The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
ABU DHABI / WAM
His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, said that the International Council on Archives (ICA) Congress Abu Dhabi 2023 is a platform that provides an opportunity for specialists, experts, and officials in the archive sector to engage in fruitful discourse on various subjects.
“We all need to preserve the memory of humanity, make it available, and provide documented information to those who need it. National memory is a trust in everyone’s hands,” His Highness noted in his speech at the opening of the International Council on Archives (ICA) Congress Abu Dhabi 2023, which was delivered on his behalf by Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Midfa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Library and Archives (NLA).
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to the International Council on Archives (ICA) Congress, which we are proud to host in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. This is the first time this global event takes place in the Arab world and the Middle East region, and we highly value it. This proves the International Council on Archives’ great trust in us,” His Highness stressed.
Sheikh Mansour added, “We hope the Congress will be a platform that offers the opportunity for specialists, experts, and officials in the archive sector to engage in fruitful discourse on various subjects to collect, preserve and make available the memory of humanity and provide documented information to those who need it, as the national memory is a trust in the hands of everyone.”
His Highness underscored that the hopes of peoples to preserve their memories are a great responsibility, and these hopes are placed on the elite of decision-makers and experts in the archiving sector at this global forum. Sheikh Mansour highlighted the importance of joint cooperation in preserving, documenting and archiving the cultural heritage of humanity, in addition to encouraging dialogue and exchanging knowledge and experiences, and establishing modern professional practices characterised by flexibility, innovation and creativity in fields of archiving, documenting and preserving the memory of peoples.
He added, “We look forward to empowering young people in this important field with knowledge, so that they can contribute to preserving memory and heritage, and this is what the Congress focused on when it organised the ‘Archives Hackathon’. We must document the past and preserve it, be proud of it, and draw lessons from our past. We look forward to our future to be the most beautiful extension of the past.”
His Highness said, “I value the role played by the National Library and Archives in organising this global event, to be distinctive, bring great benefits to the development of this profession, and strengthen its ties with various professions and specialisations in our societies. Therefore, the five themes of Congress came in line with the rapid changes in the world and a great opportunity to discuss and address the challenges facing archives and records.
Sheikh Mansour concluded by saying, “I welcome you to the United Arab Emirates, an oasis of peace and tolerance, and I express my wishes for the Congress to achieve its great goal of enriching knowledge societies.”