| ictQatar, Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage and Qatar National Library (QNL) officials at the MoU signing for the digitisation of Qatar’s heritage and cultural materials. |
The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ictQatar), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage (MoCAH) and Qatar National Library (QNL), has initiated a pilot project for the digitisation of the country’s heritage materials.
ictQatar has signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Culture and QNL on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Qitcom 2014 to launch the project.
The MoU was signed by ictQatar’s Internet and Society executive director Reem al-Mansoori, Ministry of Culture’s Heritage Department head Hamad al-Muhanadi and QNL project director Dr Claudia Lux.
The project involves the digitisation of audiovisual materials and pictures related to Qatar’s culture and heritage that could be lost to natural deterioration or from becoming technologically obsolete.
The QNL was selected to play the role of a “national digital conversion centre”. The library is already a centre of excellence due to its experience in digitising historical items from its extensive heritage collection for publication on websites, including the World Digital Library.
Following the MoU, QNL will use its state-of-the-art resources and technical staff to implement the pilot project, which will see a selection of the digitised audiovisual and picture content published online through a public portal to be managed by the library.
Throughout the project, the ictQatar will be overseeing the digitisation process to observe compliance with the policies and standards of the digitisation of Qatar’s culture, heritage and media.
“The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology realises the importance of preserving Qatar’s heritage. Together with partner organisations in the media, culture, and heritage sectors, the ministry can develop new ways of using technology to preserve and disseminate Qatar’s national heritage,” said al-Mansoori.
“The pilot project is an important first step in the ministry’s national plan to digitise, preserve, and share Qatar’s rich Arab and Islamic heritage online. By making Qatar’s heritage accessible on the Internet, we not only connect our youth with their heritage and traditions but also enable them to express their identity in new and innovative ways,” she added.
