The first-ever International Conference on Digital Archiving in the Arab World (DA|AW), held in Abu Dhabi in 2019, organized to spark off a series of conferences on the subject. Four years later, and following a global epidemic, it is time to reassemble for exploring and move ahead with the practises, experiences, and challenges of digital archiving in the Arab World. The inaugural colloquium/conference examined the issues of data preservation in the Arab world and eventually resulted in a publication release that continues to serve as a reference for researching the subject today (Bayoumi & Oliveau, 2020). At DAAW|2024, we aspire to address it through the more focused standpoint of the digital management and preservation of data and documents, without foregoing a broader reflection, concerning both historical and future documents and data in danger whether physical or natively digital.

 

International conference on Digital Archiving in the Arab World (DA|AW)

29th till 31st October, 2024

Argument

What is DAAW 2024?

“Archive as if the future depends on it.”― Lisbet Tellefsen, archivist

The first-ever International Conference on Digital Archiving in the Arab World (DA|AW), held in Abu Dhabi in 2019, organized to spark off a series of conferences on the subject. Four years later, and following a global epidemic, it is time to reassemble for exploring and move ahead with the practises, experiences, and challenges of digital archiving in the Arab World. The inaugural colloquium/conference examined the issues of data preservation in the Arab world and eventually resulted in a publication release that continues to serve as a reference for researching the subject today (Bayoumi & Oliveau, 2020). At DAAW|2024, we aspire to address it through the more focused standpoint of the digital management and preservation of data and documents, without foregoing a broader reflection, concerning both historical and future documents and data in danger whether physical or natively digital.

Hereby, CEDEJ (Centre d'Études et de Documentation Économiques, Juridiques et Sociales) has joined forces with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the UAE National Archives, and the University of Sorbonne Abu Dhabi to organize a second conference in Abu Dhabi from 29th till 31st October, 2024.

The conference aims to showcase the richness of Arab content and the significance of digital archiving. At a time when global digitalization is transcending all barriers, the sources of scholarships and culture cannot be bound to books, while much historical and fresh knowledge is undeniably lost.  It also restricts the ability to generate new information and synthesize new pedagogies. Similarly, digital archiving contributes to the preservation of the region's identity, knowledge, and heritage by prolonging their lifespan. Besides conservation, digital archives enable broader access to their content by utilizing the power of digital technology.

The principal objective of DAAW|2024 is to bring together scholars and practitioners for discussions about archiving challenges in the Arab world, hence no discipline or approach is proposed. The questions are broad, and all possible responses are appreciated. Yet, for the purpose of orient submissions, a number of preferred themes are detailed below:

Topics to Consider

1.Preserving The Past| Heritage at risk 

“Historical gaps are created due to missing written records.”― Lailah Gifty Akita

Historic preservation is a dialogue with the past concerning our future. This enables us to question "What is important in our history?" and "What parts of our past can we preserve for the future?" We look at history from fresh perspectives, ask further inquiries of the past, and gain new insights about ourselves. Historic preservation is an essential means of passing on our knowledge of the past to empower future generations.

On the other hand, The value of historical knowledge, whether in the form of documents, books, or buildings in the Arab world is challenged. Not only by the effects of time, but also by neglect, poor storage conditions, and armed conflicts, which cause the deterioration of media and devastation of documents and buildings. Therefore, digital archiving represents an urgent solution to preserve history for future generations. Several initiatives have been launched in the region to preserve, document, digitize archives, and even virtualize tours for historical buildings. The stakes are high, as seen by the most recent disappearance, as was the case in Palmyra. This call aspires to investigate the constraints, challenges, and status quo of manuscripts, rare books, buildings or – any man-made structure that has some historical value or significance under threat of demolition in the Arab world.

2. Methods, technologies, standards and tools

“If you have a digital object and you don't check it regularly it can become inaccessible very quickly.”― Angela Dappert

Preservation and dissemination are inextricably intertwined. It is critical to provide digital preservation procedures that allow digital materials to be replicable, findable, and mobilizable. In recent times, the need for shared archiving and open standards has been asserted. The relevance of archiving and cataloging systems has been highlighted by digital archiving, which has dramatically enhanced the speed and volume of preserved objects. All technological components and tools created or developed for digital archiving will be given special attention since they represent dimensions that tend to be neglected.

3. Preservation and access| the role of institutions

“Nothing is possible without men, but nothing lasts without institutions.”― Jean Monnet

“I rather think that archives exist to keep things safe – but not secret”― Kevin Young

Even though technology is critical in digital archiving, the role of institutions is paramount. First of all, they are the ones who ensure the permanence of infrastructures enabling digital preservation and who often organize the collection of documents and organize access to the document. The archivists are in charge of archiving, but there are also other institutions working on preservation and digital dissemination, including libraries and research centers. We expect communications that present archival achievements, detailed functioning of their work, with an emphasis on the issues raised and the problems they encounter. Finally, communications questioning the role and functioning of these institutions are welcomed.

4. Big Data

“There were 5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of civilization through 2003, but that much information is now created every two days.”― Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman at Google

Compression and expansion of multidimensional data requires analysis and sorting strategies, especially with complex Arabic language support (translated or in Arabic). The growing plurality of sources complicates the management of traditional data processing mechanisms. The Arab world faces universal and specific challenges in the management and analysis of “Big Data” given the uniqueness of the content and all its characteristics. These issues are in fact similar to those of safeguarding statistical data, and in particular surveys produced by public statistics or researchers.  It would be enriching to present, in the next conference, the role of “Big Data” techniques and advancements in making digital archives more efficient and encapsulating.

5. Archiving the present| Natively digital objects

“I'm not sure when the New Media will replace the Old Media, but it will be sooner than later.”― Jeff Gannon

Along with Big Data, issues concerning emerging data types must be investigated. The immense range of objects that are now natively digital with no physical medium replicates their digital origin raising the question of "digital preservation". The examples are countless, and the most evident ones include daily objects, such as sounds and images. How should they be archived, particularly when dealing with private-sector objects? How reliant are we upon third-party actors (private online service providers)? From another perspective, the «Wayback Machine» project (Nesbeitt; 2002) is archiving the web. How is the Arabic-speaking sphere represented?

6. Blockchain

 “Everything will be tokenized and connected by a blockchain one day.”― Fred Ehrsam

Media trends around cryptocurrency and cryptomining have made quite the publicity for a sufficiently advanced and complex technology. In fact, blockchain technology has a revolutionary impact, utilizing mathematically advanced cryptography techniques, in dissolving the need for a compromise between privacy of information and auditability. It, additionally, provides inherently-decentralized methods for establishing credibility of data, rendering it nearly impossible to alter, without compromising access. This comes at a heavy computational and environmental price nevertheless. All ideas and insights on how to capitalize on such a technology are encouraged to apply. Protecting the privacy of personal information, security and credibility of data against destruction or tampering, and awareness about the significant carbon footprint are mere examples of the plethora of topics that affect digital archives. Get creative and the sky's the limit!

7. Personal Digital Archives (PDA) into context.

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”― Muriel Rukeyser

It ends with some observations about how PDA, which has grown out of the aforementioned areas of focus, may be signaling changes in the information professions, with particular emphasis on archival outreach, interdisciplinary collaboration, and conceptions of objectivity in the archives.

• The importance of each and every individual and their story
• Privacy of personal information
• Storage and computational requirements for incorporation into larger collective archives and data processing
• It can be as simple as an ordinary individual privately archiving their own data without the intent for growing into something bigger
• Differences in practices and methods between professional and personal archival

8. Archives and Arts Digitization

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”― Muriel Rukeyser

Arts are also a cultural engine in society's cultural development. It might be a reflection of a country's historical progress. As a result, art activities play an essential role in historical evolution. The issue is that there are few people who specialize in art history research. There are also few people that recognize the significance of arts archiving. Art institutions, artists, scholars, and art enthusiasts hold a large amount of picture and video data. However, the majority of them have not been adequately stored or digitized. Indeed, arts preservation and digitization have become a significant possibility for art history study. When art is properly archived and digitized, it becomes an accurate source of literacy to help art history study. The rapid advancement of technology and the rise of artificial intelligence provide a chance to improve creative literacy. In light of this, we encourage exploring the realm of art, especially in the Arab world while linking best practices, tools, technologies of digitizing a variety of historical art objects. 

Submission guidelines

Should be written in English 10-15 lines.

Font format and size: Times New Roman, 12pt

Include 5 to 7 keywords.

Title, Author(s) and affiliation(s), Internet address of the author(s) and emails

Dead Line: May 15th 2024

To submit : the submission form

Scientific Committee

by Alphabetical order

• BAYOUMI Hala, Reaserch Engineer-HDR CNRS Hors Classe, head of Digital Humanities Department at CEDEJ
• MAKHLOUF-SHABOU Basma, Professor at Geneva School of Business Administration
• OLIVEAU Sébastien, maître de conférence HDR- Université Aix Marseille
• RODIER Yann, Professor at Sorbonne ABU Dhabi
• SAMIR Ahmed, Head of Technology Sector at Bibliotheca Alexandrina