Doha, August 30 (QNA) - Dear subscribers, here is the cultural report prepared by Qatar News Agency (QNA) as part of the cultural segment of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), covering several topics on the efforts of Qatari institutions to protect cultural heritage.

As part of its commitment to preserving documentary heritage and fostering regional cooperation, the National Archive of Qatar, in collaboration with UNESCO, announced the establishment of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for the Arab States.

The announcement came during a regional conference hosted in Doha in January 2025 on strengthening cooperation on documentary heritage in the Arab region.

At the conference, organized under the patronage of the National Archive of Qatar and UNESCO, Secretary-General of the National Archives of Qatar Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Buainain was elected chair of the committee. That was a milestone that underscored the State of Qatar’s growing role in supporting Arab documentary heritage.

Additionally, Qatar National Library inaugurated the regional office of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to strengthen coordination between institutions dedicated to preserving documentary heritage in the Arab world and the Middle East.

In the same context, Qatar also announced the formation of the National Committee for the Implementation of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. This national mechanism will oversee the preparation of a Qatari registry for documentary heritage, nominate eligible Qatari documents for inscription in the global Memory of the World register, and coordinate with the programme’s secretariat, the Gulf regional committee, and national stakeholders.

Commenting on this initiative, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture Dr. Ghanem bin Mubarak Al Ali told QNA that the committee was established by a Cabinet decision to implement the UNESCO programme designed to safeguard the world’s documentary heritage. He noted that the committee will propose partnerships with public and private sector entities, organize programmes and events to raise awareness of the programme, and promote the importance of protecting documentary heritage in cooperation with concerned authorities.

Dr. Al Ali said that the committee is currently working on collecting and categorizing documents and preparing mechanisms to identify and classify originals. The initial phases of the Memory of the World project are underway, and the coming period will see a series of workshops aimed at training participants on conservation techniques and highlighting the significance of preserving heritage for future generations. Public awareness campaigns and events are also planned in collaboration with national institutions.

He stressed that the State of Qatar attributes great importance to safeguarding documentary heritage as a sustainable legacy for future generations. In this regard, the committee works hand in hand with UNESCO to coordinate responsibilities, carry out its mandate, and implement programmes. Cooperation with UNESCO, he added, is continuous and intensive, serving the broader effort to preserve documentary heritage globally.

Dr. Al Ali emphasized that the State of Qatar seeks to expand its initiatives in this field by supporting local, regional, and international efforts to preserve historical documents and raise awareness of their importance, highlighting that documentary heritage is a cornerstone of nations’ identity and history. Protecting it, therefore, is a shared responsibility that requires integrated efforts to ensure its continuity for generations to come.

Secretary-General of the National Archive of Qatar: Preserving Arab Documentary Heritage is a Shared Responsibility

In light of the transformations taking place across the Arab world, and the growing risks threatening national archives and the historical memory of peoples, the importance of the role of the Memory of the World Committee for the Arab Region under UNESCO has come to the fore. The State of Qatar was elected chair of this committee in January, reflecting the significant confidence the Arab world places in the State of Qatar and its distinguished role in safeguarding documentary heritage.

In this context, Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Buainain, who serves as Secretary-General of the National Archive of Qatar and Chair of the Memory of the World Committee for the Arab Region, told QNA that preserving Arab documentary heritage is a collective responsibility requiring institutional coordination and strategic vision. He pointed to the State of Qatar’s efforts through an ambitious strategy and pioneering projects built on advanced infrastructure and strong technical expertise in digital preservation and preventive conservation.

Dr. Al Buainain said that the committee represents a regional organizational framework with a strategic function in preserving Arab documentary heritage. It helps raise awareness of the importance of historical documents as an inseparable part of collective memory and a pillar of national identity. He noted that since UNESCO launched the Memory of the World Programme in 1992, it has relied on a structure consisting of regional committees and national committees.

He said that the committee established plays a pivotal role in coordinating Arab efforts and directing them toward integrated work to face the challenges confronting preservation, documentation, and digitization.

He added that the creation of the committee also highlights the importance of Arab documentary heritage, which remains underrepresented in the global Memory of the World register at only 4 percent. He stressed that the figure that does not reflect the richness, long history, and geographic breadth of Arab heritage.

Dr. Al Buainain stressed that the committee bases its approach on regional cooperation as a practical tool to enhance institutional capacities in Arab states. Its activities focus on joint initiatives including professional training, sharing expertise, and best practices in documentary heritage preservation. It also supports collective nominations to UNESCO’s Memory of the World register, enhancing knowledge integration among states with historical or cultural ties.

Regarding coordination mechanisms among Arab states within the committee, he said that it relies on national focal points in each member state, along with subcommittees and working groups on different aspects of preservation. Regular meetings, training workshops, and partnerships with regional and international bodies ensure a high level of technical and institutional coordination, enabling flexible and integrated field responses.

The Secretary-General of the National Archive of Qatar and Chair of the Arab Committee outlined the main areas of the committee’s plans to preserve Arab documentary heritage. The first area focuses on training and qualification through specialized programs in preservation, cataloguing, and restoration to raise staff skills in archives and documentation centers. The second focuses on digitization by supporting national and regional projects to convert paper documents into long-term digital copies. The third is on nominations, helping Arab countries prepare comprehensive files for the inscription of their historically valuable documents in UNESCO’s Memory of the World register. The fourth concerns building unified databases to allow systematic access to historical documents and enhance academic research and cooperation.

On the State of Qatar’s contributions, Dr. Al- Buainain said the country was a regional model in preserving national memory, thanks to its sustained support for documentary projects of both local and regional importance. He highlighted Qatar’s forward-looking vision, which ties documentary heritage to sustainable cultural development, as well as its strong support for regional institutions.

He recalled the key role played by the National Archive of Qatar in organizing an international conference on Supporting the preservation of documentary heritage in the Arab region. The conference took place in Doha last January. He said that the conference was a turning point, resulting in the launch of the Arab Regional Memory of the World Committee in coordination with UNESCO. Prior to this event, UNESCO had held three virtual preparatory meetings over three months with Arab heritage experts to finalize the committee’s bylaws and prepare for the election of its executive bureau, which was successfully completed at the conference.

On the role of the National Archive of Qatar, he emphasized that it plays a central role in preservation based on ambitious strategies, advanced infrastructure, technical expertise in digital archiving, preventive conservation, and document treatment. It also trains professionals and participates in Arab documentation projects, making it a leading reference in the region for safeguarding historical memory.

Dr. Al Buainain concluded by stressing that preserving Arab documentary heritage is not only a technical or professional task, but a collective responsibility requiring the combined efforts of institutions, researchers, and societies. He added that a document is more than a static record: it embodies identity, builds historical awareness, strengthens knowledge, and preserves national and cultural identity for future generations.

Qatar National Library and Its Pioneering Role in Preserving Arab and Islamic Heritage

Director of national collections and special initiatives at Qatar National Library Abeer Saad Al Kuwari emphasized that the library’s selection as the first regional office of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in the Middle East and North Africa represents a historic achievement for the Arab world. She noted that it reflects the library’s leading role in spreading knowledge and safeguarding heritage.

In remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), she said that this selection opens new horizons for strengthening regional cooperation and advancing the library sector in the Arab world. It is also a strategic step that underscores Qatar’s commitment to building an advanced information infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa, and consolidating a partnership based on a shared vision of adopting international standards in information and library science while respecting the region’s cultural identity.

Speaking about the library’s role as the IFLA regional office, she clarified that the office functions as IFLA’s coordinating branch for the region, implementing IFLA programs and initiatives locally, supporting Arab libraries and information institutions, and enabling coordination among 22 Arab countries. The office also promotes training programs, policy development, and exchanges of knowledge and expertise with international libraries. She described it as a platform for regional cooperation, one that enhances IFLA’s role and drives initiatives for knowledge dissemination and heritage preservation across the Arab world.

She pointed out that the office strengthens Arab representation in IFLA’s decision-making in an unprecedented way. Its presence in Doha, she said, makes it easier to access global expertise hosted by the library through exhibitions and events, while also providing Qatar National Library with direct exposure to international experiences in digitization and conservation. This, she noted, facilitates collaboration with policymakers and experts on joint projects in areas such as heritage disaster management and training specialists in manuscript and document preservation.

Al Kuwari highlighted that the regional office boosts the library’s capacity to serve cultural heritage. Through it, the library will launch regional projects to preserve manuscripts and historical documents, and to combat the illicit trade in documentary heritage and cultural treasures, in cooperation with partners.

She added that the library is committed to training preservation specialists from different countries on modern conservation and restoration techniques. Since becoming IFLA’s regional center for the preservation and conservation of library materials in 2015, the library has led initiatives in this field, organizing workshops and training courses to help Arab libraries adopt best practices.

She further explained that Qatar National Library has also spearheaded efforts to fight the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage. Through its Himaya (Protection) project, it works to counter the smuggling of manuscripts and historical documents in the Middle East and North Africa, in collaboration with international bodies such as UNESCO and Interpol. She stressed that these efforts reinforce the protection of Arab and Islamic heritage, ensuring it is passed down faithfully to future generations and strengthening identity and awareness of the region’s civilizational history.

On the library’s efforts to preserve Arab and Islamic heritage, she said that this mission is one of its main priorities. To this end, the library established its Heritage Library, which houses a vast collection of rare manuscripts, historical books, maps, and photographs, preserving invaluable treasures that reflect the history of Arab and Islamic civilization. She noted that the library has digitized more than 16 million pages of heritage and cultural material, and that this effort is ongoing to safeguard them for future generations.

She also pointed to the launch of Qatar Digital Library in partnership with international institutions, which offers millions of documentary and historical pages freely online to researchers and the public. In addition, the library has developed the most advanced conservation and preservation center in the Arab region, where manuscripts and documents are restored using state-of-the-art scientific methods.

Alongside its research support, Qatar National Library regularly organizes lectures, seminars, and exhibitions that shed light on significant moments in Arab and Islamic history. This year’s highlights included an exhibition on the history of manuscript bookmaking in Morocco.

Regarding future plans, Al Kuwari revealed that the library intends to expand its preservation work, building on what has already been achieved. She confirmed that the library will continue its comprehensive digitization project to fully safeguard Arab and Islamic heritage and transform it into an enduring digital legacy of inestimable value. These initiatives, she said, underscores the library’s vision of preserving collective memory and strengthening the region’s role as a source of inspiration and innovation globally.

Concluding her remarks to QNA, she said that the library will continue its partnerships and initiatives to unify Arab efforts in heritage protection. She added that awareness programs will be launched to engage the wider community, particularly youth, in valuing cultural heritage and participating in its preservation through volunteering, research, and documentation. As IFLA’s regional office, she confirmed, Qatar National Library will soon announce joint action plans with IFLA to strengthen the library sector and promote heritage documentation and restoration projects across the Arab world. The goal, she stressed, is for the library to remain a beacon for protecting and disseminating heritage and a bridge linking the Arab nation’s past with its present and future. (QNA)