Riyadh organizes international symposium on national archives in Islamic countries to mark International Archives Day

RIYADH, TGO: In celebration of the International Archives Day, the Saudi capital, Riyadh is preparing to host an international scientific symposium on the national archives in the Islamic countries, on Thursday.

The symposium, organized by the Saudi National Centre for Archives and Records, will be held under the theme, “National Archives in the Islamic Countries: Distinguished Experiences and Future Directions.”

The General Supervisor of the National Centre for Archives and Records, Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Semari, indicated that the symposium centres around diagnosing the current state of national archives in Islamic countries, identifying obstacles and studying the international experiences to draw lessons from them to anticipate the future and identify ways to advance these archives.

“It will focus on unifying efforts to strengthen joint Islamic action, exchange experiences and technical cooperation, organize symposiums, workshops, and training programmes in archives, and enhance and develop the capabilities of archives in the Islamic countries,” Al-Semari added.

He noted that the symposium would witness a wide Islamic and international presence with the participation of the President of the International Council on Archives, David Fricker, the heads of the National Archives in the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and several researchers and specialists in the field of documentation and archiving.

“Organizing such a scientific symposium at the level of Islamic countries comes as a continuation of the efforts of the Saudi National Centre for Archives and Records to promote relations with counterpart centres regionally and internationally to advance cooperation and exchange expertise and skills,” Al-Semari said. The symposium also aligns with the direction of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represented by its leadership to strengthen the pioneering role of the country in various fields, especially records and archives.