A lecture by the National Archives and Library stressing the importance of oral history in preserving national heritage
Abu Dhabi, March 23 / WAM / The virtual lecture, organized by the National Archives and the National Library in conjunction with the Reading Month in the “Year of the Family” and presented by researcher Abdullah Al Khouri, emphasized the importance of oral history as a main source for documenting vital aspects of the history of the UAE.
The lecture, which was titled “Oral History and Ways to Document It,” explained that oral narratives contain rare information that fills the gaps in written documents, and contributes to attracting the reader and highlighting the features of the national heritage. The event began with a quote by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, which established the importance of recalling the past to build the present and the future.
The lecture reviewed the legal and conceptual framework for collecting oral material using systematic and scientific methods, highlighting the role of archives in recording narratives and preserving them for researchers to enrich knowledge databases.
She touched on the mechanisms of collecting oral history through direct interviews with citizens who lived through different stages of the state’s history, explaining the differences between it and written history because it relies on voice narration and gestures, which gives it a deeper human dimension. She also explained the precise stages of documentation, starting with preparation and coordination with the narrator, all the way to transcribing the material and classifying it according to professional guidelines that guarantee the accuracy of the information.
The lecture concluded by highlighting the role of modern technologies in this field, where researcher Abdullah Al-Khouri revealed that the National Archives and Library had developed a program based on artificial intelligence techniques to transcribe audio recordings and convert them into written texts, which accelerates the documentation processes and preserves national memory, supported by presenting examples of interviews documenting live testimonies from the memory of Emirati society.
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