The National Archives organizes a major workshop in Dubai on its federal law and its executive regulations

The National Archives of the United Arab Emirates organized an introductory workshop on Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 regarding the affairs of the National Archives and its executive regulations. The workshop, which was held in Dubai, received a great turnout from stakeholders in government agencies in the Emirate of Dubai. The workshop aimed to reach international standards and optimal methods in keeping government records. With governmental and semi-governmental institutions, this comes within the framework of the federal role of the National Archives in the institutions’ application of the provisions of the law, leading to the preservation of the country’s documentary heritage.

The workshop began with a speech delivered by His Excellency Ahmed Saeed bin Meshar, Secretary-General of the Supreme Legislation Committee in Dubai, in which he thanked the National Archives for its role in collecting and preserving the memory of the nation for generations. Then he touched on the role of legislation in organizing societies and their comprehensive and sustainable development, and achieving prosperity in all fields leading to prosperity and happiness.

His Excellency added that the duties entrusted to the National Archives in the National Archives Law make the Legislation Committee commit and cooperate with the National Archives, and it is necessary to document the history of the United Arab Emirates, which made it progress and development thanks to its wise leadership since its establishment as a role model in various fields. domains.

His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Al-Raisi, Director General of the National Archives, gave a speech in which he dealt with aspects of the beginnings of establishing the National Archives under the directives of the founding leader, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - may God rest his soul in peace - in 1968 AD, who realized with his wisdom and vision the importance of the renaissance we are currently experiencing, so he wanted the archive The National Archives should document the details of this stage, and in this year 2018, the National Archives will have spent fifty years working to preserve the history and heritage of the UAE and the Arab Gulf region, and thus it is celebrating its golden jubilee, which coincides with the Year of Zayed, and this is what makes us recall the legacy left by Sheikh He gave it to us, and on it we build the immortal exploits and values of the late - God willing - and His Excellency indicated that this legacy would not have appeared without the historical preservation of the documentary materials.

His Excellency touched on the interest of the National Archives in electronic archiving, which is required by the process of organizing government archives with the aim of preservation and availability according to the best international standards.

He expressed his happiness with the attention received by Law No. 7 of 2008 from the Government of Dubai, and thanked the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai, which took it upon itself to remove the obstacles facing the implementation stage.

His Excellency stressed that preserving the archival heritage for future generations is the responsibility of the National Archives, and this responsibility requires the support of all government institutions and authorities concerned with the archives and its holdings. the future; The days are pregnant and history has a thousand returns, and therefore care must be taken to preserve and preserve historical documents, as they are assets owned by the state.


Mrs. Sheikha Al-Qahtani, Head of the Government Archives Department at the National Archives, spoke about the "strategic role of the National Archives in organizing, preserving and protecting government documents" and provided a historical overview of the National Archives and its development, starting with its establishment in 1968 under the name of the Office of Documents and Studies, then the Center for Documents and Studies, then the Center for Documents and Research. and the National Center for Documentation and Research, and in early 2014 it assumed the new name The National Archives.

She indicated that the National Archives began to develop a strategic plan that included the vision, mission, values and goals, and indicated the focus of the National Archives in consolidating the national identity and strengthening loyalty and belonging among the people of the country. , Enhancing institutional and community communication, developing the National Archives' holdings and enhancing their availability, and providing and developing a distinguished work environment.

In her speech, Mrs. Al-Qahtani drew attention to the importance of the National Archives' publications in enriching the country's history and heritage, the oral archive kept by the National Archives, the training and educational courses provided by the National Archives to government agencies, and its experts' frequent visits to more than 220 archives of federal and local government agencies to diagnose its reality and upgrading it in the light of international standards and scientific methods.

In her speech, Ms. Sheikha Al-Qahtani touched on the Preservation and Restoration Center of the National Archives and its huge absorption of documents transferred to it from government institutions and agencies, and the importance of historical documents in preserving the history of the state.

The workshop included an introduction to the methodology for preparing the system for managing current and intermediate documents. Archiving expert Ahmed Mujib was able to present this methodology as dictated by the internal laws of the country and international standards, and to present the work procedures used in the system for managing current and intermediate documents in government agencies. Building a document management system, document inventory, classification of confidential documents, functional classification of documents, classified documents useful for scientific research, file conversion, and document destruction.

This axis focused on the importance of preserving documents in a safe environment, to keep them away from dangers, and to preserve documents in the current archive stage and the intermediate archive stage according to international standards, and this requires His Excellency said: Thanks to the support of the wise leadership that we receive, we were able to challenge and stop the waste of documents and their loss, and we have ensured the most appropriate place to keep them in the light of Federal Law No. 7 of 2008.