Highlighting the significance of safeguarding cultural heritage during the inaugural session,
The National Library and Archives participates in the First UAE Library Forum, praises its role in fostering a sustainable knowledge-based society.

Prompted by its focus on enriching knowledge societies, the National Library and Archives (NLA) took part in the first edition of the UAE Library Forum, organized by the Emirates Library and Information Association (ELIA). It reiterated its commitment to expanding collections of the National Library and its contributions to creating a sustainable knowledge society that promotes innovation and strengthens libraries’ roles in disseminating culture and knowledge.
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi honoured the National Library and Archives in recognition of its dedication and contributions to the ELIA’s success.
The NLA’s participation in the First Emirates Library Forum, held at the Sharjah Book Authority’s headquarters, was showcased through a presentation on the Protection of Cultural Heritage by His Excellency Abdullah Majid Al Ali, the Director General. Given in the first session of the forum titled “Protecting Cultural Heritage and Creative Content: Issues and Solutions”, this presentation highlighted the objective of safeguarding cultural heritage. His Excellency emphasized its role as a key component of the memory of the nation and a symbol of cultural identity, which further emphasizes its cultural roots, historical background, and progress.
The presentation also touched on the NLA’s role in preserving cultural heritage, in collaboration with government agencies that have made significant efforts to enforce the legal mandates for the protection of cultural and creative heritage. This included the implementation of Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 on the National Library and Archives and its executive regulations aimed at the conversion and long-term preservation of historical archival materials.
He underscored the NLA’s interest in collecting intangible heritage and preserving it for future generations, urging students and researchers to focus on cultural heritage, and making it available through the NLA’s digital platforms, foremost of which is the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive Portal (AGDA). He further mentioned that the NLA records this heritage in its publications and also acquires books that detail it in the National Library.
He pointed out that the NLA’s activities continue to bring its beneficiaries closer to the memory of the nation. For this purpose, the NLA organizes lectures and seminars, and participates in major cultural exhibitions, in order to clarify the importance of heritage, the duty to protect it, and ways to benefit from it.
The NLA’s Director General examined how digital archiving aids in safeguarding cultural heritage by transforming physical documents and manuscripts into digital formats. This process helps mitigate the dangers of damage or loss caused by environmental conditions, reduces the amount of space needed for paper records, and makes ancient heritage accessible through satellite channels and digital platforms, thereby bolstering our cultural identity in the global age. He emphasized that digital archiving, regardless of its advanced capabilities and the use of artificial intelligence, does not imply the elimination of traditional archives. Instead, it works in harmony with them, extending their longevity. He outlined how this is accomplished by minimizing the need for manual handling and making storage more efficient, which eliminates the need for continuous physical access.
His Excellency focused on the importance of long-term preservation of cultural heritage using the new generation ultra-high-resolution nanotechnology PIQL film, for long-term conservation that lasts for about 2,000 years.
The presentation by the NLA’s Director General illuminated the importance of intellectual property protection and its role in the preservation and protection of cultural heritage.
The NLA showed its keen interest in this event, which aims to amplify the contribution of libraries in fostering culture and knowledge, explore new horizons for digital innovation and creativity in the rapidly growing library sector, and spotlight the initiatives of the Emirates Library and Information Association and its partners in elevating the role of libraries in the UAE community and improving their services to meet the demands of the contemporary age.