The Heritage Library at Qatar National Library is commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Nakba in Palestine, as it is organizing a symposium on this occasion, on May 15, under the title “75 Years since the Nakba: Archiving as a Tool to Enhance Existence and Identity.” The library is organizing the symposium in cooperation with the Khazaen Foundation for Community Archives, and it will be held virtually via Zoom, in addition to a live broadcast on the official library channel on YouTube. The axes of this symposium raise the importance of re-collecting and reading the archives, with the aim of learning, strengthening points of strength, and building renaissance projects oriented towards building knowledge, which constitutes a building stage for a new social history with an open awareness and the formation of identity, which is the basis of the essence of the issue and the basis of all existence. The symposium starts by examining the effects of the Nakba on Members of the Palestinian society and what caused the state of fragmentation in memory, scattering of identity, and the loss of vital parts of it. The virtual symposium will be initiated by Ms. Ikhlas Ahmed, an employee of informational tours and exhibitions, by providing a brief overview of what the Heritage Library contains of rare collections related to the written history of Palestine, which vary between printed books, magazines and periodicals, in addition to maps, as well as a group of documents and archives, and their importance in studying the historical aspect of Palestine and the relationship With current and contemporary history. The library’s organization of this symposium stems from the fact that historically Palestine is a subject of interest to travelers and explorers, passing through various eras and events, up to the contemporary period with the continuous struggle, where the importance of preserving the history of the past and building on it is crystallized by preserving the characteristics of collective identity, and overcoming the Nakba through people’s memory and archives. Professor Fadi Asleh, a researcher in Palestinian history who specializes in writing Palestinian village history as a parallel source for reading Palestinian history, will discuss the importance of archiving through the work of the Khazaen Foundation as a community project that starts from people and returns to them, as reference will be made to the archiving steps, from collection and documentation to knowledge production. Khazaen is a community archive documenting people’s stories by collecting materials and short-term publications (pamphlets, flyers, invitations, posters, documents) in addition to photos from Palestine and the Arab world. Khazaen seeks to build a knowledge resource that constitutes a space for the production and provision of cultural and cognitive content, that contributes to the study of societal history and provides those interested with research tools that help them study the past, understand the present and build the future. The first of 2016. It aims to promote a rising Palestinian society in consciousness, preserving its memory, and protecting its legacy, capable of making its future. The National Library has previously held several events related to Al-Quds Al-Sharif and highlighting the importance of the Palestinian cause. It also published a collection of historical photographs, which the Heritage Library abounds in, highlighting the rich history of the Arabs in Palestine.
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