A historic step towards safeguarding the world’s cultural and educational heritage for future generations
Paris, May 21, 2025
His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, witnessed the signing of an agreement at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris to digitise UNESCO’s global archive in the presence of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, and HE Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. The USD 6 million project is funded by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA).
The signing ceremony at UNESCO’s headquarters, featured Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the SBA, signing the agreement alongside Jennifer Linkins, Assistant Director-General for Administration and Management at UNESCO. The agreement will preserve human heritage, protect international records, and ensure permanent digital access to these invaluable resources, aligning with the directives of the Sharjah Ruler. The five-year project will digitise books, manuscripts, audio recordings, documentary films, and other materials.
His Highness toured the UNESCO Library and Archives, and was briefed on some of its most notable documents, books, manuscripts and more. The Sharjah Ruler also learned about the library’s key roles in supporting the organisation’s work and leveraging its cultural content to strengthen the role of UNESCO and its personnel.
His Highness reviewed important historical documents affected by various conditions that could lead to deterioration. This underscores the importance of the agreement to digitise UNESCO’s archive to safeguard its cultural, intellectual and historical content.
UNESCO’s archive is among the largest and most important institutional collections globally. Spanning nearly eighty years, it contains more than 2.5 million pages chronicling the organisation’s work since its establishment in 1945, alongside 165,000 rare photographs and thousands of hours of audiovisual recordings. These materials document key moments in the world’s cultural and educational history, including major meetings, treaties, international correspondence, and initiatives to safeguard heritage.
While several initiatives have been launched over the years to digitise this vast archive, only about 5% of its content has been successfully digitised to date, largely due to limited resources and logistical challenges. This leaves approximately 95% of UNESCO’s archival materials undigitised—a gap that poses a serious threat as many physical items deteriorate due to age and fragility. This reality underscores the urgent need to accelerate comprehensive digitisation efforts to preserve this unparalleled intellectual and cultural legacy.
Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of SBA, said: “This initiative reflects the emirate’s continued commitment to preserving human heritage and safeguarding the collective memory of the world. Through it, we have reinforced knowledge as a cornerstone of sustainable human development. The UNESCO archive is one of the rarest and most valuable global thought, education, culture, and heritage repositories. Preserving it is a moral obligation and a shared international responsibility to ensure its availability to future generations.”
She added: “Sharjah has long upheld the principle that access to knowledge should be equitable and inclusive, and its preservation is vital to fostering creativity and progress. This initiative opens new avenues for international collaboration, helping to shape a future that respects the past and offers future generations the opportunity to engage with history and learn from its lessons.”
The initiative reaffirms Sharjah’s ongoing commitment to advancing knowledge and supporting humanitarian endeavours under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. It also underscores the emirate’s status as a global centre for preserving human heritage, promoting culture, and strengthening Arab representation in international organisations dedicated to education, science, and cultural development.
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