Secretary-General of the National Archives of Qatar Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Buainain (left) and Assistant Secretary-General Aisha Khalid Al Saad during an interactive session with media persons at the premises of National Archives of Qatar in Msheireb. (Pic by: Amr Diab/The Peninsula)
Doha, Qatar: National Archives of Qatar has announced to hold an annual forum with the participation of ministries, government agencies, public bodies and institutions, private libraries and individuals for strengthening joint cooperation.
The forum also aims at honouring those who played a prominent role in promoting documentary heritage, cooperation, and contributing to the documentary consolidation of national cultural identity.
This came during an interactive session with media persons at the premises of National Archives of Qatar in Msheireb.
Speaking at the event, Secretary-General of the National Archives of Qatar (NAQ) Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Buainain said that with the inauguration of the NAQ, its exhibition and library were opened.
He said that the exhibition aims to introduce and educate the public about the history of the document, its importance, the role of NAQ, its specializations, and the services it provides for scientific research and individuals, which will continue until July 2024.
Al Buainain added that since Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, inaugurated NAQ in January, it has received support and participation from various state institutions and individuals, as the presence of the NAQ is supportive of all ministries and institutions that work to preserve the documentary heritage.
The Secretary-General explained that ministries, government agencies, public bodies and institutions, and individuals are among the most prominent target groups for the NAQ, which are looking forward to cooperating with those entities to achieve the desired goals for which it was established.
He also touched on private documents, which are in the possession of many members of our Gulf society, especially Qatar, as is known, as some families and tribes preserve a large part of Qatar’s historical documents, and the presence of the NAQ ensures the preservation of these documents.
“We have noticed a large response from some citizens who take the initiative to provide the NAQ with the documents in their possession, whether by giving the original, loaning them to the NAQ, or giving copies of them,” said Al Buainain.
He said that NAQ provides services to owners or holders of documents, such as restoring documents, ensuring their integrity and preserving them.
“The role of the NAQ is to enable researchers and those interested in preparing historical research related to Qatar and the region by making documents available for use for the purposes of scientific research,” said Al Buainain.
He said that memberships will also be provided to researchers to enable them to access the documents, whether in NAQ or even those located outside the country in institutions with which we have memorandums of cooperation.
“There are documents related to Qatar and the region in international and regional archives, such as the Ottoman and British archives, we seek to cooperate with them to make documents related to Qatar and the region available to researchers, university students, and those interested in national history,” said Al Buainain.
He noted the digital transformation, which is considered one of the strategies of the NAQ is working on during the coming period, as it will have an electronic website that will facilitate the process of searching and viewing documents by researchers.
Assistant Secretary-General of NAQ Aisha Khalid Al Saad said in a statement to QNA: "One of the strategic goals of the NAQ is to raise awareness in the field of documentary heritage in the country, as the public, individuals and private libraries are an essential element of it because of the important documents they possess, and we look forward to cooperation with them for preserving the historical memory of the state."
She pointed out that the NAQ has various specialisations, including collecting, preserving and classifying documents in the country, classifying their confidentiality, and mechanisms for controlling access to them, which aim to preserve the documents.
“NAQ’s specializations are based on identifying what documents and archives are considered to be of historical value, organizing the mechanism for preserving and reviewing them, protecting them from damage factors, and facilitating their use and benefit in the fields of historical research,” said Al Saad.
She said that collecting historical documents related to Qatar and the region from regional and international archives is one of the main goals of NAQ.
Regarding the stages undertaken by the NAQ to collect historical documents, she explained that the process of obtaining these documents goes through several stages, the first of which is searching for documents related to the Qatar and the region in international archives and scientific centres, determining their importance and priority, and developing appropriate plans in coordination with these international and regional archives.
Regarding cooperation with government agencies in the country, Al Saad explained that a working group has begun to be formed to coordinate with government agencies in the field of documents, as more than 35 entities have been contacted so far with the aim of studying and diagnosing the current situation of archives in all regions, and during the coming period we aim to reach more than 80 entities in the country.
NAQ is affiliated with Amiri Diwan, and was reorganized pursuant to Amiri Resolution No. (29) of 2023. It aims to enrich intellectual activity, monitor the history of the state, and organize and supervise the collection and preservation of documents and archives in implementation of the provisions of Law No. (7) of 2023 regarding documents and archives.
It also aims to enable access to information, records and documents, and facilitate their use, by setting standards and policies that regulate the process of managing public, private, historical and national documents in the country.
