The National Archives organized a charitable humanitarian initiative entitled "Absherou belkhair", or “Good Tidings"

The National Archives has concluded its charitable humanitarian initiative entitled "Absherou belkhair ", or “Good Tidings" in cooperation with the UAE Red Crescent Authority, through which employees were provided the opportunity to participate in charitable and humanitarian work, through their clothes and other kind donations to the needy.

All National Archives staff members highly commended, valued and directly interacted with the initiative, where the National Archives distributed cardboard boxes to them to provide their philanthropic donations of basic needs to the poor and needy, which it subsequently collected and handed over to the UAE Red Crescent Authority to distribute them to needy beneficiaries.

The National Archives' interest in such initiative comes within the framework of its societal responsibility, and its charitable humanitarian works as part of its national and moral duty, and as an important step towards sustainable development.

The National Archives has previously organized many similar initiatives, in cooperation with the UAE Red Crescent, for their great impact on the UAE society’s positive change and development, and their role in establishing and instilling in the UAE public the values of benevolence, Philanthropy and solidarity, which are the same values to which the National Archives is committed as part of its national role and duty.

The National Archives keenly continues its charitable and humanitarian work and role through participating in such charitable initiatives that are implemented even when many of its employees are working from home at this stage where the world is keen to achieve solidarity while adhering to social distancing as part of other necessary precautionary measures to counter and contain the virus and reduce its societal health, social and economic repercussions.





The National Archives:

The National Archives of the United Arab Emirates was established under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in 1968, upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting material related to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years after its establishment, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to be the “National Center for Documentation and Research”, entrusted with organizing the archives of various UAE Government entities, then H.H. issued another amendding order changing its name to be the "National Archives" in accordance with Federal Law No. 1 of 2014.

The National Archives First Translation Conference is considered an important step on the road to translation advancement 

The conference research papers and discussions were well received by all followers

The National Archives virtual conference entitled “Translation in the Digital Age between Modern Technologies and Challenges of Historical Text”, was launched on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 and continued for 3 consecutive days. The participants praised the conference sessions and discussions relating to various translation issues and challenges which will surely pave the way for further translation advancement and development in our current era where we keenly seek constructive and fruitful communication with the whole world.

The research papers discussed during the various conference sessions indicated that translation is a creative activity that requires certain conditions and a wide culture, and that the richness of translation activity in the UAE confirms and reflects the cultural diversity it enjoys.

Through their research papers, the participating Speakers demonstrated that translation bridges any gap between civilizations and cultures and is an intellectual window to the world thought and knowledge which grants the Emirati identity further communication with other nations and cultures. Interest in translation is considered an interest in a key culture tributary with the expansion of communication between various peoples of the world. Translation has become inevitable and integral in a world that has currently transformed into a small global village.

The research-papers were presented by Senior Professors and Specialists from major world universities. The first session of the second day of the conference was entitled: “Linguistic and cultural problems in translation and interpreting”, moderated by Dr. Abdullah Al-Omari, Senior translator at the National Archives,  in which Professor Michael Cooperson from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, discussed “A (partly) corpus-based approach to matching linguistic registers"; He pointed out that most translations from Arabic use Standard English as the target language, and referred to his recent translation of Maqamat al-Hariri, in which he adopted a different approach in line with Hariri's interest in language diversity and its susceptibility to change.

In his research-paper “Translation Policy and Practice in the Digital Age: new modes and media for delivery and accessibility” Professor Dr. Mohamed Gamal, Translation Consultant in Sydney, tackled Modern translation in the Arab world as associated with development over the past two hundred years, while he has focused on the past twenty years, Since the United Nations for Arab Human Development published its report in 2002, which shed light on translation scene, stressing that audio-visual translation is a new reality in the translation field after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professor Ivan Williams, of Buraimi University in the Sultanate of Oman, in his paper “Bargaining for Style and Meaning in the Translation of Qasr Al Hosn”, (from English to Spanish), spoke of his experience with this book issued by the UAE National Archives, indicating that the translator must take into account the differences in words, phrases, and sentences semantics and the ambiguity and contradiction issues in certain translation texts.

In her research-paper, “Korean/Arabic Translations between Present and Future”, Professor Nabila Yun Eun Kyeong discussed: Translation as one of the most important means of cultural and civilizational exchange between the world nations and people, and the most important communication bridge of various world languages and cultures. Therefore, translation process cannot in any way be proper and accurate without a deep understanding of the source language culture, to convey the message in a way that suits the target language reader's understanding.

Professor Rahilya Geybullayeva from Baku Slavic University, Azerbaijan in her research-paper entitled: “Semiosphere as a history of interpretations on an example of a term from the manuscripts” tackled the consonant as a meaningful semantic unit for the Middle East languages conveyors, which is why a word interpretations from its exact text vary and have multiple versions, and consonants have an elementary semiotic meaning provided familiarity with the alphabets’ history.

The second session entitled " The predicaments of translation: Old Texts and Manuscripts as a Model", which was moderated by Alfatih Mohammed Osman, Senior Translator, at the UAE National Archives, began with a research paper entitled " The Dilemma of Translating Songs: The Poetry of Tagore as a Model" by the Emirati Poet, Translator and Literary Historian, Dr. Shihab Ghanem, in which he tackled The translation of rhythmic poetry can convey the poem’s original meaning, and can also be a poetic language prose that conveys the original meaning. He talked about some of his personal experiences with Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore’s poems.

In his research-paper, “Navigating Residual Orality in Translation between Incompatible Discourse Traditions”, Professor Waleed Bleyhesh Al-Amri from Taibah University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, discussed word or expression technology and the realization of its wide-ranging communicative ramifications. Whereas Dr. Tarek Abdulla Fakhr-Eldeen, Chair of the Kuwaiti Translators Association in Kuwait, in his research-paper entitled " Translating three-dimensional Historical Texts” conveyed an academic and practical approach to the Arabic and English languages interrelated translation when dealing with Arabian Gulf region related historical texts.

Professor Yahya Abdel Tawab of the Theater Institute in Kuwait, in his research-paper entitled “Translating Old Historical Russian Manuscripts” pointed out that ancient Russian historical documents are of great importance and interest to Russia, as is the case in other advanced world countries. But its translation to other languages is a matter for the nations or interested parties of these other languages. In his paper “Ancient Arabic Literature between Investigation and Translation,” Assistant Professor, Ayman Bakr, from Gulf University for Sciences and Technology in Kuwait discussed the importance of preserving and translating the oral Arab literary heritage, stressing that both are complex and non-objective or neutral.

The third session of the second day of the conference, entitled "Translation between History and Identity", moderated by Sumaya Al-Hashimi, National Archives Senior Translator, reviewed a number of research-papers, including "Cultural Issues in Translating Portuguese Letters on the Gulf in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" by Professor Dr. Adrian de Man, Chair of the Department of History and Tourism- UAE University-Alain, in which he recounted his experience in publishing selected letters on trade and financial matters to or from Portuguese officials in Hormuz, and he pointed out that the Portuguese language has developed in the past four and a half centuries given the cultural circumstances and changes of time and place.

In her paper “Arabic Idioms Travelling via Translations: A Comparative Study” Assistant Professor Raja Lahiani, Department of Literature and Languages, UAE University, Al Ain tackled idiomatic expressions as traditional parts of speech that are linguistically ambiguous and structurally established.

Professor Yahya Mohamed Mahmoud from the UAE University discussed, in his paper entitled “The Biased Translation of British Historical Manuscripts” - the translations that appeared at the end of the sixties of the last century in some Arab countries, and the most important of these translations were the translation of parliamentary papers submitted by the British government to the British Parliament on the Arab Gulf states. Professor Khaled Umran Al-Zawam, from Alicante University in Spain, reviewed Arabic linguistic expressions and structures between heritage and present time, and the problem of translating them into Spanish: their definition, sources and application models. As for Professor Al Arabi Al Hadrawi from the University of Mohammed V, in Morocco, he discussed “The peculiarity of teaching literary translation between textual terms and language pre-conditions”.

The fourth and last session of the second day of the conference, entitled: " Translation and Horizons of Expectations", moderated by Dr. Aisha Bilkhair, National Archives Research Advisor, began with a research-paper presented by Professor Dr. Forget Chaterera-Zambuko from Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, in which she discussed ways of “Bridging the geographical and language gaps to accessing archives through digital translation”. Then Dr. Atef Abbas Abdel Hamid Ahmed, Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Consultant, discussed “the challenges of translating modern technology terminology: a case study in the field of computer science.”

Dr. Nabiha Maktabi and Ms. Faten Rushdi from the Louvre Museum - Abu Dhabi tackled “enriching trans-cultural Hybridity through translation”.

The final research papers presented on the second day of the conference on "Translation in the Digital Age between Modern Technologies and the Challenges of Historical Text" was entitled: "Translation and Dialogue of Civilizations in the New Millennium" by the Poet and Media Expert, Mahmoud Sharaf, Chair of Tanta International Poetry Festival.

The four sessions on the second day of the conference were well received and enriched with discussions that indicated the public's keen interest in and interaction with the conference's activities and research-papers.

Alraisi: From Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates of Tolerance and Love, we begin the Translation Conference to improve the translation movement

The National Archives launches its 1st Translation Conference with an opening session and nine papers discussing important translation related issues

The first virtual international translation conference was launched today, under the theme "Translation in the digital age between modern technologies and the challenges of historical text". The conference opened with a speech by His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives, who confirmed that the National Archives is holding this conference within the framework of one of its strategic objectives, which requires the provision of integrated research and knowledge services, pointing out the interest that translation receives in the UAE, which  believes that translation plays an important role in bringing nations closer, facilitating dialogue, understanding and cooperation among the peoples of the world, contributing to development and building a culture of peace and international security. His Excellency also stressed the importance of translation in the next 50 years, as has been the case with historical records and documents held by the National Archives in the past 50 years.

Welcoming the participants in this international conference, he explained that in its ten sessions the Conference will discuss the most important challenges the translation movement faces at present as translation is now, more than ever, one of the most important cultural exchanges in our modern and contemporary world.

He noted the importance and diversity of the conference's themes, including machine translation and artificial intelligence, the mechanisms of globalization and translation methods in the digital age, the dilemmas of translating old documents, bridging language gaps in archives through digital translation, translating oral history narratives, translation and identity, and translation and dialogue of civilizations.

At the end of his speech, the Director General of the National Archives thanked the employees, who oversaw the organizing of this conference, and also the participants, speakers, and senior professors at major international universities. He also invited all those interested to follow the conference sessions broadcast from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates of Tolerance and Love,  which aims to improve  the translation movement around the world  in the service of our society, our nation and all humanity.

Mr. Hamad Al Hamiri, Director of the Research and Knowledge Services Department at the National Archives, moderated the opening session and welcomed speakers, followers and participants wherever they were, and thanked the Top Management of the National Archives, which provided this virtual platform for the International Translation Conference to discuss the most important challenges facing the translation movement, and improve the translation of historical texts while maintaining their contents integrity and authenticity for generations to come.

Professor Saddiq Gohar, translation expert at the National Archives, delivered the keynote    address, entitled "Translation and the Preservation of the Memory of the Nation: Tarjamat Project as a model". He started with the words of the British translation theory historian Professor Peter Newmark: "Translation is an authentic pillar of the cultural life of every civilized people", and then he focused on the National Archives’ role in promoting cultural convergence and dialogue and calling for fraternity and peace.

The conference's keynote address touched on the translation project launched by the National Archives to serve as an important umbrella for translation to and from various languages because of its importance in the global cultural movement during the new millennium, based on the fact that the National Archives is interested in translating history in order to preserve the memory of the nation.

Prof. Gohar highlighted the importance of translation in introducing the world to the glories of the past and the present and enriching the human heritage, emphasizing the National Archives’ interest in translation to preserve the national and historical heritage extending from the country’s pre-establishment phase through the establishment phase after the founding fathers laid its foundation, to the progress and development phase, until the current phase in which the UAE holds a prominent position regionally and internationally. He also added that besides monitoring history, translation highlights the achievements of the UAE's current civilization, and all that has been written about the UAE.

The interest in translation comes in line with the wise policy of the UAE’s leadership that has turned the UAE into a cultural beacon for the dissemination of science, knowledge and literature, and it has made it an important hub for stimulating the movement of global trade at a stage where the entire world has testified to the important cultural achievements which the UAE has made.

In the opening session, a documentary was displayed featuring the most important stages that the National Archives went through as it has been documenting the memory of the nation for nearly fifty-three years, collecting documents and information which became accredited references for research on the history of the Arabian Gulf in general and the UAE in particular.

The first session of the conference, entitled "Translation and Trans-Civilizational Dialogue in the New Millennium", was moderated by Mrs. Aisha Al Dhaheri, Head of Translation and Publishing Section at the National Archives. It began with a paper by Professor Neil Sadler of Queen's University in the United Kingdom, which discussed "Translation and Datafication". The researcher referred to the increasing prevalence of data, pointing out that the conversion of data raises questions for translation as a practice, and for translation studies as a system. In this regard, he highlighted the conversion of data, which is no longer just a target task, but has become an inspiration for more information. Subsequently, data held by translators are becoming increasingly important that data conversion requires greater attention to translation forms.

Next was a paper by Professor Carl Steinitz of Harvard University, entitled "Translation and Global Cooperation". It examined the possibility to form multidisciplinary global scientific teams to address complex problems in scientific and global studies that require further cooperation.

Then, Professor Igor Maffer of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia discussed "Translation from German to English: James McAuley's Translations of Georg Trakl's Poems", in which he stressed that the translation should not be literal, but rather be able to convey the original text with embedded emotions and feelings. He also discussed the translation of the Austrian poet George Trakel’s poetry into English, and the latter's influence on McAuley's poetry "Late Night Music".

 At the end of the first session, Professor Leslie Tramontini of the University of Philipps Universitat, Marburg in Germany discussed a paper entitled "Poetry is what get lost in Translation: on the Pitfalls and Challenges of Translating Arabic Poetry". She explained that translating poetry is a major challenge, and focused on the difficulties and challenges of translating Arabic poetry for a European scholar and translator, and she has referred to many examples from pre-Islamic and classical poetry.

The second session on the conference’s first day was moderated by Mrs. Shahinaz El Naggar of the National Archives, was entitled " Globalization Mechanisms and Translation Methods in the Digital Age". The fifth paper prepared by Professor Dr. Charlotte Bossoeux of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, entitled: " Identity in Translation: Multilingualism in Jane the Virgin, and its French and Spanish Versions.

The sixth paper was presented by Professor Tarek Shamma from Binghamton University, New York, USA, entitled “A Historical Anthology of Arabic Translation: Challenges and Prospects.

The 7th paper was presented by Professor Salah Basalamah from the University of Ottawa, Canada, entitled “Translating Islam into Secularism and vice versa: A Dialogue with(in) Western Modernity”. Professor Abderrahman Beggar from the University of Wilfrid Laurier- Canada presented the 8th paper entitled  “Reinventing the past through translation. The Case of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca’s Relación de los naufragios y comentarios (1555)”. Professor Marc Shell from Harvard University-USA presented the 9th paper entitled “From Electrum to Electricity:  Regionalism, Universalism, and Problems of Translation in the Digital Age”.

Many important questions relevant to the topics and themes were answered during the two sessions that were held on the first day of the conference.    

The National Archives organized a virtual lecture on the Arabian Gulf documents in International Archives in the course of performing its distinguished role in disseminating culture through collecting and providing access to Arabian Gulf documents  

The Researcher, Dr. Saif Al Bedwawi, praised the distinguished role of the National Archives in preserving the memory of the nation, and bridging gaps between researchers or those interested  in historical records and documents on the history and heritage of the UAE, through providing easy access to these valuable treasures and holdings of its various archives, or of the AGDA website, (including hundreds of thousands of Historical documents and multimedia material relating to the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region) available for Internet users as a scientific and cultural wealth that allows Researchers, Academics and all interested, easy access to utilize these documents and benefit from them.

The virtual lecture organized by the National Archives, entitled: "Arabian Gulf Documents in International Archives", by Researcher Dr. Saif Al Bedwawi reviewed the most important archives that preserve historical documents and records on the UAE and the Gulf region, and explained that these documents were initiated or created during the Portuguese, Dutch and British presence in the region, and the following stages; Many of these documents, whether typed or manuscript, shed light on contemporary local Arab affairs, and also provide important information on places, people, and events closely associated with and related to the modern United Arab Emirates.

The lecture pointed out that many of the Dutch and British companies’ records served to enrich and assert the documentary information and material the Portuguese left behind, as the Portuguese presence in the region lasted more than a century, and these records provide detailed description of the region’s society and system of government then, while Dutch documents are of particular importance and significance to the history of the UAE with their valuable information on various topics and issues relating to the region.

The British documents constitute an important reference and resource of modern UAE history, and many British circles hold huge amounts of documents on the United Arab Emirates conditions and aspects of life.

 The lecturer said: Although published documents greatly facilitated Researchers’ job and mission, they are not enough to satisfy the growing need for knowledge. It is certain that referring to unpublished documents of various sources will definitely add new dimensions and revelations, which should be the targeted objective and aspiration of researchers to enrich the UAE history.

The lecturer mentioned many archives, rich and loaded with documents on the UAE and the Gulf region, including: Goa Historical Archive in India, the Dutch Archives in The Hague, the British Archives, the British Royal Navy Archives, the British Library, British Petroleum (BP) Archive, and the Land Forces Museum, the British Forces Museum, the Imperial War Museum, and associations such as the Coastal Force Society, the American Mission Archives in New Jersey, and the Kuwait Studies and Research Center in Kuwait.

In addition to the National Archives, the lecturer mentioned the most important archives that preserve historical documents in other UAE Emirates, such as: Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Dubai, Dubai Municipality Archives, Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi Centre in Sharjah, Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center, Sharjah Museums, Ajman Museum, and Umm Al Quwain Museum, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Culture Authority, Fujairah Culture and Media Authority, Bait Sheikh Saeed bin Hamad in Kalba, and some public and prominent citizens individually kept historical documents and records.

The National Archives Delivers a Lecture on the Intellectual Property Challenges and Confirms its Compliance with laws



The National Archives organized a virtual lecture entitled “Intellectual Property Challenges of Acquisition and Usage”. It focused on the NA’s interest in applying intellectual property laws to the documentary heritage, which it keeps and makes available to beneficiaries as part of its mission, which is to “preserve the documentary heritage to provide decision makers and public with trusted information and to enhance civic spirit and national identity”.

Mr. Hamad Al Mutairi, Director of Archives Department, gave an introduction to the lecture, stating that intellectual property rights allow creative people to benefit from their work while respecting the rights. He also indicated the importance of delivering this lecture in conjunction with the Year of the 50th. The UAE was able to make major achievements in various fields, thanks to the prudent leadership’s vision, constant support, and interest in protecting intellectual property rights. In addition, he assured that technology, which is rapidly expanding and developing has a great impact on intellectual property and that the NA is concerned with applying the intellectual property laws to all its historical and technological acquisitions and others.

Furthermore, Al Mutairi emphasized that the NA makes sure of the materials acquisition grounds and their usage-related rights, in accordance with Federal Law No. (32) of 2006 on the copyright and the neighboring rights, given that the UAE has joined Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which requires to deal with copyrights according to the laws of the country of origin.

The lecture was delivered in English by Mr. Justin Codrai, Expert in photographs at the NA, and then it was consecutively interpreted by Mrs. Zeina Nassim Azar. The lecture started by discussing the documentary heritage, which the NA is concerned with its acquisition. That heritage consists of hard and soft copy documents: books, newspapers, maps, films and photographs, oral history, etc.

The lecture that was attended by a large number of audiences discussed the methods of providing decision makers, public and beneficiaries with accurate data legally and in accordance with the licenses terms and conditions.

To highlight the intellectual property challenges upon materials acquisition, photos were presented in the lecture as they are primary documents at the NA and the most widespread historical media in the UAE. The lecture also illustrated the most significant challenges in this field and focused on “copyright and use licenses”, which is an exclusive right granted to the author or creator of a work for a number of years such as the person who takes a photograph, records a video, composes a song, writes a research paper or a book.

The lecturer resorted to many real examples in the field of photography and presented the intellectual property challenges and the proper ways of providing public with materials and of preventing unauthorized copying. The lecture was concluded by revealing the reasons behind the importance of this issue to the NA.







The National Archives

The National Archives of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs was first established in 1968 upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting documents and information relating to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years later, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President, issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to the National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR), and assigning it to organize the archives of the various UAE government entities. Finally, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. (1) of 2014, renaming it the National Archives.

The National Archives Continues Its Preparations for the Largest Translation Conference in The UAE



The National Archives continues its preparations for the virtual translation conference it organizing under the theme: “Translation in the Digital Age between Modern Technologies and Challenges of the Historical Text” on June 29th. The conference is considered the largest translation conference in the UAE over the past two decades. It brings together about 40 researchers, experts and specialists in the field of translation sciences from the great world universities and the specialized sectors interested in translation affairs. The conference research papers will discuss translation from many languages into Arabic and vice versa. Thus, the conference will attract a large number of senior professors, researchers and experts from globally renowned universities.

The National Archives is keen to hold this conference to affirm the importance of the role that translation plays in bridging the gaps between civilizations and peoples. This what the National Archives has already shown in many of its previous conferences and seminars and in many of its publications that were translated from many languages into Arabic; these publications shed light on chapters of history that are revealed for the first time, or present clarification to previous controversial issues. The National Archives has realized the importance of translation in transferring cultures to and from Arabic and especially within the scope of its interests and its great role in preserving the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region. Therefore, this conference will enable improving the quality of translation and widening its range to translate to and from many other languages.

The National Archives will publish the conference’s research papers in its refereed scientific journal “Liwa”. It will also compile these research papers in volumes that it will issue after the conference in order to support the cultural community and enrich the Arab library.

On this occasion, the National Archives invites those interested in translation and academic students specializing in translation from the UAE and abroad to follow up the events of the conference and its research papers, which will present many creative and innovative ideas. The conference “Translation in the Digital Age between Modern Technologies and Challenges of the Historical Text” will transfer to the audience the experiences of other peoples and cultures in this field denoting the opportunity is available as the conference is virtual and organized via the advanced interactive technologies that makes it possible to be followed from all over the world.

It is noteworthy that the research papers of the conference will be in many languages such as: English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Hebrew, German, Korean and Portuguese.

The participants will be from major universities such as: Harvard University, University of California-Los Angeles, Binghamton University (USA), Queen’s University (Ireland-UK), University of Edinburgh (Scotland-UK), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), University of Ottawa, Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada), University of Marburg (Germany), Hankuk University (South Korea), University of Baku (Azerbaijan), University of Sydney (Australia), University of Alicante (Spain), University of Mohammed V (Morocco), Cairo University and Ain Shams University in Egypt, United Arab Emirates University, Sorbonne University (Abu Dhabi), Taibah University (Saudi Arabia), University of Buraimi (Oman), Gulf University and Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Kuwait)... and others.



The National Archives

The National Archives of the United Arab Emirates, the affiliate of the Ministry Presidential Affairs was founded in 1968 at the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting all materials pertaining to the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region. After forty years of its founding, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. 7 for the year 2008 converting it to the National Center for Documentation and Research, and was entrusted with the tasks of organizing the archives of government agencies in the United Arab Emirates, and more recently its title (National Center for Documentation and Research) as per the above mentioned law - has been modified to (the National Archives), according to Federal Law No. 1 for the year 2014 issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

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        The National Archives Continues Its Specialized Educational Workshops On Updating Its Correspondence Policy and Ways of Managing It.
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        The National Archives continues to provide virtual specialized educational workshops that aim to acquaint its staff with its policy of correspondence, and the updating of the information of the external entities that are being dealt with in order to facilitate the management, preservation and documentation of their correspondence. In this context, Mrs. Noora Al Hamadi (Chief Archives Officer), at the Center’s Archives Section, presented a workshop entitled: Updating the Information of the External Entities, and Mrs. Safeia Al Jefri (Senior Archives Officer), at the Center’s Archives Section presented a workshop entitled: Correspondence Management Policy. The two workshops revealed the most important mechanisms and requirements which were added or updated in the management of incoming and outgoing correspondence upon the keenness of the National Archives on the requirements of a green work environment, facilitation of the follow-up of the communication between internal and external entities and updating, preserving and documenting the correspondence policy.
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        The first part of the workshop shed light on the development of the internal system for automating requests for updating the information of the external entities received from different departments of the National Archives, and linking it to the correspondence management system in cooperation between the Center’s Archives Section and the Information Technology Section; as this system is considered a main means of communication of all official correspondence between all the departments of the National Archives and the external entities. That had necessitated the development of an integrated database that includes the list of external entities and their communication information; by receiving requests for addition or updating or auditing the information and approving and automatically registering them in the correspondence management system by the Center’s Archives Section in the National Archives.
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        The workshop introduced the correspondence management system, its purpose and requirements. It revealed the development of the system with the aim of using it to manage correspondence in the National Archives, and to preserve the correspondence, documents and information they contain in complete confidentiality according to an effective authorization system, in addition to speedy information retrieving.
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        The first part of the workshop also reviewed the basic information required in defining the details of the entity, the basic information in the people’s details, the request’s flow pat and the system’s instructional video.
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        The second part of the workshop (Correspondence Management Policy) presented the objectives of correspondence management policy, and reviewed the context and scope of applying the policy, responsibilities and guiding principles. The end of the second part of the workshop witnessed the interaction of the participants with its pivots which provided answers to all inquiries.
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        The workshop defined correspondence as: a means of exchanging official information with internal communication and the external entities, responding to requests, providing information related to the activities of the National Archives. It described correspondence as one of the important sources of information in the National Archives, similar to other documents. Therefore, it is necessary to establish regulatory controls in order to handle, maintain and benefit from correspondence when needed. That requires issuing a policy for managing paper and electronic correspondence in the National Archives, because using correspondence involves many risks due to the important information it contains. Many problems may occur as a result of wrongful use of the system.
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        The workshop defined correspondence as: a means of exchanging official information with internal communication and the external entities, responding to requests, providing information related to the activities of the National Archives. It described correspondence as one of the important sources of information in the National Archives, similar to other documents. Therefore, it is necessary to establish regulatory controls in order to handle, maintain and benefit from correspondence when needed. That requires issuing a policy for managing paper and electronic correspondence in the National Archives, because using correspondence involves many risks due to the important information it contains. Many problems may occur as a result of wrongful use of the system.
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        This policy includes the provisions related to the establishment, registration, coding, distribution, classification and preservation of correspondence in combination with the rest of the official documents of the National Archives. As the National Archives always seeks to apply the best international practices and develop electronic systems in the field of document and archives management, therefore it has designed an electronic system called “Correspondence Management System”; to facilitate the process of managing and exchanging correspondence internally among its departments.
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        The National Archives
        <br></br>
        The National Archives of the United Arab Emirates, the affiliate of the Ministry Presidential Affairs was founded in 1968 at the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting all materials pertaining to the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region. After forty years of its founding, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. 7 for the year 2008 converting it to the National Center for Documentation and Research, and was entrusted with the tasks of organizing the archives of government agencies in the United Arab Emirates, and more recently its title (National Center for Documentation and Research) as per the above mentioned law - has been modified to (the National Archives), according to Federal Law No. 1 for the year 2014 issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

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In its virtual forum organized in celebration of the International Archives Day,

The National Archives Reviews its History, Strategies and Aspirations of the Nation’s Memory

In celebration of the International Archives Day, the National Archives has organized a virtual forum entitled “The Strategic Role of the UAE National Archives in Preserving the Nation’s Memory”. At the beginning of his speech, H.E. Dr. Abdulla Al Raisi, NA Director General, congratulated the UAE’s wise leadership on this occasion.

He assured the importance of the NA role in preserving the UAE documentary assets and of the support it receives from the wise leadership, which enables the NA to excel, overcome all challenges facing the archival work development and cope with the latest technical advancements and the developed international practices.

On the occasion of the International Archives Day, His Excellency congratulated all NA’s employees and thanked them for their efforts to preserve the Nation’s Memory for the next generation as their efforts have made the NA a pioneering institution in the field of archiving and documentation.

At the forum that was attended by a large number of archives managers of official institutions in the UAE, he focused on the fact that the NA copes with artificial intelligence technologies, which will have great impact on archiving and documentation and will save a lot of time and efforts to index, preserve, archive and made the tremendous number of documents accessible. He noted that the NA is in the process to cooperate with ten countries to activate this advanced technology.

His Excellency said that the NA has its own contributions and projects in Arab and foreign countries such as Jeddah Municipality archives organization project in Saudi Arabia. It also helped the Kingdom of Bahrain in establishing its national archives. Moreover, the NA has restored Napoleon Library in Elba, Italy, and contributed to the establishment of Uzbekistan Archives. It also provides advice to Kazakhstan Archives and has some activities in Lebanon, Egypt and others.

Dr. Abdulla highlighted the importance of the resolution transfering the functions of the National Library from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development to the National Archives since the library serves as an intellectual archive for archiving and safeguarding the intellectual production in the UAE from damage and loss as well as making it available to the public and generations to come.

His Excellency illustrated the significance of the Arabian Gulf Digital Archives (AGDA), which was founded by the National Archives in collaboration with the UK National Archives. The website presents to its visitors more than 500,000 historical document pertaining to the UAE and the Gulf region. He confirmed that another half a million documents, from the UK National Archives and other archives that had historical relationships with the UAE, will be added to the website in the follwing stage.  

Furthermore, he emphasized the significance of personal archives and prompted the UAE families to keep their historical document and records and provide the NA with copies of them because such documents are part of the UAE history.

Dr. Abdulla called students for continuing their higher education in the master’s degree program in Archives and Records Management, which will be launched by the NA in cooperation with the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. In this context, His Excellency thanked the university for its constructive cooperation in developing the national cadre in archives and records management as a professional certificate in Archives and Records Management has been launched and followed by a bachelor’s degree in Archives and Records Management. Preparations are now in hand to launch the specialized Master’s degree in Archives and Records Management.

In addition, he appreciated the competent nationals who expressed their pride and interest in their nation’s history as the youths proceeded to continue their academic study in archives specializations at the Higher Colleges of Technology and Sorbonne University. They proved their professionalism at the Center for Preservation and Restoration (CPR) of the NA.

The NA Director General has reviewed the main stages the NA passed through since its establishment as the Documents and Research Bureau under directives by the Founding Father Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan in 1968. After that, it went through stages of development, and it became the Center for Documentation and Studies and then the Centre for Documentation and Research (CDR). Later, it became the National Centre for Documentation and Research (NCDR). In this stage, Federal Law No. (7) for 2008 was issued and accordingly the archives of more than 300 government entities were organized. Since then, started the real awareness about the importance of archives in preserving the Nation’s Memory. He expressed his warmest thanks to media, which has supported the NA in spreading community awareness about the importance of documents and archives, resulting in a real boom in this field.

Moreover, he discussed the distinctive experience the NA had in establishing the Center for Preservation and Restoration under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The centre was established after a visit made to the government entities archives, which were overwhelmed with documents that are at risk of damage and require conservation using scientific and professional methods and restoration to prolong the documents life. The Center for Preservation and Restoration was provided with leading experts, and national employees were provided with relevant qualification. This gave the centre a great start in the Archival Materials Restoration Laboratory, Digitization Laboratory “scanning” and the archival materials preservation storage facilities, which made the centre capable of keeping thousands of kilometers of historical documents.

Mr. Hamad Abdulla Al Mutairi, Director of Archives Department, talked about the international archives and the challenges they face. He also explained the NA’s role in supporting archives organization in the UAE, starting with archives status evaluation, provision of technical consultancies, preparation of specialized human resources, organization of disposal processes and transfer of historical archives. Then, he demonstrated the archival process workflow at the NA and concluded by illustrating the NA future aspirations.

In addition, Al Mutairi explained the main threats to documents on paper and electronically, focusing on the risk of the increasing cyper attacks, which were more than 300 thousand attacks. Such attacks cause considerable damage to electronic archives worldwide, considering expectations of a dramatic increase in electronic archives numbers. Finally, he highlighted the importance of keeping paper archives, in their traditional form, in appropriate environments along with the digital archives.

Prof. Silvia Serrano, Vice Chancellor of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, spoked of preparing and qualifying specialized national cadre in the field of archiving and documentation through a collaboration between Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi with the NA. She started her speech by talking about the importance of archiving and she considered it as the key to nations development. She, then, highlighted the close cooperation between Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NA, which has resulted in offering three academic programs: bachelor’s degree in Records Management and Archival Science, professional certificate in Archives and Records Management and master’s degree in Records Management and Archival Studies.

In her speech, Prof. Silvia revealed the membership of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi of InterPARES, a program for developing the necessary knowledge of keeping the records that have been digitally initiated and preserved in the long term, and its membership of the International Council on Archives (ICA).

She stressed the importance of launching the new master’s degree program in Records Management and Archival Studies, which meets labour market needs and contributes to the sustainable knowledge-based economy from a practical perspective. Artificial Intelligence is also a core concept of this program.

Her Excellency has confirmed that all these accomplishments are the fruits of the collaboration between the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NA of the UAE. She felt optimistic that this collaboration will lead to further achievements in the future.

Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Inspects National Archives’ Platform



The National Archives’ Platform Started its Events at the First Day of “Abu Dhabi International Book Fair”



His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, inspected National Archives’ platform in the 30th edition of Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. His Highness was briefed on the events and activities organized in the platform, which assert the role the National Archives plays in preserving the Memory of the Nation for the Generations to come. The visit took place at the opening ceremony of the present edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. His Highness was received by His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Alraisi, the Director General of the National Archives and His Excellency Abdulla Majed Al Ali, the Executive Director of the National Archives.

His Highness inspected the different stands of the platform, which were full of qualitative, documented and diverse publications. His Highness reviewed the latest publications that document important aspects of the history of the UAE and the region and saw the photos that document the historical relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Federal Republic of Germany. Such photos highlight the importance of these relations, which were built on strong and solid foundations and witness a growing improvement and prosperity under the wise leadership of the United Arab Emirates.

At the corner of restoration, His Highness listened to a detailed explanation of the role played by the National Archives in the field of preserving and restoring historical documents, to enable the researchers to benefit from them in their writings on the history of the United Arab Emirates, and the efforts the National Archives exerts to enhance the sense of belonging to the homeland and loyalty to the wise leadership and to promote the national identity among the citizens of the United Arab Emirates.

His Highness and the accompanying delegation were briefed on Al-Ittihad newspaper, the National Archives presents it in its platform, which documents the first book fair held in Abu Dhabi in December 1974. That fair showed the interest of the builder and founder, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan in building the educated citizen and his interest in spreading knowledge among all the segments of society. Our wise leadership has followed his path in promoting science and culture.

The events of the National Archives started in the morning of the first day of the fair with a number of virtual reading workshops, the first of which was from the book: “Zayed: From Challenges to Union”, in which Hend Al Zaabi, the Educational Programs Specialist in the National Archives, dealt with the birth and education of Sheikh Zayed, his upbringing and his great efforts to build the great union. She stressed in the workshop, which was followed by a large number of students, that the late Sheikh Zayed will remain the symbol of courage and sacrifice for the noble causes in the memory and the hearts of the UAE generations. Among the events was a virtual tour of the National Archives’ platform in the fair.

On the evening of the first day of the fair, Dr. Seddik Gohar, the Translation Expert in the National Archives, presented a virtual lecture entitled: “The Geography of Languages and Historical Reconciliations in Asia to the European Union” in which the lecturer explored linguistic and cultural diversity in a number of countries in Asia and the European Union through a historical and Linguistic perspective. The lecturer research spoke about the linguistic pluralism in the UAE, which has resulted in a parallel cultural pluralism, where more than two hundred nationalities live in the country, speaking different languages and dialects, who are united by hybrid cultures, of which the culture of tolerance prevails in contemporary UAE society, which embodies the meaning of human coexistence in the civilized societies in the new millennium.

A national initiative launched in the Year of Zayed and continues its activities in the Year of Tolerance

The National Archives continues to launch the stories of the National Initiative (Zayed 100 Stories) at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2019

The National Archives continues to publish the stories of the national initiative (Zayed 100 Stories), which it launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Education in the Year of Zayed; With the aim of acquainting generations of students with more of the exploits of the founding leader, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - may God rest his soul in peace - and in this regard, the National Archives launched nine new stories from the initiative (Zayed 100 Stories) in the current edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2019.

The festive atmosphere pervaded the Ministry of Education pavilion at the exhibition. Where the first-place winning students signed their stories and gifted them to the visitors of the exhibition; The stories of this national initiative would enhance moral and patriotic values, qualify students to write sweet stories, encourage them to learn about the history and heritage of the country, and delve deeper into reading the biography of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, from which they draw inspiration from values and governance.

This came with the keenness to organize a signing ceremony for the stories of the national initiative (Zayed 100 stories) amidst an atmosphere of joy and crowds of visitors and participants in the book fair. In order to enhance confidence in students, reward them for their efforts, and encourage other students to follow their example, creativity and excellence.

The National Archives and the (Education) launched the following stories within the same national initiative (Zayed 100 Stories) at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2019: (Zayed Hakim Al Arab) for female students: Mahra Fahd, Fatima Hameed, Sarah Hamad, from Al Himma School, (a great personality). ) for students: Salem Al-Khaili, Darwish Al-Rumaithi, Khaled Al-Hamli, Sultan Al-Marzouqi, Abdullah Badr, from Al-Ittihad National School, and (an achievement that changed their lives) for students: Hamad Al-Qubaisi, Khalifa Al-Ali, Zayed Al-Tunaiji, Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, Moatasem Hamdallah, from Al-Ittihad School Emirates National / Abu Dhabi, (Inspirational Childhood) by the student: Hind Muhammad Abdullah Al Hammadi from Sharjah International Private School.

And the following five national stories ((Sheikh Zayed’s childhood (1), Zayed the man of government (2), Zayed and the story of the union (3), Zayed and the achievements of the union (4), Zayed’s sayings and lessons (5)) by the student Hind Muhammad Abdullah Al Hammadi from Sharjah International School private.

It is noteworthy that the National Archives, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, also launched the first batch of the national initiative (Zayed 100 Stories) at the Sharjah International Book Fair 2018. It consisted of: (The Story of a Knight), (The Green Hand), and (The Conqueror of the Desert). And (I see the future with increasing),

The National Archives has been interested in launching these stories at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, to stress, through this national educational initiative, the importance of highlighting the efforts, achievements and values of the builder and founder, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in order to open new pages of the history of the UAE. And the cognitive and societal values of school students who follow tomorrow’s march in building the country, its renaissance, and preserving its gains.       

The program started in the Year of Zayed and its first class graduated in the Year of Tolerance

The National Archives and the Sorbonne Graduate the First Class in the Professional Certificate in Documents and Archives Management



The National Archives, in partnership with its strategic partner, the Sorbonne University, graduated the first batch of participants in the Professional Certificate in Documents and Archives Management, at the headquarters of the Sorbonne University - Abu Dhabi, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Al Raisi, Director General of the National Archives, and His Excellency Ludovic Pouy, the French Ambassador to the UAE. United Arab Emirates, and Professor Eric Fouach, Director of the Sorbonne University, who praised the specialized training program that was able to qualify the participants to learn how to manage electronic documents, manage current and intermediate documents, and keep records and historical documents.

The celebration began with a speech by Professor Fouache, Director of the Sorbonne University, who welcomed all the participants and praised the participants’ commitment to the program’s courses, and thanked the National Archives for its positive cooperation in this initiative and in all joint activities and events.

On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al Raisi delivered a speech in which he praised the cooperation with the prestigious Sorbonne University, and expressed his happiness at the success of the intensive training program, and that the graduation of the first batch of the professional certificate in Documents and Archives Management would take place in the Year of Tolerance, expressing his optimism that this program had begun. In the Year of Zayed, he graduated the first batch in the Year of Tolerance, and pointed out that the Year of Tolerance will be the starting point for a bachelor's program in archiving and documentation, and it will be followed by a master's program in the same specialty at a time when the profession of the archivist has become no less important than the profession of the doctor, engineer, and others. It works to preserve and protect national archival treasures.

His Excellency congratulated the graduates, hoping that they would benefit from the knowledge and knowledge they gained in this intensive training program, in order to organize the official and government archives, and this is what the government agencies are keen on in order to preserve and restore the holdings of their archives, and not to destroy or lose them.

His Excellency added: It is fortunate that the graduation of this batch coincides with our celebration next week of launching the Digital Archive for Arab Gulf Documents project, and announcing the logo of the International Archives Congress, which the UAE will host next year 2020, in the meetings of the Executive Office of the International Council of Archives. And the meetings of the National Archives Forum in the world, and they are in the process of preparing for the Congress of the International Council on Archives 2020, the largest gathering of archivists in the world, which will be hosted by the UAE in Abu Dhabi next year.

His Excellency the French Ambassador Ludovic Pouille delivered a speech in which he congratulated the graduates on their fruitful efforts and on their graduation from the Sorbonne University, which was known for its prestigious position among academic institutions globally, and considered the graduates ambassadors of the message of openness and tolerance. He expressed his happiness at the results of the partnership between the UAE National Archives and Sorbonne University - Abu Dhabi. Pointing out the importance of the program in the knowledge and professional fields.

This came in the presence of the first batch graduates, Dr. Fatima Al Shamsi, Deputy Director for Administrative Affairs at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, His Excellency Majid Al Muhairi, Executive Director, Mr. Hamad Al Mutairi, Director of Archives Department, a number of employees and coordinators at the National Archives, and some Sorbonne University employees.

The National Archives and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi virtual graduation ceremony for the fourth batch of Graduates of the Archives and Records Management Professional Certificate 

The National Archives, in cooperation with its strategic partner, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, organized a virtual ceremony to honor the fourth batch of the Archives and Records Management professional certificate graduates. His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Mohammed Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives, opened the ceremony and praised this professional certificate program that has proven very successful and effective, with the graduation of the fourth batch of graduates, stressing that its success is indicated through its graduates gained experience which is in turn reflected in their respective fields of work in the UAE official and Government entities’ archives.

H.E. added: We highly appreciate our fruitful and constructive cooperation with the established Sorbonne University, whether in this professional certificate program, or the Bachelor of Records Management and Archival Sciences, or the Master’s degree in Records management and Archival studies program that will be launched at the beginning of the next academic year, stressing the importance of their mutual scientific, professional and academic integration in terms of developing archival sciences and records management specialized studies and research, and educating generations to understand and value the importance of archives and their role as the memory of the nation, and the sound base for decision-making in any professional field.

In his speech, His Excellency also explained the national role which the National Archives plays in organizing the archives of more than 300 UAE government institutions, and announced the UAE Council of Ministers approved merge between the National Library and the National Archives in the UAE to meet the various knowledge needs. He stressed the importance of using data science and artificial intelligence to develop documentation and archiving processes. He emphasized the significance of the fourth batch, as distinct from previous ones, since it witnessed the Covid-19 challenge and the global measures adopted to counter and contain it, at which stage the University students and staff-members demonstrated their full commitment to overcome this challenge and displayed strict adherence to all necessary preventative and precautionary measures. His Excellency congratulated all the graduates, and encouraged them to apply and employ their gained experience from this program to advance the archives and archival business in their respective workplaces, prove their distinction and excellence.  I would also like to extend special thanks to both the Sorbonne University and the National Archives liaison team in charge of coordination for this professional certificate program, along with all experts and teachers who have spared no effort to support it.

Professor Silvia Serrano, Executive Director of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, said: Today, we are reaping the fruits of the successful cooperation between the National Archives of the UAE and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, and we are fully confident that this cooperation will produce generations of qualified experts. We have recently launched a bachelor's program in Records management and archival sciences, and we seek to launch a Master's degree program at the beginning of the next academic year, and to accomplish many research projects in this field Which will, in turn, contribute to developing qualified cadres in charge of archiving process in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East.

The graduation ceremony included a detailed presentation on the fourth batch of this professional certificate presented by Mr. Hamad Al-Mutairi, Director of the Archives Department, in which he explained that the fourth batch graduates are professional Archivists employed respectively in the: National Archives, Armed Forces, Ministry of Defense, Insurance Authority, and Department of Culture and Tourism. This program began on January 10, 2021, and indicated that the National Archives took great interest in this professional certificate, and provided full support in the Archives and Records Management field, through the following modules:

General Introduction to Documentation and Archiving, Archival Legislation and Archiving Standards, Current and semi-current Archives management, Scientific Processing of Archives, Archival and Conservation buildings, and Electronic Archives management.

The presentation included the total number of graduates of all previous batches, and their respective institutions which enrolled them for this program.

The ceremony took place in the presence of Professor Silvia Serrano, Executive Director of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, Mr. Hamad Al-Mutairi, Director of the Archives Department of the National Archives, Mr. Yann Rodier, Head of the History Department at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, and a number of the program experts and officials, in addition to the participants and alumni graduates of this batch.