father played a role in establishing Al-Islah (Reform) School in the 1930s, which as managed bt the Principal Ahmed Bu Rahima, and its staff included local teachers, , namely: Ali bin Rashid Al Owais, Ali Al Ghanim, Abdullah Al Qaiwan, Ismail Abdullah, and Jassem Al Midfa. As for the most prominent Arab teachers who came to the Emirates and were recruited for its early semi-formal then formal education, they were: Zuhdi Al-Khatib, Jawdat Al-Barghouthi, Ahmed Qassem Al-Borini, Mustafa Youssef Taha, and Muhammad Diab Al-Mousa. The Researcher, Dr. Mohammed Al-Faris obtained from them many photos, and great information that tackle and shed light on the details of such an important stage in the history of the Emirates.

The discussion session’s audience interactively asked many questions pertaining to the educational field’s various aspects since its its introduction in the UAE.

It is note worthy that the National Archives has prepared a full program of conferences, seminars, discussion sessions and lectures, on various cultural and historical topics, and just recently it virtually held its first translation conference which was a the greatest specialized translation conference the UAE has witnessed in the last two decades, as it brough together various renowned Researchers, Specialists and Experts from all over the world.





The National Archives of the UAE:

The National Archives of the UAE was established in 1968 under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, upon directives from the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting material relating to the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region. Forty years after its inception, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, issued the Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to be the National Center for Documentation and Research, entrusted with organizing the archives of the UAE government entities, later H.H. Issued an amending order to change its name to be the "National Archives" in accordance with Federal Law No. 1 of 2014.

The UAE National Archives and its Colombian counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding aiming at enhancing archival cooperation in cultural and expertise exchange 

In the context of advocating joint archival and documentation efforts and goals supporting the cultural and documentary heritage sector in both countries and internationally, the National Archives of the UAE and the National Archives of the Republic of Colombia signed a memorandum of understanding aiming at the collaboration in cultural and knowledge exchange enhancing activities, implementing archival training programs, and exchanging experiences and expertise in the archives field.

The MOU was signed by: His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Mohammed Alraisi, Director General of the UAE National Archives, and Mr. Enrique Serrano, Director General of the Colombian Archives.

The proceedings of the MOU signing ceremony took place (remotely) via interactive technology, In line with the adopted precautionary measures of the current critical stage, in the presence of His Excellency Salem Rashid Al Owais, Ambassador of the UAE to Colombia, His Excellency Jaime Amin, Ambassador of Colombia to the UAE, His Excellency Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Executive Director of the UAE National Archives, and a number of officials from the National Archives of both countries.

In his speech, His Excellency Salem Rashid Al Owais praised the UAE National Archives and its great role in preserving the memory of the nation, and urged archivists to strengthen constructive relations to develop and advance archival business.

His Excellency Jaime Amin, Colombian Ambassador to the UAE thanked the UAE for its role in supporting the Republic of Colombia in countering and containing the Corona-virus (Covid 19), and expressed his hope that this memorandum would serve to enhance cooperation between the two countries in archival and documentation fields.

On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Mohammed Alraisi discussed and commended the role the National Archives has played for more than half a century, noting that it is one of the oldest archival and documentation institutions in the region; as it was established in 1968 upon directives from the Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founder of the UAE. The National Archives is currently overseeing the organization of more than 300 UAE Government entities’ archives, and its core business is not limited to preserving the memory of the nation, but also preparing historical research on the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, educating youth and future generations in schools and various vital entities on the history of the UAE, hosting conferences, organizing exhibitions, and participating in international forums. The National Archives also plays a major role in enriching libraries with valuable publications on the culture and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region.

His Excellency said: The quantum leap that the National Archives and the UAE archiving system witnessed, and all recognized achievements in this respect since the beginning of this century is due to the keen interest and unlimited support of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, his vision, directives and constant follow-up.

Dr. Alraisi expressed his hope that this memorandum shall pave the way for further cooperation in all fields, particularly in electronic archiving and its various challenges, and historical documents restoration and sustainability employing artificial intelligence techniques. We hope that this memorandum will contribute to organizing joint exhibitions and exchanging expertise in technical fields.

He pointed out the importance of the National Archives hosting the International Council on Archives Congress in Abu Dhabi, since this major event has been postponed to October 2023 in order to receive the duly deserved attention in an atmosphere that will hopefully be Covid-19 free.

H.E. concluded his speech by inviting the Colombian National Archives Officials and stakeholders to visit the United Arab Emirates to witness the National Archives realized achievements and great role in preserving the memory of the nation, HE also highlighted the importance of the National Archives’ Center for Preservation and Restoration, which includes a highly advanced document restoration laboratory, and employs advanced document digitization techniques.

Director General of the Colombian Archives, Enrique Serrano expressed his pleasure and optimism about signing this memorandum, which he perceives as supportive to the joint collaboration efforts of the National Archives of both friendly countries.

The Memorandum of Understanding’s terms focused on the joint cooperation, participation in and support of programs and activities of mutual benefit, and the mutual search in the parties’ respective Archives for sources and material relating to the history of each in the other party’s holdings, digitizing and exchanging these documents, exchanging knowledge and expertise in the archival field, and implementing Archival training programs, as well as cooperation in cultural exchange activities.



The National Archives of the UAE:



The National Archives of the United Arab Emirates was established in 1968 under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting material relating to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years after its inception, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to be the National Center for Documentation and Research, entrusted with organizing the archives of the United Arab Emirates’ government agencies. Later, H.H. issued an amending order to change its name to be the "National Archives" in accordance with Federal Law No. 1 of 2014.

To open the door for volunteering and to encourage humanitarian work,

The National Archives launches “Hand in Hand” initiative in collaboration with the Red Crescent

In collaboration with the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, the National Archives organized a human initiative under the slogan “Hand in Hand”, which allows the NA staff to get involved in the voluntary corporate work of the Red Crescent projects and initiatives. This initiative comes as part of the social responsibility undertaken by the NA and of its efforts in charity and humanitarian work and to stress the importance of volunteering in fostering sustainable development.

Many employees demonstrated their willingness to volunteer in the Red Crescent projects, and they confirmed their preparedness to be assigned, at any time, by the authority to participate in any of its projects or initiatives that suit them. This reflects their interest in supporting the society, meeting its urgent needs, and serving its issues at social, cultural, and economic levels.

The NA shows its interest in this initiative because the UAE considers voluntary work as a national and community service. Our ancestors instilled in their children the sense of voluntary and humanitarian work, which has become an important part of the UAE approach. The NA encourages the voluntary work that makes use of the employees’ qualifications and capabilities in projects and initiatives launched by the Emirates Red Crescent Authority.  

Given its belief in the importance of voluntary work, which is a national responsibility, the NA has participated in this initiative to provide humanitarian help and serve the homeland and community members. The social responsibility assumed by the NA reflects its love for the UAE and its appreciation for those living on its land.

Volunteering is a civilized behavior that promotes the community culture, heightens sense of responsibility, and enhances social solidarity values, and its positive impact appears on people’s life.

The National Archives educates its employees about decision making for strategic planning



The NA organized a virtual training workshop entitled “Decision Making for Strategic Planning”, which stressed on the importance that decision taking should be based on practical principles and rules to enable the organization to achieve its objectives and that accurate information should be available for decision makers.

The workshop provided examples of its topics drawn from the NA, such as: employees appraisals, operations management system, transfer, disposal and digitization processes, delegation of authorities and committees.

It also tackled a number of important topics, most notably human brain, how does brain make decisions? development in understanding how to make decisions, decision making, who is responsible for decision making? factors affecting decision making, types of decisions and decision-making methods and tools.

The workshop presented learned lessons in various fields including roles of employees, line manager, domain experts, directors and higher management in addition to decision inputs.  

It reviewed the process of decision making and the related influential factors between logic and emotions as well as other factors such as automation and artificial intelligence, machine learning, business intelligence, smart government, and role of leadership, which is the most important factor. Moreover, it illustrated challenges of decision making at individuals’ level and the factors affecting decision making. It also explained decision types, decision making methods, techniques, tools and evaluation. The workshop relied on international reports on how to make decisions.

It also discussed the development in understanding the process of decision making, starting from decision determination, information collection, specification of options, evidence evaluation, selection of best option, taking actions, and decision review and evaluation.

Furthermore, the workshop tackled the definition of decision making. It is defined as the process of selecting one of the available reasonable options after being evaluated and benchmarked, and after considering all alternative options. To make an effective decision, one should be able to predict the results of each option, and based on all these elements, the best option is specified for a particular situation. The workshop has also compared between decision making and decision taking.

More than 6000 Teachers Participated in the National Archives Eighth Annual Forum for Training Teachers

The National Archives held the eighth annual forum for training teachers over four days to virtually train and educate teachers on the history and heritage of the UAE, with the aim of promoting and enhancing their national values as well as raising their awareness level of the history, culture, civilization, heritage, customs and traditions of the ancient UAE society, which in turn contributes to enhancing the values of loyalty, belonging and national identity among teachers, students and future generations.

More than 6000 teachers from across the UAE participated in the virtual forum, where they took a virtual tour of the National Archives facilities, and watched national documentaries, and inspected an exhibition of historical films and photos documenting the UAE education process and journey.

With this forum, the National Archives aims to enrich Arab and foreign teachers’ knowledge of national values derived from the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates, and enhance their experience with the Emirati society virtues and exploits that must be instilled in students so they can be good citizens capable of continuing the UAE national march and legacy in the future.

The Eighth Annual Teachers Training Forum focused on promoting the values of tolerance and coexistence, upon the directives of the wise leadership that spares no effort towards the advancement and development of the UAE people and nation.

In his inaugural speech at the forum, Mr. Farhan Al-Marzouqi, Director of the National Archives’ Corporate and Community Outreach Department, stressed that this forum was a great event among a series of National Archives’ projects and initiatives, and an enjoyable valuable educational experience that reflects and comes in line with the directives of the UAE wise leadership on investing in knowledge economy and stressed the importance of investing in teachers to develop their capabilities as the basis of any sound educational process and its key pillar.

He added that this forum is considered an important national initiative which paves the way towards building generations of students, shaping their future, enriching their knowledge, enhancing their creative thinking skills, and promoting or instilling in them the values of love, loyalty and belonging to the homeland and its wise leadership. This was the celebrated legacy of the past fifty years. The National Archives as it looks forward to the upcoming UAE celebration of the year of the Fiftieth to carry on dedicating its efforts, and full potentials and capabilities to support the educational system within the framework of its national role as a key partner and a main pillar in future generations civic education.

The Director of the Corporate and Community Outreach Department expressed to the participating teachers his wishes that their next academic year will hopefully be Covid19- free, and that the world will have contained and overcame this pandemic, which had a significant impact on the educational process, as it became mostly virtual, and that students will return to schools in a sound and healthy interactive educational environment. He finally wished the forum to achieve great success and all its desired goals.

On its first day, the forum’s activities focused on the UAE centennial anniversary celebration, highlighting the solidarity of the UAE Union and the role of the founding fathers, their effective planning and vision, which contributed to crowning their march with innovations and creativity which resulted in the comprehensive development, prosperity and advancement over the past fifty years. From this vision, "UAE Centennial 2071" carries on its next five decades’ march of leadership and sustainability, and constructs a clear organized and long-term work plan to enhance and promote the UAE distinguished status, reputation and soft power.

In addition to the photo exhibition, presented during the forum, which reflected the extent of the late Sheikh Zayed’s interest in education, along with his brothers the founding fathers, who closely followed-up the educational process and took great interest in its advancement, the UAE wise leadership currently follows the forefathers’ footsteps and adopts their approach. A documentary film entitled “The Building of a Nation" was presented which recounted the story of the early educational development in the Emirates, and the achievements that this field witnessed in a comparatively record time.

Dr. Aisha Bilkhair, the National Archives’ Research Advisor, enriched the forum by delivering two lectures, the first of which was on the first day of the forum, and was entitled: “Education Centennial: From Katateeb to Mars”, where she addressed the following themes: From kataeb to artificial intelligence, empowering women, leadership, talent, and accelerators, Good manners, ethics, etiquette, tolerance, support, solidarity, and peaceful coexistence. She also tackled the UAE achievements and leadership in various fields, including but not limited to: equality and social justice, and virtual education after Covid 19.

The lecturer discussed the early education form or stage of Katateeb then the regular schools, and from there to “illiteracy elimination” schools and adult education, then to higher education and scholarships abroad.

The lecturer discussed at length Emirati women’s education, their empowerment, and the attention they received that resulted in their assuming UAE leading and key positions alongside their male counterparts. With well and thoroughly considered plans and unlimited support from the builder and founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (Mother of the Emirates) who dedicated all means towards the advancement of UAE women, along with their family and society as a whole. The Speaker linked how all these elements and achievements led to the realization of Sheikh Zayed's dream and aspirations of the UAE reaching space in cooperation with the International Space Station, with Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati Astronaut’s arrival to space, and the UAE sending the probe of hope to Mars. Thus the UAE proved that it is the nation of possibilities that beats any Impossible, as it reached Mars with its Probe of Hope, and successfully operated the Barakah peaceful nuclear power plant to produce nuclear energy, and took a leading role and position among the world states in countering and containing the emerging Corona virus.

The UAE continues its march under its wise leadership, and is incorporating artificial intelligence into educational systems to pave the way and prepare for a brighter and a more promising future.

Dr. Aisha also discussed the deep-rooted Emirati heritage, from which the present culture stems, and the accelerators according to her theory, such as: good morals, manners, ethics, etiquette, tolerance, support, solidarity and peaceful coexistence.

The forum interestingly organized for its participants a competition with three questions closely related to the education field.

The second day of the Eighth Annual Forum for training teachers, virtually held by the National Archives, tackled Emirati history. It began with a documentary film reviewing the United Arab Emirates’ past and present, stressing the importance of the National Archives and its role in preserving the memory of the nation.

The forum took its audience and participants on a virtual tour in the National Archives to explore its facilities and services that offer and allow the public easy access to its valuable holdings of historical records and documents. The tour began with the Arabian Gulf digital archive (AGDA), which is an important source for historical documents on the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and a key resource of rare documents and information which support raising and promoting awareness of the history of the region.

Then the virtual tour continued in Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan’s Hall at the National Archives, where its visitor explored the various aspects of the UAE history, and from there to the Emirates Library which is an important and integral part of the National Archives academic and research program. It provides its services to researchers, scholars and knowledge seekers to benefit from its rich and specialized collections that cover the history of the UAE and the Gulf region whether in paper or electronic form. The tour ended at the Customers Happiness Hall, which provides researchers with the historical documents they request from the National Archives.

On the second day, Dr. Aisha Bilkhair's second lecture entitled: (History of the UAE: the history of a nation and the Civilization of a People), in which she reviewed the history of the UAE from its ancient civilizations to its current development, advancement and prosperity.

The lecture began with an invitation to the public and all individual to educate themselves employing whatever available means; she used paper currency as an example for the opportunity to provide learning and education. With a careful look at it, one realizes from the printed pictures on it the UAE heritage and historical monuments. Then she moved to the UAE ancient history, as indicated by archaeological finds and discovered pearls. This confirms the fact that the UAE is not an emerging nation in history but is rather a nation with a long and deep-rooted history that calls for its people to take pride in it.

The lecturer also called upon future generations to follow the footsteps of the forefathers, to employ and utilize their wisdom in all aspects of life, and to adopt their inherent values that promote civic education and national identity.

The Lecturer discussed at length the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s vision and wisdom, as manifested in his belief in his people’s development to preserve their dignity, and as indicated through all his achievements, where his advanced ideas and vision to build his nation and develop his people were clearly manifested.

The Forum’s Agenda was concluded with a discussion session where the forum’s audience and participants interacted and further enriched their knowledge with important information on the history of the UAE in general and the National Archives in particular.

It is noteworthy that the four days’ National Archives eighth annual forum for training teachers, presented its activities in Arabic for two days, and in English for the other two days.  

The National Archives First Translation Conference was concluded with important recommendations followed by the UAE national anthem

The National Archives concluded its first translation conference (Translation in the Digital Age between Modern Technologies and Challenges of Historical Text). His Excellency Abdullah Majid Al Ali, National Archives’ Executive Director stressed in his speech that the conference with its participating Speakers and specialized Researchers from distinguished and prestigious international universities, translation societies and research centers representing all continents became an academic forum and a Hub for cultural and civilizational diversity- which constitutes and reflects the Emirati culture’s friendly and fraternal spirit- rather than being a mere academic research event.

H.E. added: This conference achieved unparalleled success as an academic forum that clearly reflected the linguistic and cultural diversity which characterizes the twenty-first century’s cosmic civilization and the contemporary Emirati society. H.E. pointed out that the conference presented ten scientific sessions, where a group of the finest Researchers and university Professors specialized in various branches of translation presented their valuable and enlightening research papers that discussed the role of translation in promoting civilizational dialogue and spreading the culture of tolerance adopted by the UAE government.

His Excellency highly valued and appreciated the great efforts of the organizers of this leading international academic event, the participating conference Speakers, Abu Dhabi Media, the NA media partner, and all who contributed and paved the way for this conference to achieve this phenomenal success.



The closing session was moderated by Mr. Hamad Al-Hamiri, Director of the National Archives’ Research and Knowledge Services Department, and witnessed the presentation of the conference recommendations by Professor Saddik Gouhar, National Archives’ Translation Expert. The important conference recommendations included: the necessity of holding such conference annually, and expanding its topics scope and increase its themes to include more issues related to translation and its specializations and its role in promoting the values of tolerance along with cultural and civilizational dialogue, publishing the research-papers in a scientific or academic periodical and gathering them in a book, and of the National Archives participation with major specialized internationally renowned entities in organizing and holding various translation conferences in the future.



On its third day, the conference presented two sessions, the first, entitled: "Problems of Translation from Foreign Languages: Japanese, German, Hebrew and Portuguese" was moderated by Mrs. Ghada Al-Ashry, National Archives Senior Translator. In this session, Dr. Maher El-Sherbiny, Professor of Japanese Language Department of Cairo University, discussed the problems that face translators when translating from Arabic to Japanese. Then Dr. Samar Mounir Ali Khalil, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Al-Alsun of Ain Shams University in Egypt, addressed in her research-paper titled: “The Impediments of Literary Translation from German to Arabic: Clemens Meyer’s short story collection “Dark Satellites” as a Model” the problems faced in translating literary works from German to Arabic, especially translating culture, environment, and society related or associated terms.

Following which Dr. Elham Mahmoud Mohamed Badr, Associate Professor at the Hebrew Language Department at the Faculty of Al-Alsun of Ain Shams University in Egypt, presented her research-paper entitled: “The Drawbacks of translating Sholem Aleichem’s story “Lehnyu” from Yiddish into Hebrew” in which she emphasized the importance of conducting a Comparison between the original Yiddish literary text (the source language) and the translated Hebrew text (the target language), to identify translation difficulties.



The first session of the conference third day was concluded by the research paper presented by Ms. Hagar Azaz, Lecturer at the Portuguese Language Department at the Faculty of Al-Alsun of Ain Shams University in Egypt, entitled “Translating historical terms from Portuguese to Arabic between cultural sensitivity and textual reliability”, in which she addressed the problems and obstacles that translators face when translating historical documents from Portuguese to Arabic, namely: the scarcity of Arabic-Portuguese dictionaries, in addition to the fact that political and historical terms translation requires great accuracy.



The second session, entitled: “Translation between past and present: issues and challenges”, was moderated by Mrs. Fatima Al-Hudaidi Head of the National Archives Publishing Unit, began with a research paper entitled: “Simultaneous translation in the digital era in presence of the emerging corona virus pandemic” which was presented by Dr. Amal Hassan Al-Sabban Professor at the French Language Department of Ain Shams University in Egypt, in which she stressed that simultaneous interpretation is the most difficult form of translation or interpretation, and requires employing special tools and devices, and is generally used in official context as in official meetings, seminars and conferences at International level. Then Associate Professor Youmna Azmy Gamal Abdel Rahman, at the Spanish Language Department of Ain Shams University in Egypt, presented her research-paper entitled: “The dilemma of translating linguistic leaps between classical and colloquial / foreign words and intertextuality: Mai Khaled’s novel (Gymnasium) as a model” in which she indicated that the novel events took place in Cairo and Switzerland, which presents a challenge for the translator along with other faced important challenges.

In the research-paper entitled “The Paratextual Discourse and the Post-Colonial Translation: Reuben Snir’s translation of Mahmoud Darwish’s poems into Hebrew”, Assistant Professors Nahed Raheel and Nahla Raheel from the Hebrew Language Department of Ain Shams University in Egypt stressed that when discussing translation between the Arabic and Hebrew languages one cannot ignore the post-colonial context in which translation attempts between the two sides or parties arose, as well as the hegemonic discourse directed by the ruling establishment towards Arabs and Arab Jews, within the majority-minority relations framework and relating or resulting issues.

In the research paper entitled: “Arabic/Spanish/Arabic Machine translation: problems and solutions,” presented by Dr. Shaima Mohamed Abdel-Fattah Radwan, Associate Professor of Translation at the Faculty of Al-Alsun of Ain Shams University, in Egypt, she indicated that in the information revolution, computers systems, Internet, websites and programs control era - there is an urgent need for an educational environment that prepares students and develops their skills for an era where means and tools change, and knowledge concepts evolve, and where the need to ensure their awareness of key modern concepts and terms in digitization field and their education employment mechanisms becomes clear.



Thus the two sessions of the third and last day of the conference were concluded with some inquiries that enriched the discussion and indicated the followers’ interaction with and interest in the presented research-papers.



National Archives

The National Archives of the United Arab Emirates was established under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in 1968, upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting material relating to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years after its establishment, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to be the National Center for Documentation and Research, entrusted with organizing the UAE government entities’ archives, and later issued another order to change its name to be the "National Archives" in accordance with Federal Law No. 1 of 2014.

The National Archives organized a charitable humanitarian initiative entitled "Absherou belkhair", or “Good Tidings"

The National Archives has concluded its charitable humanitarian initiative entitled "Absherou belkhair ", or “Good Tidings" in cooperation with the UAE Red Crescent Authority, through which employees were provided the opportunity to participate in charitable and humanitarian work, through their clothes and other kind donations to the needy.

All National Archives staff members highly commended, valued and directly interacted with the initiative, where the National Archives distributed cardboard boxes to them to provide their philanthropic donations of basic needs to the poor and needy, which it subsequently collected and handed over to the UAE Red Crescent Authority to distribute them to needy beneficiaries.

The National Archives' interest in such initiative comes within the framework of its societal responsibility, and its charitable humanitarian works as part of its national and moral duty, and as an important step towards sustainable development.

The National Archives has previously organized many similar initiatives, in cooperation with the UAE Red Crescent, for their great impact on the UAE society’s positive change and development, and their role in establishing and instilling in the UAE public the values of benevolence, Philanthropy and solidarity, which are the same values to which the National Archives is committed as part of its national role and duty.

The National Archives keenly continues its charitable and humanitarian work and role through participating in such charitable initiatives that are implemented even when many of its employees are working from home at this stage where the world is keen to achieve solidarity while adhering to social distancing as part of other necessary precautionary measures to counter and contain the virus and reduce its societal health, social and economic repercussions.





The National Archives:

The National Archives of the United Arab Emirates was established under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in 1968, upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting material related to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years after its establishment, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to be the “National Center for Documentation and Research”, entrusted with organizing the archives of various UAE Government entities, then H.H. issued another amendding order changing its name to be the "National Archives" in accordance with Federal Law No. 1 of 2014.

The National Archives First Translation Conference is considered an important step on the road to translation advancement 

The conference research papers and discussions were well received by all followers

The National Archives virtual conference entitled “Translation in the Digital Age between Modern Technologies and Challenges of Historical Text”, was launched on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 and continued for 3 consecutive days. The participants praised the conference sessions and discussions relating to various translation issues and challenges which will surely pave the way for further translation advancement and development in our current era where we keenly seek constructive and fruitful communication with the whole world.

The research papers discussed during the various conference sessions indicated that translation is a creative activity that requires certain conditions and a wide culture, and that the richness of translation activity in the UAE confirms and reflects the cultural diversity it enjoys.

Through their research papers, the participating Speakers demonstrated that translation bridges any gap between civilizations and cultures and is an intellectual window to the world thought and knowledge which grants the Emirati identity further communication with other nations and cultures. Interest in translation is considered an interest in a key culture tributary with the expansion of communication between various peoples of the world. Translation has become inevitable and integral in a world that has currently transformed into a small global village.

The research-papers were presented by Senior Professors and Specialists from major world universities. The first session of the second day of the conference was entitled: “Linguistic and cultural problems in translation and interpreting”, moderated by Dr. Abdullah Al-Omari, Senior translator at the National Archives,  in which Professor Michael Cooperson from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, discussed “A (partly) corpus-based approach to matching linguistic registers"; He pointed out that most translations from Arabic use Standard English as the target language, and referred to his recent translation of Maqamat al-Hariri, in which he adopted a different approach in line with Hariri's interest in language diversity and its susceptibility to change.

In his research-paper “Translation Policy and Practice in the Digital Age: new modes and media for delivery and accessibility” Professor Dr. Mohamed Gamal, Translation Consultant in Sydney, tackled Modern translation in the Arab world as associated with development over the past two hundred years, while he has focused on the past twenty years, Since the United Nations for Arab Human Development published its report in 2002, which shed light on translation scene, stressing that audio-visual translation is a new reality in the translation field after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professor Ivan Williams, of Buraimi University in the Sultanate of Oman, in his paper “Bargaining for Style and Meaning in the Translation of Qasr Al Hosn”, (from English to Spanish), spoke of his experience with this book issued by the UAE National Archives, indicating that the translator must take into account the differences in words, phrases, and sentences semantics and the ambiguity and contradiction issues in certain translation texts.

In her research-paper, “Korean/Arabic Translations between Present and Future”, Professor Nabila Yun Eun Kyeong discussed: Translation as one of the most important means of cultural and civilizational exchange between the world nations and people, and the most important communication bridge of various world languages and cultures. Therefore, translation process cannot in any way be proper and accurate without a deep understanding of the source language culture, to convey the message in a way that suits the target language reader's understanding.

Professor Rahilya Geybullayeva from Baku Slavic University, Azerbaijan in her research-paper entitled: “Semiosphere as a history of interpretations on an example of a term from the manuscripts” tackled the consonant as a meaningful semantic unit for the Middle East languages conveyors, which is why a word interpretations from its exact text vary and have multiple versions, and consonants have an elementary semiotic meaning provided familiarity with the alphabets’ history.

The second session entitled " The predicaments of translation: Old Texts and Manuscripts as a Model", which was moderated by Alfatih Mohammed Osman, Senior Translator, at the UAE National Archives, began with a research paper entitled " The Dilemma of Translating Songs: The Poetry of Tagore as a Model" by the Emirati Poet, Translator and Literary Historian, Dr. Shihab Ghanem, in which he tackled The translation of rhythmic poetry can convey the poem’s original meaning, and can also be a poetic language prose that conveys the original meaning. He talked about some of his personal experiences with Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore’s poems.

In his research-paper, “Navigating Residual Orality in Translation between Incompatible Discourse Traditions”, Professor Waleed Bleyhesh Al-Amri from Taibah University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, discussed word or expression technology and the realization of its wide-ranging communicative ramifications. Whereas Dr. Tarek Abdulla Fakhr-Eldeen, Chair of the Kuwaiti Translators Association in Kuwait, in his research-paper entitled " Translating three-dimensional Historical Texts” conveyed an academic and practical approach to the Arabic and English languages interrelated translation when dealing with Arabian Gulf region related historical texts.

Professor Yahya Abdel Tawab of the Theater Institute in Kuwait, in his research-paper entitled “Translating Old Historical Russian Manuscripts” pointed out that ancient Russian historical documents are of great importance and interest to Russia, as is the case in other advanced world countries. But its translation to other languages is a matter for the nations or interested parties of these other languages. In his paper “Ancient Arabic Literature between Investigation and Translation,” Assistant Professor, Ayman Bakr, from Gulf University for Sciences and Technology in Kuwait discussed the importance of preserving and translating the oral Arab literary heritage, stressing that both are complex and non-objective or neutral.

The third session of the second day of the conference, entitled "Translation between History and Identity", moderated by Sumaya Al-Hashimi, National Archives Senior Translator, reviewed a number of research-papers, including "Cultural Issues in Translating Portuguese Letters on the Gulf in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" by Professor Dr. Adrian de Man, Chair of the Department of History and Tourism- UAE University-Alain, in which he recounted his experience in publishing selected letters on trade and financial matters to or from Portuguese officials in Hormuz, and he pointed out that the Portuguese language has developed in the past four and a half centuries given the cultural circumstances and changes of time and place.

In her paper “Arabic Idioms Travelling via Translations: A Comparative Study” Assistant Professor Raja Lahiani, Department of Literature and Languages, UAE University, Al Ain tackled idiomatic expressions as traditional parts of speech that are linguistically ambiguous and structurally established.

Professor Yahya Mohamed Mahmoud from the UAE University discussed, in his paper entitled “The Biased Translation of British Historical Manuscripts” - the translations that appeared at the end of the sixties of the last century in some Arab countries, and the most important of these translations were the translation of parliamentary papers submitted by the British government to the British Parliament on the Arab Gulf states. Professor Khaled Umran Al-Zawam, from Alicante University in Spain, reviewed Arabic linguistic expressions and structures between heritage and present time, and the problem of translating them into Spanish: their definition, sources and application models. As for Professor Al Arabi Al Hadrawi from the University of Mohammed V, in Morocco, he discussed “The peculiarity of teaching literary translation between textual terms and language pre-conditions”.

The fourth and last session of the second day of the conference, entitled: " Translation and Horizons of Expectations", moderated by Dr. Aisha Bilkhair, National Archives Research Advisor, began with a research-paper presented by Professor Dr. Forget Chaterera-Zambuko from Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, in which she discussed ways of “Bridging the geographical and language gaps to accessing archives through digital translation”. Then Dr. Atef Abbas Abdel Hamid Ahmed, Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Consultant, discussed “the challenges of translating modern technology terminology: a case study in the field of computer science.”

Dr. Nabiha Maktabi and Ms. Faten Rushdi from the Louvre Museum - Abu Dhabi tackled “enriching trans-cultural Hybridity through translation”.

The final research papers presented on the second day of the conference on "Translation in the Digital Age between Modern Technologies and the Challenges of Historical Text" was entitled: "Translation and Dialogue of Civilizations in the New Millennium" by the Poet and Media Expert, Mahmoud Sharaf, Chair of Tanta International Poetry Festival.

The four sessions on the second day of the conference were well received and enriched with discussions that indicated the public's keen interest in and interaction with the conference's activities and research-papers.

Alraisi: From Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates of Tolerance and Love, we begin the Translation Conference to improve the translation movement

The National Archives launches its 1st Translation Conference with an opening session and nine papers discussing important translation related issues

The first virtual international translation conference was launched today, under the theme "Translation in the digital age between modern technologies and the challenges of historical text". The conference opened with a speech by His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives, who confirmed that the National Archives is holding this conference within the framework of one of its strategic objectives, which requires the provision of integrated research and knowledge services, pointing out the interest that translation receives in the UAE, which  believes that translation plays an important role in bringing nations closer, facilitating dialogue, understanding and cooperation among the peoples of the world, contributing to development and building a culture of peace and international security. His Excellency also stressed the importance of translation in the next 50 years, as has been the case with historical records and documents held by the National Archives in the past 50 years.

Welcoming the participants in this international conference, he explained that in its ten sessions the Conference will discuss the most important challenges the translation movement faces at present as translation is now, more than ever, one of the most important cultural exchanges in our modern and contemporary world.

He noted the importance and diversity of the conference's themes, including machine translation and artificial intelligence, the mechanisms of globalization and translation methods in the digital age, the dilemmas of translating old documents, bridging language gaps in archives through digital translation, translating oral history narratives, translation and identity, and translation and dialogue of civilizations.

At the end of his speech, the Director General of the National Archives thanked the employees, who oversaw the organizing of this conference, and also the participants, speakers, and senior professors at major international universities. He also invited all those interested to follow the conference sessions broadcast from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates of Tolerance and Love,  which aims to improve  the translation movement around the world  in the service of our society, our nation and all humanity.

Mr. Hamad Al Hamiri, Director of the Research and Knowledge Services Department at the National Archives, moderated the opening session and welcomed speakers, followers and participants wherever they were, and thanked the Top Management of the National Archives, which provided this virtual platform for the International Translation Conference to discuss the most important challenges facing the translation movement, and improve the translation of historical texts while maintaining their contents integrity and authenticity for generations to come.

Professor Saddiq Gohar, translation expert at the National Archives, delivered the keynote    address, entitled "Translation and the Preservation of the Memory of the Nation: Tarjamat Project as a model". He started with the words of the British translation theory historian Professor Peter Newmark: "Translation is an authentic pillar of the cultural life of every civilized people", and then he focused on the National Archives’ role in promoting cultural convergence and dialogue and calling for fraternity and peace.

The conference's keynote address touched on the translation project launched by the National Archives to serve as an important umbrella for translation to and from various languages because of its importance in the global cultural movement during the new millennium, based on the fact that the National Archives is interested in translating history in order to preserve the memory of the nation.

Prof. Gohar highlighted the importance of translation in introducing the world to the glories of the past and the present and enriching the human heritage, emphasizing the National Archives’ interest in translation to preserve the national and historical heritage extending from the country’s pre-establishment phase through the establishment phase after the founding fathers laid its foundation, to the progress and development phase, until the current phase in which the UAE holds a prominent position regionally and internationally. He also added that besides monitoring history, translation highlights the achievements of the UAE's current civilization, and all that has been written about the UAE.

The interest in translation comes in line with the wise policy of the UAE’s leadership that has turned the UAE into a cultural beacon for the dissemination of science, knowledge and literature, and it has made it an important hub for stimulating the movement of global trade at a stage where the entire world has testified to the important cultural achievements which the UAE has made.

In the opening session, a documentary was displayed featuring the most important stages that the National Archives went through as it has been documenting the memory of the nation for nearly fifty-three years, collecting documents and information which became accredited references for research on the history of the Arabian Gulf in general and the UAE in particular.

The first session of the conference, entitled "Translation and Trans-Civilizational Dialogue in the New Millennium", was moderated by Mrs. Aisha Al Dhaheri, Head of Translation and Publishing Section at the National Archives. It began with a paper by Professor Neil Sadler of Queen's University in the United Kingdom, which discussed "Translation and Datafication". The researcher referred to the increasing prevalence of data, pointing out that the conversion of data raises questions for translation as a practice, and for translation studies as a system. In this regard, he highlighted the conversion of data, which is no longer just a target task, but has become an inspiration for more information. Subsequently, data held by translators are becoming increasingly important that data conversion requires greater attention to translation forms.

Next was a paper by Professor Carl Steinitz of Harvard University, entitled "Translation and Global Cooperation". It examined the possibility to form multidisciplinary global scientific teams to address complex problems in scientific and global studies that require further cooperation.

Then, Professor Igor Maffer of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia discussed "Translation from German to English: James McAuley's Translations of Georg Trakl's Poems", in which he stressed that the translation should not be literal, but rather be able to convey the original text with embedded emotions and feelings. He also discussed the translation of the Austrian poet George Trakel’s poetry into English, and the latter's influence on McAuley's poetry "Late Night Music".

 At the end of the first session, Professor Leslie Tramontini of the University of Philipps Universitat, Marburg in Germany discussed a paper entitled "Poetry is what get lost in Translation: on the Pitfalls and Challenges of Translating Arabic Poetry". She explained that translating poetry is a major challenge, and focused on the difficulties and challenges of translating Arabic poetry for a European scholar and translator, and she has referred to many examples from pre-Islamic and classical poetry.

The second session on the conference’s first day was moderated by Mrs. Shahinaz El Naggar of the National Archives, was entitled " Globalization Mechanisms and Translation Methods in the Digital Age". The fifth paper prepared by Professor Dr. Charlotte Bossoeux of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, entitled: " Identity in Translation: Multilingualism in Jane the Virgin, and its French and Spanish Versions.

The sixth paper was presented by Professor Tarek Shamma from Binghamton University, New York, USA, entitled “A Historical Anthology of Arabic Translation: Challenges and Prospects.

The 7th paper was presented by Professor Salah Basalamah from the University of Ottawa, Canada, entitled “Translating Islam into Secularism and vice versa: A Dialogue with(in) Western Modernity”. Professor Abderrahman Beggar from the University of Wilfrid Laurier- Canada presented the 8th paper entitled  “Reinventing the past through translation. The Case of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca’s Relación de los naufragios y comentarios (1555)”. Professor Marc Shell from Harvard University-USA presented the 9th paper entitled “From Electrum to Electricity:  Regionalism, Universalism, and Problems of Translation in the Digital Age”.

Many important questions relevant to the topics and themes were answered during the two sessions that were held on the first day of the conference.    

The National Archives organized a virtual lecture on the Arabian Gulf documents in International Archives in the course of performing its distinguished role in disseminating culture through collecting and providing access to Arabian Gulf documents  

The Researcher, Dr. Saif Al Bedwawi, praised the distinguished role of the National Archives in preserving the memory of the nation, and bridging gaps between researchers or those interested  in historical records and documents on the history and heritage of the UAE, through providing easy access to these valuable treasures and holdings of its various archives, or of the AGDA website, (including hundreds of thousands of Historical documents and multimedia material relating to the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region) available for Internet users as a scientific and cultural wealth that allows Researchers, Academics and all interested, easy access to utilize these documents and benefit from them.

The virtual lecture organized by the National Archives, entitled: "Arabian Gulf Documents in International Archives", by Researcher Dr. Saif Al Bedwawi reviewed the most important archives that preserve historical documents and records on the UAE and the Gulf region, and explained that these documents were initiated or created during the Portuguese, Dutch and British presence in the region, and the following stages; Many of these documents, whether typed or manuscript, shed light on contemporary local Arab affairs, and also provide important information on places, people, and events closely associated with and related to the modern United Arab Emirates.

The lecture pointed out that many of the Dutch and British companies’ records served to enrich and assert the documentary information and material the Portuguese left behind, as the Portuguese presence in the region lasted more than a century, and these records provide detailed description of the region’s society and system of government then, while Dutch documents are of particular importance and significance to the history of the UAE with their valuable information on various topics and issues relating to the region.

The British documents constitute an important reference and resource of modern UAE history, and many British circles hold huge amounts of documents on the United Arab Emirates conditions and aspects of life.

 The lecturer said: Although published documents greatly facilitated Researchers’ job and mission, they are not enough to satisfy the growing need for knowledge. It is certain that referring to unpublished documents of various sources will definitely add new dimensions and revelations, which should be the targeted objective and aspiration of researchers to enrich the UAE history.

The lecturer mentioned many archives, rich and loaded with documents on the UAE and the Gulf region, including: Goa Historical Archive in India, the Dutch Archives in The Hague, the British Archives, the British Royal Navy Archives, the British Library, British Petroleum (BP) Archive, and the Land Forces Museum, the British Forces Museum, the Imperial War Museum, and associations such as the Coastal Force Society, the American Mission Archives in New Jersey, and the Kuwait Studies and Research Center in Kuwait.

In addition to the National Archives, the lecturer mentioned the most important archives that preserve historical documents in other UAE Emirates, such as: Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Dubai, Dubai Municipality Archives, Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi Centre in Sharjah, Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center, Sharjah Museums, Ajman Museum, and Umm Al Quwain Museum, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Culture Authority, Fujairah Culture and Media Authority, Bait Sheikh Saeed bin Hamad in Kalba, and some public and prominent citizens individually kept historical documents and records.

The National Archives Delivers a Lecture on the Intellectual Property Challenges and Confirms its Compliance with laws



The National Archives organized a virtual lecture entitled “Intellectual Property Challenges of Acquisition and Usage”. It focused on the NA’s interest in applying intellectual property laws to the documentary heritage, which it keeps and makes available to beneficiaries as part of its mission, which is to “preserve the documentary heritage to provide decision makers and public with trusted information and to enhance civic spirit and national identity”.

Mr. Hamad Al Mutairi, Director of Archives Department, gave an introduction to the lecture, stating that intellectual property rights allow creative people to benefit from their work while respecting the rights. He also indicated the importance of delivering this lecture in conjunction with the Year of the 50th. The UAE was able to make major achievements in various fields, thanks to the prudent leadership’s vision, constant support, and interest in protecting intellectual property rights. In addition, he assured that technology, which is rapidly expanding and developing has a great impact on intellectual property and that the NA is concerned with applying the intellectual property laws to all its historical and technological acquisitions and others.

Furthermore, Al Mutairi emphasized that the NA makes sure of the materials acquisition grounds and their usage-related rights, in accordance with Federal Law No. (32) of 2006 on the copyright and the neighboring rights, given that the UAE has joined Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which requires to deal with copyrights according to the laws of the country of origin.

The lecture was delivered in English by Mr. Justin Codrai, Expert in photographs at the NA, and then it was consecutively interpreted by Mrs. Zeina Nassim Azar. The lecture started by discussing the documentary heritage, which the NA is concerned with its acquisition. That heritage consists of hard and soft copy documents: books, newspapers, maps, films and photographs, oral history, etc.

The lecture that was attended by a large number of audiences discussed the methods of providing decision makers, public and beneficiaries with accurate data legally and in accordance with the licenses terms and conditions.

To highlight the intellectual property challenges upon materials acquisition, photos were presented in the lecture as they are primary documents at the NA and the most widespread historical media in the UAE. The lecture also illustrated the most significant challenges in this field and focused on “copyright and use licenses”, which is an exclusive right granted to the author or creator of a work for a number of years such as the person who takes a photograph, records a video, composes a song, writes a research paper or a book.

The lecturer resorted to many real examples in the field of photography and presented the intellectual property challenges and the proper ways of providing public with materials and of preventing unauthorized copying. The lecture was concluded by revealing the reasons behind the importance of this issue to the NA.







The National Archives

The National Archives of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs was first established in 1968 upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting documents and information relating to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years later, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President, issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to the National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR), and assigning it to organize the archives of the various UAE government entities. Finally, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. (1) of 2014, renaming it the National Archives.