The National Archives Receives the Saudi Ambassador to the UAE



His Excellency Turki Aldakhil, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the UAE, visited the UAE National Archives Headquarters in Abu Dhabi and praised the critical national role it plays in documenting the history of the UAE and preserving the archives of the Gulf Region countries.

During his visit, His Excellency Turki Aldakhil was warmly received by His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Muhammad Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives and His Excellency Abdulla Majed Al Ali, Executive Director of the National Archives. They discussed cultural issues of mutual interest and mechanisms for enhancing collaboration between the UAE National Archives and King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives and the National Center for Archives and Records in Saudi Arabia. They also discussed the importance of exchanging specialized expertise and advanced technical programs for the memory of the nation preservation and access.

His Excellency was impressed with the advanced modern systems he witnessed at the National Archives, especially the technology adopted for the preservation of rare historical documentary holdings and treasures. He thanked the National Archives for its participation in the national events of Saudi Arabia and expressed his hope for strengthening the UAE-Saudi ties in archiving and documentation fields. His Excellency also praised the National Archives adherence to all necessary precautionary measures adopted to counter and contain Covid-19 pandemic.

His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Alraisi highly appreciated the visit of His Excellency the Saudi Ambassador, and considered it an important step towards strengthening relations between the National Archives and archiving and documentation institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His Excellency discussed with his guest the importance of the great upcoming archival event, namely, the Congress of the International Council on Archives, which will be hosted by Abu Dhabi next October and stressed that the leading professionals in Saudi National Archives will be at the forefront of the invitees to this event, which will be held under the theme "Empowering Knowledge Societies". His Excellency said that the ICA Congress Abu Dhabi 2021 will discuss important archival issues such as: artificial intelligence, sustainable knowledge as a basis for sustainable development, and confronting archives preservation challenges in social media.

His Excellency the Director General of the UAE National Archives accompanied His Excellency the Saudi Ambassador, in a tour of the various key National Archives Headquarters facilities and briefed him on the key projects and most important initiatives aimed at enhancing and developing archival business and profession.



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 be the National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR), and assigning it to organize the various UAE government entities archives. In 2014, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. (1) of 2014, eventually changing its name to the National Archives.

The National Archives and the Sorbonne Announce the Start of the Study Program for the 4th Batch of the Professional Certificate in Archives and Records Management



The National Archives and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi announced that the 4th batch of students enrolled for the Professional Certificate in Archives and Records Management started the specialized training program. The students pursue their studies in the university halls which amid enforced strict precautionary and preventive measures currently to curb the spread of Covid-19.

On this occasion, the National Archives welcomed the new batch and highlighted the extensive scientific content of the Archives and Records Management certificate, which has proved its success in building competencies and sustainable development in the UAE’s archive sectors and departments. That was well-demonstrated in qualifying graduates of the previous batches and enhancing their experiences to benefit their institutions in the field of document handling and processing and in preserving the historical legacy for generations to come in accordance with the international standards.  This, in fact, has prompted many Gulf states to follow the example of the UAE's in creating a similar specialized professional certificate program.

The National Archives pointed out that the Professional Certificate in Archives and Records Management in its 4th edition, which has more than 20 participants, aims to offer training on management of electronic documents as well as current and intermediate documents and preservation of historical records and documents. It qualifies them to take up professional jobs in archives and document management and provides them with knowledge and advanced skills to enhance their role in this field.

It is noteworthy that the professional certificate program combines six modules of intensive courses for a period of 6 weeks with an average of 30 hours for each module. The modules are as follows: General Introduction to Archives and Documents, Archiving Legislations and Standards, Current and Intermediate Documents Management, Scientific Processing of Archives, Preservation Buildings and Electronic Documents Management.

These six modules are conducted in Arabic by international professionals and experts in archives and document management. The program consists of a number of theoretical principles and practical exercises.

Those who wish to participate in the program may contact the Sorbonne University or the National Archives to learn about the enrollment terms and fees.

The National Archives  takes its "Memory of the Nation" pavilion visitors on a virtual journey to Mars

The National Archives offers its " Memory of the Nation" pavilion visitors at Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival 2020 a chance to inspect its space corner with its red color, and its terrain that mimics the Martian atmosphere and layers, in an enjoyable virtual journey with the UAE Mars project " Hope Probe" designed to explore planet Mars, in realization of an ambition and a dream of the Late Sheikh Zayed to reach and explore space.

Visitors get, through the iPad, to vividly explore a 3D experience of the Hope Probe's  journey supervised and executed by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center throughout all its stages from design to space transmission, as visitors virtually witness the process where the Hope Probe separates from its carrier launch rocket at the launch base at the Tanegashima Space Center In Japan, where parts of the probe separate at different stages on its way to the Red Planet " Mars", then it orbits around it. This virtual technology is generally called "augmented reality" alternatively known for short as "AR", through which viewers- using the (iPad) - can vividly tour among planets, and get an interesting idea about the Hope Probe's journey.

Similarly, through virtual reality technology, known for short as "VR", visitors can read through a special telescope the quotes of both: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces - on the limitless ambition of the UAE to reach space, and its historic achievement and realization of this goal to assume its deserved leading status at the forefront of the world's great countries.

Visitors immensely enjoy this space journey with the Hope Probe.

The space corner at the "Memory of the Nation" platform also displays to its visitors an astronaut's suit, and provides them with information on the advantages and benefits the Hope probe shall reflect on the scientific research field in the UAE and worldwide. The Hope Probe that was launched to explore planet Mars is a historic scientific achievement and an international project accomplished by highly efficient and knowledgeable Emirati cadres. The Hope Probe is tasked to provide the first ever complete picture of the Martian atmosphere, and pave the way for scientific discoveries to shape the future and enhance the UAE's prominent position in the field of Space science.

The National Archives holds the Partners Forum and presents its main achievements and future projects

The National Archives held the Partners Forum under the slogan of “Together, We Excel” where it presented its main achievements and future projects and highlighted the successful memorandums of understanding and agreements concluded with its strategic partners. The forum aimed at strengthening partnership relations between the National Archives and its strategic partners and at achieving the common objectives of maintaining sustainable quality and efficiency in building up archival assets in line with the UAE’s vision 2021. In 2020, the year of preparation for the Next Fifty, it also perceives the future prospects of the National Archives in the UAE centennial anniversary.

Mr. Farhan Al Marzouqi, Director of Corporate and Community Outreach Department at the National Archives opened the forum with a speech which he started with warm greetings and regards extended by H.E. Dr. Abdulla Mohamed Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives to all participating partners in the forum, then he stressed the National Archives high aspirations which can only be achieved through real partnerships and concerted efforts to achieve its objectives of building a modern national archiving system, and developing

its holdings, enhancing their accessibility, enriching corporate and community outreach, providing integrated research and knowledge services and a distinctive work environment.

The Director of the Corporate and Community Outreach Department appreciated and commended the results of the continuous, organized cooperation and coordination with strategic partners and the outcomes of agreements and memorandums of understanding concluded with them, most notably of which are the documents organization projects for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Ministry of Health documents digitization and organization, Jeddah Municipality, Phase 1 of the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive project and launching specialized academic programs on archival studies (professional certificate – bachelor's degree) with Sorbonne University.

Mr. Farhan spoke about the strategic plan projects that shall be launched soon such as the specialized academic programs on archival studies (master's degree) with Sorbonne University, digitization of the Crown Prince Court archives, digitization of rare Arabic books collection in collaboration with New York University and Phase 2 of the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive project.

In line with the National Archives strict adherence to all necessary precautionary measures, the Forum was virtually held and attended by a large number of strategic partners where a presentation was delivered on National Archives history, vision, mission, objectives and main duties. The forum also presented photos of many fruitful memorandums of understanding and agreements concluded by the National Archives with its strategic partners who were honored during the forum.

Mrs. Balqees Mohamed Al Nakhbi, Head of Strategic Planning and Project Management Unit, tackled the National Archives strategic plan, and highlighted its history and development as well as the stages it has undergone since its inception in 1968 under the directives of the founding leader Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. She discussed the National Archives objectives of building a modern national archiving system, developing the National Archives holdings and enhancing their accessibility, enriching corporate and community outreach, providing integrated research and knowledge services and providing a distinctive work environment. She also shed light on the achievements accomplished in each of these objectives.

She tackled the most significant strategic plan projects that are in progress, namely: developing a master's degree program to be launched in September 2021, running the National Archives Center for Preservation and Restoration in full capacity, devising a digital preservation strategy through which a road map shall be prepared to indicate strategic tendencies towards preserving the digital content at the National Archives and government entities, implementing Phase 2 of the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive and the Digital Depository project aiming at developing the Emirates Library management. In addition to completing phase 3 of the oral history interviews transcription, issuing Sheikh Zayed Illustrated Encyclopedia, hosting the ICA Congress Abu Dhabi in October 2021, producing a number of films on the National Archives role in preserving the Memory of the Nation, assessing the National Archives according to the Government Excellence Model – Phase 2, implementing an electronic system for current, intermediate or historical documents and records management and creating a digital platform for the Strategic Planning Office.

The National Archives celebrates the Arabic Language Day and organizes a lecture on the language of the Holy Quran

The National Archives organized a lecture entitled: “Arabic, the Language of the Holy Qur’an, Translation Versus Exegesis” in celebration of the UN Arabic Language Day. The lecture shed light on the UAE’s interest in the Arabic language prompted by its concern to preserve the Arab identity. The lecture demonstrated this interest by quoting the words of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE: “Arabic language is the heart and shield of national identity, the soul of the nation, the essence of its authenticity and the repository of its thought and heritage.”

The National Archives pays special attention to the Arabic language as it safeguards the authentic values preserved throughout all its publications which document the glorious history and the deep-rooted heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region. Thus, the National Archives has taken the initiative to enlighten all its staff members about the value of the Arabic language and its rules, and urged them to read, organize workshops and lectures in the Arabic language and to use it in correspondences and media.

The lecture is delivered by Prof. Dr. Saddik Mohamed Gouhar, the Translation Expert in the National Archives. He pointed out the distinguished initiatives adopted by the UAE aiming at preserving the Arabic language, and underscored the importance of Arabic as the language of the Holy Qur’an and the significance of translating it since no more than 20% of Muslims speak Arabic and read the Qur’an in Arabic, whereas the remaining majority of Muslims study the translated Quranic texts. Since Arabic is a rich language in rhetorical, artistic, phonological and emotional elements unlike other languages, translators face many difficulties in translating the Holy Qur’an into other languages, including English.

The lecture focused on the beauty of the Arabic language and the linguistic inimitability in the Holy Qur’an, as well as the lexical, stylistic and rhetorical challenges with which translators are confronted when dealing with the Qur’an texts. The speaker gave examples of some Qur’anic verses which include words that translators find perplexing because of their diverse linguistic and rhetorical connotations. He gave examples of various translations of certain terms into English such as submissive, whispering, hissing, assuming the throne, barren, etc. The lecture also shed light on the linguistic inimitability of the Qur’an and the challenges and problems which constitute difficulties in semantics and structures. Furthermore, it emphasized that translation, at times , may lead to the loss of some stylistic features of Qur’anic verses, and it even gets harder when lexical alternatives are not available in addition to the failure in conveying certain meanings and the difficulty of translating figures of speech .

The lecture, which was organized via the Zoom application in line with the current necessary precautionary measures followed by all the National Archives’ staff members, discussed ways to improve the translations of the Holy Qur’an, stressing the importance of avoiding the ideological nature based on strict interpretations.        

His publications document the nation's march, and his initiatives instill values and promote loyalty and belonging

The National Archives participates in new book publications in Abu Dhabi, and dedicates a corner of the Year of Tolerance to the “Inspirational Stories” initiative



The National Archives is participating in the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in its twenty-ninth edition, which will be held from 24-30 April 2019. The National Archives displays in its booth at the exhibition a large number of its publications that document the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region, and the biographies of the great leaders who immortalized their fingerprints in the field. They presented it to their homelands, led by the founding leader, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - may God rest his soul in peace. The National Archives will, throughout the days of the exhibition, introduce the public to its great role in collecting and preserving the memory of the nation for generations, and what it provides to researchers, academics and students of documented historical information that contributes to strengthening loyalty and belonging. For the homeland.

The National Archives provides readers and visitors to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair this year with a number of modern titles represented in the book “Zayed Awards and Decorations”, the book “Their Memory is Our History”, the book “History of Legislation in the United Arab Emirates” and the book “The Historical Development of the Judiciary in the UAE”.

The National Archives pavilion includes a special corner for the "Inspiring Stories" initiative, which it launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, which works to instill national values and moral knowledge in the hearts of generations, and aims to deepen the principle of tolerance and voluntary community service for them.

In this regard, the National Archives enriches its pavilion in the exhibition with photographs of senior UAE leaders, which are displayed for the first time, and with pictures of the founding leader, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - may God rest his soul in peace - showing some of his efforts in the framework of tolerance under the slogan of the Year of Tolerance. Visitors to the pavilion can hear Sheikh Zayed's sayings about tolerance. And the National Archives continues to broadcast it to give the place a national character and to perfume the place with some of the wise sayings of the Arabs.

This participation comes in line with the approach of the National Archives in its active presence in major forums that serve its goals in spreading the history and documented heritage of the Emirates among the cultural community, including researchers, academics and students. Recording the history and heritage of the Emirates on the historical documents and records in his possession.

 The National Archives takes advantage of the book fair days to present to the public the “Inspirational Stories” initiative to instill in the hearts of our students moral values, foremost of which is the value of tolerance, at a time when the United Arab Emirates is a unique model of tolerance and civilized coexistence between different nationalities and religions. Sheikh Zayed worked – May God rest his soul - since assuming power to spread the seeds of tolerance and love.

And since the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair works to enhance the sustainability of knowledge and the promotion of cultural renaissance, the National Archives participates in it through its contributions to preserving the history of the country and the heritage of the ancestors in dozens of its publications that will be passed down through generations to reinforce in the souls identity and patriotism, belonging to the homeland and loyalty to its wise leadership.

The National Archives invites the audience and participants of the exhibition to visit its pavilion to find cultural and intellectual creativity that enhances national values and knowledge among members of society, and contributes to the continuation of the UAE as a center of cultural and civilizational radiance.

It should be noted that the National Archives will launch its new publications in its stand participating in the exhibition, which is located in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, booth No. ICC4 - A17, and will be open from 24-30 April 2019 daily from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. :00 p.m., and on Friday: from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.      

The National Archives Raises the UAE Flag High at its Headquarters

to Celebrate the Nation’s Glories

The National Archives celebrated today the raising of the UAE flag at its headquarters, concurrently with the accession anniversary of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and upon the call of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The flag is the symbol of the UAE's sovereignty, unity, and represents the homeland and the values of loyalty and belonging to it. All precautionary and preventive measures were taken at the flag-raising ceremony.

On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives raised the flag, the symbol of the nation and its pride for its achieved progress and prosperity. The National Archives’ celebration of this national occasion indicates its loyalty and belonging to the homeland and its wise leadership that in turn spares no effort, care or attention towards the homeland and its people. The National Archives is always committed to preserve the memory the nation and record its present, so that the flag remains proudly and gracefully high as a symbol of national identity and unity.

On this occasion, the National Archives delivered a lecture entitled: “Raise It High, Raise It Proud”, which stressed the importance of the Flag Day, as an indication of our pride in the UAE leadership in whose visionary footsteps we follow towards further glories, pride, progress and development. The lecture highlighted our proudly preserved principles and values, and the UAE achievements in all fields. The lecture stressed the role of the flag in promoting loyalty and belonging to the homeland, and in preserving national identity. It also noted its significance and how it is worthy of all appreciation and respect of those residing in the UAE as a symbol of the homeland, our dignity and pride in it.

Mrs. Hind Al Zaabi, the National Archives Educational Programs Specialist, virtually delivered the lecture in which she reviewed the emergence and history of the flag, its concept and definition. She also spoke in detail about the story of the UAE flag, its protocol, celebration ceremonies and its establishment decree.

The National Archives has Completed Preparations for its Participation in “Sharjah Book Fair” where it Launched 3 New Publications and shed light on its Services to the Book Fair Visitors 

The National Archives has completed preparations for its participation in the 39th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair, held this year under the theme “The world reads from Sharjah” from 4 to 14 November. The National Archives has taken all necessary precautionary and preventive measures at its pavilion to ensures the safety of its visitors and participants. The National Archives praised the Sharjah International Book Fair for facing the challenge and maintaining its regular cultural events

The Sharjah International Book Fair is a major cultural beacon, through which visitors, participants, scholars and those interested in the UAE history and culture are introduced to the National Archives and the great role it plays in providing its integrated research and knowledge services including its latest specialized publications.

The participation of the National Archives is not limited to displaying its publications in the fair, but opens up documented chapters of the UAE history to the fair visitors from all over the world through large screens displaying important video recordings of the meetings of the founding leader, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan with His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Federal Council, Ruler of Sharjah.

The National Archives also presents its most important and prominent services through documentary films providing the Fair visitors with comprehensive information on the upcoming global archival event; i.e. the ICA Congress (from 17 to 22 October 2021), under the theme “Empowering Knowledge Communities”, which agenda includes various topics, namely: artificial intelligence, sustainable knowledge as a basis for sustainable development and confronting challenges in archives preservation field through social media.

The National Archives also provides the public with an important historical resource, namely: the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive portal constituting a main source of original and authentic documents on the Arabian Gulf as it offers users thousands of documents and hundreds of historical photos, as well as “multimedia” i.e. audio and video recordings of great historical and cultural value that cover the rich history of all the GCC states. It offers easy access to this digital resource to researchers, scholars, specialists and the public free of charge.

The National Archives launched three new publications on UAE history at the Sharjah International Book Fair 2020. The first of these publications is: the (Diary of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak), which comes in five volumes and highlights the interest of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak. (Mother of the Emirates), Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, GWU, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, in the social, economic, media, political and sports fields. It presents her support for Emirati women's achievements in various fields.

The second publication is the book: (Zayed, From Challenges to Union) which the National Archives presents in Braille version to visually impaired people to satisfy their needs for useful reading that contributes to their sound civic education and enhances their national values.

This comes within the framework of the social and humanitarian responsibility that the National Archives undertakes towards this segment in particular among all the other segments of the UAE society, enhancing their sense of loyalty and belonging to their homeland and their wise leadership. The book shows the efforts the Founding Leader, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan exerted for the Development and progress of the Emirates and towards the establishment of its prosperous union.

The third publication is: (Glossary of Place and Location Names in the UAE Geography and History), which constitutes a historical and geographical index of places and geographical locations in the UAE such as cities, villages, plains, mountains, islands, pearl banks, towns, districts, mosques, ancient houses, wells, dams, ports and creeks ... etc.

This glossary is geographically and historically comprehensive as it adds a historical depth to these places and locations and explains some of the terms and expressions that the UAE people use in their naming of places, locations and sites.

In line with the UAE’s Policy Promoting the Culture of

Creativity and Innovation

The National Archives Opens Ways for Creative Thinking and Innovative Leadership in a Training Workshop

The National Archives organized a training and educational workshop entitled: ‘Creative Thinking Keys and Skills’, in which it emphasized that the United Arab Emirates, under its wise leadership, considers creativity and innovation a national duty and culture as well as a life-system for community members. UAE has made innovation an integral national component of the UAE Vision 2021. The workshop highlighted the National Archives’ great interest in creativity and innovation and its keenness to encourage its staff members to adopt creative initiatives.

The workshop - which was delivered by Dr. Husniya Al Ali, Head of Educational Programs Section at the National Archives- focused on the most prominent upcoming global archival event, namely, the International Council on Archives Congress (ICA Congress Abu Dhabi 2020), the hosting of which was assigned to the UAE National Archives, as an innovative institutional model that surpassed all challenges. The ICA Congress was postponed to 2021 in line with the current necessary precautionary measures to counter and contain Covid-19 worldwide. Dr. Husniya explained that creativity and innovation are evident in all stages of this great archival event, starting with awarding the UAE the hosting of the next ICA Congress and its receiving archival leaders from various parts of the world, its preparations for the launching ceremony for this major event, developing and setting its theme: “Empowering Knowledge Societies”, selecting “Al Sadu” as its official symbol for its significance in Emirati culture and heritage, and eventually ending with setting the conference agenda which is characterized by global openness to all archives’ issues including: artificial intelligence and sustainable knowledge as a basis for sustainable development and confronting archives preservation challenges through social media.

The virtual workshop, that was delivered via Microsoft Teams, drew examples of creativity and innovation from the biography and achievements of the Founding Leader Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who managed, since he made his mark with his creative thinking upon assuming the post of the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region, to develop Al Ain and transform it to an oasis and a well-developed city at that time. The workshop was inspired by the UAE wise leadership's key quotes and directives which consider creativity and innovation a necessity rather than a luxury and a pursuit with no end or limit. The workshop linked creativity and innovation skills with the National Archives various initiatives, projects and activities which demonstrate its provision of the ideal environment and needed tools to promote creativity.

It is noteworthy that the workshop, briefed the National Archives’ staff members who attended it on creative thinking and skills, represented in: ‘analytical thinking, openness, problem-solving and organization’. Then it tackled both types of creative thinking: the practical (i.e. skills) and the theoretical type (i.e. ideas), and later creative thinking skills development and promotion methods, stages and application. The lecture also focused on creative thinking obstacles represented in: the lack of guidance, self-confidence, efficient leadership, as well as the domination of past experience among others. Afterwards the lecture introduced ways to overcome these obstacles and introduced, within the creative thinking development tools, the six thinking hats: ‘the white, red, black, yellow, green and blue’.

The workshop then turned to defining innovation and enhancing its culture by appointing innovative leaders in institutions, taking great interest in the identity and culture of an institution, employing innovations to serve institutional values, establishing an innovation stimulating and encouraging environment, technical and administrative work systems, and innovative laboratories. The workshop tackled also practicing innovative institutional culture and innovative thinking stimulants and gave examples of innovative questions and their objectives.

The workshop identified the most important creative skills and systems, leadership attitudes and behaviors that encourage and promote adopting creative and innovative thinking methods and enhance creative abilities to reach creative ideas. The workshop stressed the importance of creativity and innovation culture and its application in any work field.

Scaling up its national initiative "Your Book is Your Companion"

The National Archives distributes its publications to famous coffee shops in the UAE

The National Archives' initiative "Your Book is Your Companion" to distribute its national publications to coffee-shops in the UAE was very well received by the coffee-shops owners and customers. This national initiative comes within the framework of fulfilling the National Archives’ social and community responsibility and its objectives of instilling and promoting national culture and values of loyalty and belonging to the homeland and its wise leadership. The National Archives undertook to expand the scope of its initiative and managed to bring up the number of coffee-shops, to which it presented its publications, to a total of twenty-one. This step came in prompt response to letters and suggestions received from coffee-shops requesting the National Archives to provide them with its publications renowned for their scientific importance and cultural value, as they offer readers accurate information on the UAE history, heritage, culture and civilization derived from the National Archives’ valuable holdings of various historical records and documents.

The distribution of the National Archives publications to a large number of coffee-shops comes in line with its belief in the importance of promoting reading at all times as a means of disseminating knowledge and raising awareness of members of the society whose role in building the nation is substantial. Since the National Archives considers this a part of its national duty, it took the lead to provide customers of coffee shops with documented notional information on the UAE’s history and its leaders’ biographies.

The most important national publications of the National Archives distributed to famous coffee-shops in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Khor Fakkan, and Ras Al Khaimah are: (Zayed from Challenges to Union), (Zayed Man Who Built a Nation), (Zayed and Heritage), (Zayed and Excellence), (Khalifa Journey into the Future), (Thus Spoke Fatima Bint Mubarak), (Qasr Al Hosn, the History of the Rulers of Abu Dhabi) and (Umm Kulthum in Abu Dhabi).  

Participating in two specialized virtual seminar

The National Archives celebrates the Arab Document Day and highlights its role in preserving the memory of the nation

On the occasion of the Arab Document Day, the National Archives participated in two virtual seminars. The first seminar entitled “Emirati Experiences in Document and Archive Management” is organized by Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage, and the second seminar entitled “The Role of UAE’s Document Centers in Preserving the Memory of the Nation” is organized by Zayed Center for Studies and Research in the Emirates Heritage Club. The National Archives’ participations confirm its national role in preserving the documentary heritage of the United Arab Emirates, as one of the leading documentation institutions promoting the UAE history.

In the first seminar, Hassan Al-Mesaabi, the Technical Expert at the National Archives, underlined the importance of the Arab document as a means to preserve historical facts providing evidence of the people’s characteristic civilization. He shed light on the role of the National Archives in collecting, classifying, indexing, archiving and preserving historical documents on the United Arab Emirates for future generations, as well as making them accessible to researchers. He also reviewed the National Archives’ mission, vision, strategic objectives, national duties, and its inception and development. In addition, he pointed out its role in organizing government archives, legal and standard references, the historical archives it preserves, the methods of photographs and films conservation and its smart applications.

He concluded by giving a detailed explanation of the AGDA digital archive and invited participants to the Congress of the International Council on Archives - Abu Dhabi, the most prominent upcoming global archival event, which will be hosted by the National Archives of the UAE.  The ICA Congress will take place on October 2021 under the slogan (Empowering Knowledge Societies), and the conference agenda includes important topics, namely artificial intelligence, sustainable knowledge as basis for sustainable development, and facing challenges in preserving archives through social media.

On the other hand, the National Archives collaborated with Zayed Center for Studies and Research of the Emirates Heritage Club and held another virtual seminar entitled “The Role of the UAE’s Document Centers in Preserving the Memory of the Nation,” delivered by Hassan Al-Mesaabi, Technical Expert. He stressed the importance of celebrating the Arab Document Day to raise awareness about the importance of documents. He also briefed participants on new projects highlighting the new professional Bachelor program in Records Management and Archival Science, introduced last year in collaboration with the Sorbonne University - Abu Dhabi. He pointed out that this Bachelor's degree program meets the current requirements of the labor market in light of the increasing interest of all the UAE’s official entities and institutions in documents and archives. Furthermore, the National Archives has collaborated with the Sorbonne University-Abu Dhabi in launching a professional certificate which develops professional expertise in the management and conservation of electronic and historic archives as well as current and intermediate documents and records.

Besides, he shed light on the National Archives Smart Applications including Sheikh Zayed Audio Library, the Al Nahyan Family Tree, the Chronicles of the Sheikhs, the (Watani Al Emarat) book, and other publications.

He also referred to the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive (AGDA), which is a digital resource offering unprecedented access to researchers, scholars, academics, specialists and the public to thousands of documents of great historical and cultural value relating to the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Mr. Al Mesaabi highlighted the National Archives’ invitation already posted on its portal for researchers to participate and submit their research works on the history and heritage of the UAE and the Arabian Peninsula to the National Archives for publication along with its national publications, which offer invaluable authentic and documented historical information.

The National Archives Gives an Awareness Course to Government Entities on the Importance of Archives Transfer

The National Archives organized an online training course entitled “Archives Transfer from Government Entities” which witnessed the participation of a large number of employees from both the federal and local government entities in the UAE. The course is part of the National Archives’ endeavor to impart knowledge about the transfer process of archives and files which ceased to be of immediate use at the creating entity to the National Archives as per Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 concerning the National Archives, its amending laws and by-laws. The course aims at enhancing the National Archives’ efforts in training the archival cadres in the UAE’s government entities and refining their skills.

The virtual training course delivered by Mr. Mohammad Ahmed Al Bishir, Senior Archives Specialist at the National Archives, focused on defining the archives life cycle in government entities and the archives transfer process, highlighting the importance in reducing the volume of inactive archives in the government entities’ offices and controlling the transfer process and the administrative responsibility in preserving documents. The course also explained the criteria for transferring the historical archives, the requirements for the archives transfer in a government entity and the basics of filling in the file transfer schedule and the transfer register.

It is noteworthy that while engaging in organizing the government entities’ archives, the National Archives pays great attention to the sustainability in preserving the historical heritage of the UAE in view of the around-the-clock development it witnesses. The National Archives achieves this by collecting historical documents, educating government employees about the importance of forming and preserving the national asset of archives in accordance with the modern scientific basis.