Abdulaziz Al-Musallam: Sharjah’s Experience is Pioneering in Preserving Arab Heritage
ChatGPT said:
Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Musallam, President of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, participated in a seminar titled “Experiences in Documenting Arab Heritage” held in Egypt as part of the cultural program of the 20th Alexandria International Book Fair, attended by a select group of intellectuals, academics, and heritage enthusiasts from across the Arab world.
At the start of the seminar, Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, welcomed Dr. Al-Musallam, affirming that this event is part of the library’s vision to enhance cultural awareness and deliver an educational message to younger generations on the importance of preserving Arab heritage as a cultural value and civilizational identity.
He pointed out that over the past two years, the library launched a series of documentaries addressing themes related to Arab cultural heritage, which received wide interaction and great interest from young audiences. He emphasized that the library places great importance on safeguarding heritage and reinforcing its role in shaping cultural identity.
Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Musallam stressed that Sharjah’s experience in preserving cultural heritage is pioneering. He highlighted the journey from its early beginnings in the 1970s up to the establishment of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage in 2014 as the first scientific institution dedicated to safeguarding and documenting Emirati and Arab cultural heritage.
Key Pillars
Al-Musallam outlined the main pillars of this experience, starting with early individual and institutional efforts, followed by the establishment of the Department of Heritage and the documentation of oral narratives, and culminating in major projects adopted by the Institute such as the “Sharjah International Award for Cultural Heritage”, the “Encyclopedia of Emirati Crafts and Professions”, and the “Thesaurus of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Arab World.” He praised the effective role played by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in digitizing these efforts within a comprehensive scholarly framework.
He also revealed the Institute’s orientation toward using artificial intelligence technologies in documenting heritage elements, in addition to strengthening international cooperation through the “Center for International Heritage Organizations” affiliated with the Institute, which provides a platform for knowledge and expertise exchange between cultural institutions at regional and international levels.
During the seminar, Al-Musallam affirmed:
“Intangible cultural heritage is not just a past we safeguard, but a future we shape through a deep understanding of our identity. This is what we strive for in Sharjah through fieldwork, research, academic publishing, and regional and international cooperation.”
The seminar concluded with the presentation of several publications from the Sharjah Institute for Heritage to the attendees, reaffirming the Institute’s mission of safeguarding heritage, preserving identity, and continuing the joint efforts between Sharjah and Alexandria in serving Arab culture.