The National Archives holds the Partners Forum and presents its main achievements and future projects
The National Archives holds the Partners Forum and presents its main achievements and future projects
The National Archives held the Partners Forum under the slogan of “Together, We Excel” where it presented its main achievements and future projects and highlighted the successful memorandums of understanding and agreements concluded with its strategic partners. The forum aimed at strengthening partnership relations between the National Archives and its strategic partners and at achieving the common objectives of maintaining sustainable quality and efficiency in building up archival assets in line with the UAE’s vision 2021. In 2020, the year of preparation for the Next Fifty, it also perceives the future prospects of the National Archives in the UAE centennial anniversary.
Mr. Farhan Al Marzouqi, Director of Corporate and Community Outreach Department at the National Archives opened the forum with a speech which he started with warm greetings and regards extended by H.E. Dr. Abdulla Mohamed Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives to all participating partners in the forum, then he stressed the National Archives high aspirations which can only be achieved through real partnerships and concerted efforts to achieve its objectives of building a modern national archiving system, and developing
its holdings, enhancing their accessibility, enriching corporate and community outreach, providing integrated research and knowledge services and a distinctive work environment.
The Director of the Corporate and Community Outreach Department appreciated and commended the results of the continuous, organized cooperation and coordination with strategic partners and the outcomes of agreements and memorandums of understanding concluded with them, most notably of which are the documents organization projects for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Ministry of Health documents digitization and organization, Jeddah Municipality, Phase 1 of the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive project and launching specialized academic programs on archival studies (professional certificate – bachelor's degree) with Sorbonne University.
Mr. Farhan spoke about the strategic plan projects that shall be launched soon such as the specialized academic programs on archival studies (master's degree) with Sorbonne University, digitization of the Crown Prince Court archives, digitization of rare Arabic books collection in collaboration with New York University and Phase 2 of the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive project.
In line with the National Archives strict adherence to all necessary precautionary measures, the Forum was virtually held and attended by a large number of strategic partners where a presentation was delivered on National Archives history, vision, mission, objectives and main duties. The forum also presented photos of many fruitful memorandums of understanding and agreements concluded by the National Archives with its strategic partners who were honored during the forum.
Mrs. Balqees Mohamed Al Nakhbi, Head of Strategic Planning and Project Management Unit, tackled the National Archives strategic plan, and highlighted its history and development as well as the stages it has undergone since its inception in 1968 under the directives of the founding leader Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. She discussed the National Archives objectives of building a modern national archiving system, developing the National Archives holdings and enhancing their accessibility, enriching corporate and community outreach, providing integrated research and knowledge services and providing a distinctive work environment. She also shed light on the achievements accomplished in each of these objectives.
She tackled the most significant strategic plan projects that are in progress, namely: developing a master's degree program to be launched in September 2021, running the National Archives Center for Preservation and Restoration in full capacity, devising a digital preservation strategy through which a road map shall be prepared to indicate strategic tendencies towards preserving the digital content at the National Archives and government entities, implementing Phase 2 of the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive and the Digital Depository project aiming at developing the Emirates Library management. In addition to completing phase 3 of the oral history interviews transcription, issuing Sheikh Zayed Illustrated Encyclopedia, hosting the ICA Congress Abu Dhabi in October 2021, producing a number of films on the National Archives role in preserving the Memory of the Nation, assessing the National Archives according to the Government Excellence Model – Phase 2, implementing an electronic system for current, intermediate or historical documents and records management and creating a digital platform for the Strategic Planning Office.
