A dialogue session celebrating the 49th National Day
"The UAE is a talk of history and memory" ... with the vision of its educated children in the "symposium"
The participants recommended the formation of a national committee to write history curricula at various school levels, in order to familiarize generations with the stages of their history.
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The Culture and Science Symposium in Dubai celebrated the 49th National Day of the United Arab Emirates, with a dialogue session entitled: “The UAE Modern History and Memory”, in which Dr. Youssef Al-Hassan, Dr. Fatima Al-Sayegh, researcher Abdullah Abdul-Rahman and writer Saeed Hamdan, moderated the discussion, Dr. Rafia Ghobash.
The head of the cultural committee at the symposium, writer Aisha Sultan, welcomed the participants to the virtual session, noting their efforts and their luminous imprint in writing about the history of the UAE.
Rafia Ghobash said, “The topic of the symposium is different, because what is known in the National Day celebrations is to focus on the future, but the historical dimension and its documentation through memory and literature is more important and interesting,” noting that she contacted the writer Muhammad Al-Murr, to see the books published on the history of the Emirates He showed her to the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, which so far includes thousands of books on the history of the UAE, and the library is still acquiring more.
An experiment in documentation
While Fatima Al-Sayegh said, “History, as the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, said (it is the solid ground on which we stand, whoever has no past has no present and no future), so since the beginning of the union the focus has been on history, because it is From it we draw identity, values and principles of the union. ”
Fatima Al-Sayegh reviewed her experience documenting the history of the Emirates, as it is different.
For his part, the researcher Abdullah Abdul Rahman touched on the oral history of the UAE, pointing out that the available resources are indispensable when introducing oral history and interviewing narrators, adding that his book “The Emirates in the Memory of Its Children” documented the social, cultural and economic life, and was supported by most cultural bodies in the country. The effort exerted on it, and all the editions of the book are running out, which indicates the researcher and reader’s need for these writings that give a picture of the past of life in the UAE society.
Shared memory
For his part, Youssef Al-Hassan said that the components of a shared memory in any society are awareness of the nation’s history, and this shared history is the most important component of the national identity, indicating that he lived the three years preceding the history of the Union, so it is not sufficient to view a document without possessing a scientific methodology in reading it. And he examined them, especially since most of the documents, although they are estimated individual efforts, were written by travelers, naval officers, and trade agents, and those who worked with the British Empire.
Al-Hassan added: “There is a true historian, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, who devoted himself since 1979 to end the concrete revolution and start the culture revolution, and the first step towards rewriting the history of the region was the first doctoral thesis on ( The myth of Arab piracy in the Gulf region).
The history of the region needs to be refined. There is a lot of forgery in some documents and our reading of them. The memory of this generation needs documented, revised and audited material.
Al-Hassan continued: “His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, a meticulous historian with a patriotic sense and zeal for his country and his nation, searches, investigates and circulates capitals, museums and centers of the world to re-read and write documents, and he has published dozens of books.”
change
While the writer Saeed Hamdan Al-Tunaiji stressed the importance of having a real researcher writing in history, pointing out the absence of a number of great writers this year.
He added, “With the passage of the state’s life, the data of book makers changed. In publishing and translation as well, as well as the Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation, the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi, and many other institutions.
He emphasized that many institutions are looking for real researchers to support the book industry.
Recommendations
At the conclusion of the session, "The UAE, Modern History and Memory", the participants made several recommendations, including:
Rewriting national history, in light of an integrated national project.
Forming a national committee of Emiratis to write history curricula at various educational levels, so that future generations can learn about the stages of their history.
- Staying away from excessive sensitivity when writing history, as it is part of the truth in order not to be subject to false statements.
Creating an electronic platform that includes all historical product, classified politically, historically, socially and culturally, to be a reference for the researcher, in which the addresses of all cultural and research institutions are placed, and proposed topics for proposed periods of study.
Presence
The virtual session witnessed the presence of the Head of the Cultural Committee in the Culture and Science Symposium in Dubai, Aisha Sultan, and the managing director of the symposium, Dr. Salah Al-Qasim, Dr. Maryam Al-Hashemi, Dr. Badriya Al-Shamsi, Dr. Hamad bin Saray, and a group of interested parties.
Youssef Al-Hassan:
"The memory of this generation needs to be documented, revised, and scrutinized."
Fatima Al-Sayegh:
"History, as Sheikh Zayed said (it is the solid ground on which we stand)."
Saeed Hamdan:
"Many institutions are looking for the real researcher to support the book industry."
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