As part of the ongoing collaboration between Al Wasl University and the Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage, the Department of Library and Information Science at the College of Arts, Al Wasl University in Dubai, organized a scientific seminar on Thursday, 23 October 2025, titled “Digital Preservation of Manuscripts: The Efforts of the Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage.”
The seminar was delivered by Dr. Mohamed Kamel Gad, Director-General of the Center, and moderated by Prof. Alaa Abdel Sattar Maghawry.
The event was attended by Prof. Mohamed Ahmed Abdelrahman, University Chancellor, along with vice chancellors, deans of colleges, several faculty members, and a group of students.
Dr. Mohamed Kamel opened the seminar by highlighting the importance of manuscripts and their role in documenting the development of sciences and literature throughout the ages. He reviewed the efforts of H.E. Juma Al Majid, the Center’s founder, in preserving manuscript heritage, and outlined the Center’s global role in digitizing manuscripts and making them accessible to researchers through a unified platform. He also discussed the Center’s efforts in rescuing thousands of manuscripts through digitization and restoration in remote and lesser-known locations.
Dr. Mohamed also highlighted the digitization standards adopted by the Center, both in its internal and external laboratories, explaining the workflow that enabled the Center to compile approximately one million and fifty thousand digitized manuscripts, now accessible to researchers.
He went on to discuss the Center’s 25-year journey in developing access protocols, refining classical texts, and facilitating cataloging and classification processes, in addition to keeping pace with the accelerating digital revolution and employing artificial intelligence tools based on international imaging standards. He emphasized the significant impact of the Center’s large-scale digitization efforts on future heritage studies.
The speaker also defined the concept of digital preservation, outlining its most important roles in protecting manuscript heritage from damage and loss. He reviewed the latest techniques used in digital restoration and high-resolution scanning technologies, and highlighted the importance of developing digital databases and smart manuscript catalogs that ease access and contribute to preservation.
At the end of the seminar, the floor was opened for discussion and questions from faculty members and students. Prof. Mohamed Ahmed Abdelrahman, University Chancellor, honored Dr. Mohamed Kamel, Director-General of the Juma Al Majid Center, with a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his efforts and distinguished contribution to the seminar’s success.
