AS previously mentioned in the articles of this series, the Steering Committee of the Memory of the Arab World Project convened twice, first in Sharjah and later in Damascus. The focus of this article is the third meeting of that committee, which took place in Egypt at the Centre for Documentatiorn of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) in January 2009.
The plenary session of the meeting started with pre¬sentations concerning the role of international organi¬sations in the preservation and promotion of heritage, such as the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation (UNESCO), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and .scientific Organisation (ALECSO) and Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO). These were followed by speakers from Arab countries sharing their knowl¬edge and experience in the field of documentation of cultural heritage in its various aspects.
The meeting also included four parallel workshops focusing on three specific cultural heritage themes (manuscripts, architectural and urban heritage, and folklore) to set the methodologies and develop the pro¬cedures to be followed in gathering and diffusing the content. The fourth theme that was covered in detail, concentrated on bringing together major events, of political. social, economic and cultural nature in a timeline for the Arab countries’ history.
The first edition of the Handbook of Arab organisa¬tions operating in the field of cultural heritage was launched. Participants took the initiative of enriching the handbook by adding a section for experts working in the field and another for publications that are avail¬able in the different countries in the field of heritage.
Additionally, the prototype of the operational web¬site that contains the information system was launched along with the main website for the project that can be visited on http://www.memoryarabworld.net. Participants also reached the consensus that training workshops should be organised for the selected cultur¬al heritage themes.
Moreover, they agreed to investigate additional cul¬tural heritage subjects during the coming six months. The last decision was to arrange for the next meeting to be held in July in the city of Fez in Morocco, and for the fifth one to take place in January 2010 in Manama, Bahrain.
.In conclusion, the last five articles recounted how the ‘idea of the Memory of the Arab World Project was born, how it was adopted by the Arab League, how CULTNAT was entrusted with the task of coordinating activities between participating countries and how each country is hosting one of the Steering Committee meetings.
It will definitely take decades to compile the need¬ed information, but the grand march has started and successive generations will continue following the des¬ignated path towards a proper documentation of Arab heritage.
Upon ALESCO’s recommendation the Arab minis¬ters of culture approved the Memory of the Arab World Project during their last regional meeting, giving it their support; and accordingly, they sent representa¬tives to participate in the third meeting. Operating under such highly involved auspices is considered a major achievement.
