National Archive Supports the Archives of Dibba Al Hisn Municipality with Advanced Professional Consultations
Within the framework of providing support, advisory and training services to government agencies in the UAE and of developing the performance of government agencies’ archives, experts and specialists from the National Archives of the UAE have demonstrated before a delegation from the archives of Dibba Al Hisn Municipality the best practices related to management of paper and electronic documents
National Archive Supports the Archives of Dibba Al Hisn Municipality with Advanced Professional Consultations
Within the framework of providing support, advisory and training services to government agencies in the UAE and of developing the performance of government agencies’ archives, experts and specialists from the National Archives of the UAE have demonstrated before a delegation from the archives of Dibba Al Hisn Municipality the best practices related to management of paper and electronic documents, correspondence system, the extent of benefit from the services provided by the Government Archives Section for organizing archives, the role of the Center’s Archive Section at the National Archives, the efforts of the National Archives in the field of translation and detailed information in other areas.
That was in conformity with the articles of Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 regarding the National Archives, its amendments and its executive regulations, and with the aim of the objectives of the National Archives of building a modern National Archives; as it is making great efforts to organize and develop the archives of government agencies in the UAE according to the best practices, policies, requirements and principles used in the field of archives management.
The meeting was attended by Mrs. Najla Al Zaabi, Head of the Central Archives Section, and Mrs. Zulaikha Hassan, Archival Coordinator in Dibba Al Hisn Municipality, as well as experts of document management, records and electronic systems at the National Archives, and the Head of Center’s Archives Section at the National Archives. They discussed electronic archiving and reached the conclusions that the choices of electronic archiving systems are based on the needs and requirements of the institution or organization, in addition to the electronic services it provides, and the quantity of the produced and received documents.
As for correspondence in the National Archives, the concerned specialist clarified that the management of incoming and outgoing correspondence is restricted to using sophisticated modern electronic systems. The meeting discussed the possibility of benefiting from the services provided by the Government Archives Section, its role in organizing governmental archives, and its cooperation and coordination with government agencies if they establish an organizational unit or internal committee for the management and preservation of archives. He stressed that, based on the visits made by the National Archives’ team to the archives of government agencies, a number of necessary recommendations have been provided for the preservation, organization and development of archives in accordance with the best practices used in this field. The National Archives continues to follow up the implementation of these recommendations. These follow-ups have played a major role in promoting many archives that were suffering from waste, leakage and negligence to become one of the most organized archives. The National Archives has made another achievement in controlling the process of random destruction of documents in government agencies by referring to the Document Destruction Committee in the National Archives to coordinate with them in this regard.
In discussing the exchange of expertise in the field of archiving, the meeting pointed out the experience of the Central Archive Section and its mechanisms of classification, coding, procedures and stages. The meeting also included lengthy explanation of the National Archives’ internal electronic correspondence system, the document’s journey in this system and ways of saving and indexing it. The interest of the National Archives in the electronic and paper document was highlighted in the meeting, and it was pointed out that the paper document receives a lot of attention as it may pertain to the historical archive, and as the articles of Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 regarding the National Archives stress the importance of the document in its paper and electronic forms since its inception until its destruction or inclusion in the records of the historical archives. The methods of saving paper documents in archive boxes and file folders that are customized for this purpose in accordance with the best international practices were explained.
The meeting also highlighted the role of the Translation Section, which is concerned with the translation of books and archival records on the history, culture and heritage of the UAE and the Arabian Gulf region, and the biographies, memoirs and proceedings of conferences organized by the National Archives.
At the end of the meeting, Mrs. Najla Al Zaabi, Head of the Central Archives and Mrs. Zulaikha Hassan, Archives Coordinator in Dibba Al Hisn Municipality had a tour in the National Archives, where they were kept abreast of the Presidential Archive Section, which documents the history of the UAE by collecting and documenting the march of the founding leader Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and the activities of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE. Then they watched a 3D documentary film in Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Hall for Virtual Reality about the past, present and future of the United Arab Emirates. And in Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Hall, they examined samples of written documents, photographs and maps. The tour included the Emirates Library, one of the most prominent libraries specialized in the history and culture of the UAE and the Gulf region. The library, in its paper and electronic forms, is considered an important source for researchers.
