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19 December 2024

Delegation from Kyoto Notre Dame University in Japan visits Juma Al Majid Center

Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Dubai welcomed a student delegation from Kyoto Notre Dame University in Japan, led by Dr. Akiko Sumi, Professor of Arabic Literature at the university. The delegation consisted of 19 female students from various academic disciplines.
The visit aimed to explore the services provided by the center to researchers and scholars from diverse universities and learn about its experience in preserving human heritage through the provision of rare books and manuscripts.
Dr. Mohammed Kamel Gad, Director-General of the center, began the meeting by welcoming the delegation and providing a detailed presentation on the center’s history and its unique services. He highlighted the vision of Mr. Juma Al Majid, the center’s founder, who foresaw the importance of digitizing books and manuscripts early on. This vision facilitated global knowledge dissemination, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the center continued offering its services electronically via platforms such as WhatsApp and email.
Dr. Mohammed also spoke about the cultural collaboration between the center and Kyoto Notre Dame University, emphasizing how digital platforms have played a significant role in promoting the center’s services in East Asia and other regions, leading to this visit by the university’s students.
Following the meeting, Mr. Imad Al-Saadi guided the delegation on a tour of the center’s various sections. They visited the “Journey of Giving” exhibition and the reading hall, where they observed the services available to researchers. The group also toured the private libraries section, where they learned about significant collections acquired by the center, including the Mitsubishi Library from Japan. This library is the second most important foreign private library in the center’s collection, comprising 722 books that cover diverse topics ranging from Japanese heritage to culinary arts and folklore. Among its oldest works is The Book of Tea, printed in 1956, which explores Japanese tea traditions and customs.
The delegation then proceeded to the technical processing section, where they received a detailed explanation of the methods used for cataloging and classifying printed books. The tour concluded in the manuscripts section, where the delegation viewed a selection of rare original manuscripts housed at the center.
At the end of their visit, the delegation expressed their admiration for the center and its dedicated team, praising its vital role in preserving human heritage and offering advanced services to researchers and students.