Qatar National Archives in first participation in Darb Al Saai

Qatar National Archives is participating with a distinguished pavilion in Darb Al Saai as part of the agency's commitment to enhancing community awareness of the importance of national archives and their role in documenting the country's history and connecting new generations with its national heritage.The agency opened its pavilion Wednesday in the presence of HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Thani, Minister of Culture, HE Ghanem bin Shaheen al Ghanem, Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Mohammed bin Ali al-Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud, former Speaker of the Shura Council, HE Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Qatar National Archives, HE Abdulaziz bin Nasser bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, President of the Civil Service Bureau and Government Development, Secretary-General of the National Planning Council, HE Dr Hassan al-Derham, former president of Qatar University, and a number of Their Excellencies the ambassadors accredited to Qatar.The Qatar National Archives presented a comprehensive vision of the importance of documents in preserving the national identity. The pavilion offers a unique experience for visitors, through a virtual journey that takes them between prominent stages in Qatar's history using the latest digital technologies.Activities in the pavilion include a mural that highlights statistics on the urban and population renaissance in Qatar, in addition to a collection of rare documents that shed light on the stages of the country’s development throughout the ages. The pavilion also offers educational and interactive programmes for children, such as the "Play and Learn with Dar” competition, which combines entertainment and education, and the "Bishtakhta Dar” competition (Bishtakhta is an old term of non-Arabic origin, means gramaphone) which encourages children to explore documents in an innovative and fun way.One of the most prominent activities of the National Archives at Darb Al Saai is the co-operation with the Center for Empowerment and Elderly Care (Ehsan), with the attendance of prominent figures as guests of honour at the National Archives’ pavilion, due to the importance of their distinguished role, and as one of the most important pillars of society on which the national identity is built.In this regard, Dr Ahmed Abdullah al-Buainain, Secretary-General of the Qatar National Archives, stated: "Our first participation in Darb Al Saai reflects the commitment of the Qatar National Archives to protect the documentary heritage of Qatar as a fundamental pillar of the national identity. Through this initiative, we seek to build sustainable awareness of the importance of documents as a strategic tool for understanding our present and documenting our past which supports the national development process and enhances our vision to achieve the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030. This participation is not just a celebration of the National Day, but rather a step towards enhancing the role of documents in preserving the nation’s memory and building a sustainable future.”The activities of the Qatar National Archives also include presenting a working paper titled "Qatar Statistics in the Ottoman Archives,” which sheds light on rare historical sources that provide accurate data about Qatar during the early stages of its history.