Dubai’s 2nd Historical Documents Conference Launched At Zayed University

The 2nd Annual Heritage Conference was inaugurated Under the Patronage of H.E Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, President of Zayed University yesterday (April 11) at Zayed University Dubai Campus and resumes today (April 12).

The major two-day event, titled ‘Dubai Historical Documents Conference’ was organized by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University with Dubai Municipality and sponsored by the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC).

The conference, showcased original historical documents, was a vibrant platform for scientific dialogue between specialists from various fields. It reviewed the history of Dubai and the turning points the has emirate lived, and sailed through the rich plethora of original documents.

Many discussions were carried around the best ways and modern dedicated technology tools to preserve these historical documents, or in other words, “The true inspirational treasure chests preserved to our present and future generations,” said Prof. Reyadh Al Mehaideb, Vice-President of Zayed University.

“We acknowledge and honour all efforts paid by our great leaders to the development of our citizens through education, therefore, we place high priority and responsibility to maintain the achievements cycle and development witnessed in all fields of our beloved nation today.”

He further added, that all-in-all these endeavors are aimed at meeting the aspirations of the national agenda and realizing the vision of the UAE 2021, which emphasizes the development of a first-rate education system, with plans to provide the opportunity to introduce all the latest scientific research content, local initiatives of good leadership in the country and ongoing global events.

Representing the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center, His Excellency Rashid bin Makhan, Executive Vice President, honored the Zayed University students for their excellent contribution to the third annual Heritage Scientific Research Competition, and acknowledged all efforts made by faculty members and staff for their great tribute to publishing the 3rd issue of the ‘Emirates Flashes’ magazine, published by the HHC center.

“The magazine, which included the students research projects, ran under the supervision of Dr. Asma Obaid, Assistant Professor the ZU college of Humanities and Social Sciences, it includes five main research areas, ranging from marriage and social relations to the methods of education and childhood.

Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Shehhi, Chairman, Dubai Municipality Historical Documents Center, said during his speech that the center, which hosts over “100,000 historical documents, was established back in 2016 to collect and acquire historical documents of Dubai as well as oversee the restoration of historical documents and preserve them from damage and loss, and prepare historical and documentary studies about the emirate.”

In addition, he added, “The center will adopt best practices in the preparation and implementation of programmes for encoding, indexing, preserving and organizing the circulation of historical documents and making them available to researchers.” He stressed on the continuous efforts of the municipality in compiling these valuable documents that can help in documenting the history of Dubai and the UAE.