The 2005 BoT Annual Meeting and inauguration of Einstein and Bulaq Press Exhibitions
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Alexandria, 2 June 2005—Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, Chair of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), headed the Annual Meeting of the BoT, 2 June 2005. One of the agenda items of the meeting was the appointment of four new members: Mrs. Lourdes Arizpe, Professor-researcher at Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidisciplinarias, National University of Mexico; Dr. Julia Marton-Lefèvre: Rector of the University of Peace in San Jose, Costa Rica; Dr. Mamphela Ramphele: co-chair of a new UN Commission of International Migration; and Professor Ghassan Salamé, Professor of Political Sciences at Saint-Joseph University, American University of Beirut and Paris I University.
The meeting also discussed the launch the Peace Studies Institute in the Library of Alexandria. Devoted to at least six distinct areas of studies, it will involve international and national specialists, and focus on both theory and practice, drawing case studies from actual local, regional and international experience to understand the factors of success and the pitfalls that may lead to failure. These areas are: Law, ethics and human rights; Conflict resolution and post-conflict areas; Mediation and negotiation in theory and practice; Promoting the culture of peace; Human security and peace; and Gender and peace building.
In addition, Dr. Serageldin presented the major achievements of the BA in past year. They include the BA’s joining the Digital Library Federation (DLF) as its first Strategic Partner from outside the USA and Europe (after the British Library), the first in the Middle East, and the second outside the USA. This will allow the BA to participate in the world-wide effort of developing and promoting strategies and standards for creating and maintaining sustainable and scalable digital collections.
The digitization of Description de l’Égypte and its preparation on DVD, was also highlighted. Eleven plate volumes, owned by the BA, and nine text volumes, owned by l’Institut d’Égypte, were fully digitized, integrated on a virtual browser and are available in DVD format to the public through this pioneering endeavor.
Dr. Serageldin also pointed out the preservation of former President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s heritage, with the digitization of his collection, and its publishing through an integrated searchable web-based system, mainly intended for research and documentation purposes.
Partnerships in projects were also touched upon, including the OACIS (Online Access to Consolidated Information on Serials) project, initiated by the Yale University Library. OACIS aims to improve access to Middle Eastern journals and serials in libraries in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East and to make scholarly literature from, and about, the Middle East widely and easily available to scholars around the world in print, microform, and online. This is to help develop a better understanding of the varied economies, politics, languages, and cultures of the Middle East.
During the meeting, a number of future events and activities to take place in the coming year were presented. They include the BioVisionAlexandria 2006 conference; an Exhibition celebrating the elapse of 25 years on Aga Khan Prize’s initiation; the African Art and Culture Exhibition; the Fourth International Alexandrina Book Fair; Emam Mohamed Abdo Centenary Exhibition; Mohamed Aly Conference; and Arab Reform Conference.
Other future projects for the coming year were also discussed, including the “Bringing 19th and 20th Century Arabic Literature to the Digital Age” project, which aims to select, collect, digitize, catalog and make available through the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s website the best Arabic literary works that are of great interest to the local and international community. Another project is “The Mediterranean Green Library: Raising Environmental Awareness” that aims to promote public awareness on global, regional and local environmental and developmental issues.
The Annual Meeting was preceded by the inauguration of the Einstein Exhibition by Mrs. Mubarak. Organized in coordination with the American Museum of Natural History, and accompanying the Einstein Symposium, it includes rare pictures and copies of Einstein’s important documents.
Mrs. Mubarak also met with and welcomed the winners of the UNESCO/Suzanne Mubarak/Japan-Egypt Friendship Research Fellowships for the Empowerment of Women in Peace and Gender Studies program of which the BA is the host institution. The program aims to enhance the role of women in society, and their participation in studies and research on peace and development.
During the course of her visit, H.E. also inaugurated the Bulaq Press Exhibition organized within the framework of celebrating the reign of Mohamed Aly 200 years ago. It includes the available machines of the Bulaq Press since the reign of Mohamed Aly in the early 19th century, which reflect the immense transformations that took place in Egypt, and the renaissance and development at that time.
Later in the afternoon, and on behalf of Mrs. Mubarak, Dr. Ismail Serageldin inaugurated the first Third World Academy of Sciences Arab Regional Office (TWAS-ARO) meeting to launch the TWAS-ARO, bringing together over thirty TWAS members from twelve different countries in the region to discuss the objectives, strategy and work plan of the regional office. Headquartered at the BA, the TWAS-ARO aims to promote the activities of TWAS and its affiliated organizations, in addition to promoting scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the region.
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Mrs. Mubarak at the
Einstein Exhibition |
Mrs. Mubarak at the
Bulaq Exhibition |
The BoT Annual Meeting |