Sharjah, Alexandria to digitise Arab heritage

The Sharjah Institute for Heritage has held a series of meetings with scientific and academic institutions in Egypt, led by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, to explore opportunities for cooperation, exchange expertise and develop joint initiatives in cultural heritage documentation, digitisation, publishing and library development.

As part of its efforts to strengthen scientific and academic partnerships and advance the preservation, protection and accessibility of cultural heritage, the institute was represented by a delegation headed by Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage.

During a visit to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Dr Al Musallam met Professor Ahmed Zayed, Director of the library.

The meeting focused on three key areas of cooperation: completing and developing the electronic portal for the Thesaurus of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Arab World; strengthening joint publishing programmes; and developing the Sharjah Institute for Heritage’s libraries.

The discussions also explored how the institute could benefit from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s expertise in knowledge management, digitisation, archiving and the use of modern technologies to preserve and provide access to knowledge resources.

Dr Al Musallam emphasised the institute’s commitment to expanding its partnerships with Egyptian scientific and academic institutions to promote the exchange of expertise and strengthen Arab cooperation in safeguarding, documenting and disseminating cultural heritage.

He highlighted the importance of working with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and drawing on its scientific and technological experience to develop systems for preserving heritage and making it accessible, while keeping pace with rapid digital transformations in knowledge management.

Dr Al Musallam praised the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s scientific and intellectual contribution to documenting and preserving cultural heritage.

WAM