Doha: The House of Wisdom (HoW) Sharjah has looked into potential collaborations and partnership prospects in the heritage and cultural domains with the Qatar National Library (QNL) in keeping with its ongoing goal to establish alliances and share information.
The Sharjah delegation, spearheaded by Marwa Al Aqroubi, Executive Director of HoW, was received by Huism Tan, Executive Director of QNL, who lauded HoW’s efforts and activities to enhance dialogue and interaction between cultures and civilizations.
Discussions between the two sides explored cooperation and best practices in resource management, preservation, digitization, documentation, and organizing exhibitions. The Sharjah delegation highlighted HoW events, exhibitions, and activities to highlight the Arab, Islamic, and human heritage and creativity and instill the love of reading and knowledge in all segments of the communities.
The Sharjah delegation explored QNL, gaining insights into its valuable collections of rare manuscripts and state-of-the-art facilities, including the Creativity Station, Children’s Library, Heritage Library, and multimedia rooms. They also explored the ‘Letters of Faith: Arabic Calligraphy in Indonesia’ exhibition, which exemplifies the collaborative spirit between the institutions and showcases the influence of Arabic calligraphy on Indonesian art and culture.
Marwa Al Aqroubi emphasized the importance of cooperation among Arab cultural institutions, praising the advanced facilities and modern practices of QNL. She noted that these reflect its vision of providing high-quality knowledge and cultural services to the local, Arab, and global communities. Al Aqroubi said: “We look forward to collaborating with the Qatar National Library in organizing various cultural events and activities that support our efforts in building a knowledge-based society.”
“Both HoW and QNL share the common goals of fostering culture and knowledge and highlighting the local, Gulf, Arab, and Islamic cultural heritage, as well as keeping pace with global developments in preservation and digitization. Hence, we aim to forge strategic partnerships, contributing to our mission of spreading culture and knowledge in the region and the world,” Aqroubi added.
During the visit to Qatar, the HoW delegation participated in the 27th Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Special Libraries Association – Arabian Gulf Chapter. They also visited the Museum of Islamic Art and the Children’s Literature Centre.