01.02.2022 Cultural Heritage in Cyberspace Continues Its Activities with a Successful Kickoff Conference and A Training Session in Cairo

Through the five-day Cornerstones' stakeholders and experts’ meetings at the premises of our partners in Egypt, individual contacts between the project's participating German and Egyptian institutes were consolidated. The conference's program endeavored to accommodate the academic and the infrastructural aspects by splitting the days of the event into two sessions; the first half of each day involved keynote lectures on the current issues related to cultural heritage in cyberspace, projects of relevance, and up-to-the-moment trends in the concerned fields. Moreover, during the second session, participants formed working groups to determine concrete academic and actual digitization endeavors.

The activities of the DAAD-funded project "Cultural Heritage in Cyberspace: Education, Preservation, and Access" continued for 2021, overcoming the constraints of COVID19, as the Cornerstones Conference was held, in Cairo, from 20-25th of November 2021. The kickoff event of the conference and the third phase of the project, managed by our Islamic Studies Department, was launched under the auspices of the Egyptian Minister of Culture, Prof. Dr. Enas Abd el-Dayem, with the participation of a large number of experts and academics from Egypt and Germany. Through the five-day cornerstones' stakeholders and experts' meetings at the premises of our partners in Egypt, individual contacts between the project's participating German and Egyptian institutes were consolidated. the conference s program endeavored to accommodate the academic and the infrastructural aspects by splitting the days of the event into two sessions; the first half of each day involved keynote lectures on the current issues related to cultural heritage in cyberspace, projects of relevance, and up-to-the-moment trends in the concerned fields. Moreover, during the second session, participants formed working groups to determine concrete academic and actual digitization endeavors.

The first day of the conference was held at the grand hall of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Culture and was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Hisham Azmi, the Secretary-General of the council, as a deputy for the H.E. the  Minister of Culture. The Head of the Islamic Studies Department at the University of Marburg in Germany/ the project manager, Prof. Dr. Albrecht Fuess gave an overview of the history of the project, its vision, and significance for the cooperating institutes in Germany and Egypt. The former Minister of Antiquities, Prof. Dr. Mamdouh el-Damaty, and the Director of the DAAD Regional Office Cairo, Ms. Isabell Mering have both highlighted the importance of such projects in enriching the academic experiences of scholars and students in both countries. Prof. Dr. Sherief Shaheen, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University, stressed the urgency of international cooperation for opening new horizons to the study of Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities. From her side, Prof. Dr. Reem Bahgat, the President of the Egypt University of Informatics, highlighted the importance of forming new cadres of researchers and students who are well-versed in cyber technology and know-how to better preserve and promote Cultural Heritage. Within the same context, Dr. Ahmed Tantawy, the Head of the Egyptian Applied Innovations Center, discussed language and culture as priority domains of the center, and the several aspects through which they can assist the project in its future ventures. Likewise, Ms. Samia Moussa, the Head of Development Partners Bureau at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), featured the vital role the ministry plays in the digital transformation in Egypt.

 Moreover, our highly-esteemed representatives from the project's network contributed to the event with several presentations underscoring the great potential for cooperation and outlining the best means for the implementation of the project’s goals. As the third phase of the project focuses on the preservation of the epigraphic heritage through the digitization of knowledge assets, Dr. Volker Adam, the Operational Head of the Digital Services ( FID)/ Middle East, North Africa and Islam Studies (MENALIB) at the  Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg/University, gave an overview of the activities and services the FID/MENALIB offers to academics and scholars from Germany and everywhere else in the world. Similarly, Mr. Christoph Rauch, the Head of the Oriental Department at the Berlin State Library, presented a comprehensive sketch of the project “Qalamos, The Portal of Oriental Manuscripts and Digitization Strategies at the Berlin State Library”. Likewise, Mr. Michael Marx, the Director of Research Centre Corpus Coranicum at the Berlin National Academy of Sciences and Humanities, displayed examples from the online catalog of Qurʾānic manuscripts (Corpus Coranicum) accomplished by their research center. From the Egyptian side, Dr. Essam Abdelfattah, the Head of the Manuscripts Department at al-Azhar Mashyakhat Library, gave a presentation on the library's extremely significant collection of rare manuscripts.

The second day of the event was held at the premises of the Egyptian National Library and Archives (Dar El-Kutub) by the Nile Corniche in Ramlit Bullaq. Prof. Dr. Nievine Moussa, the Chairwoman of Dar El-Kutub, welcomed the project's delegation. Through her speech, Prof. Moussa accentuated the importance of the project in helping Dar El-Kutub to not only better serve scholars from all over the globe but also better preserve the wealth of knowledge resources housed at this important institute.

The third day of the conference was held at Cairo University, where Prof Dr. Sherif Shaheen, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, highlighted the need for academic cooperation in the fields of library, information sciences, and digital humanities. In a related context, Dr. Hendrikje Carius, the Head of the Digital Department at the Gotha Research Library of Erfurt University, gave an overview of the digitization process of the Gotha collection.  Concerning cooperation in other heritage-related fields, Dr. Ahmed Ragab, the Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology, touched on cooperation opportunities with the faculty of Archaeology, and Prof. Dr. Tarek Tawfik commented on the possibilities for collaboration in the fields of Heritage management, Museology, and Archaeological Excavations. From the German side, Prof. Dr. Tanja Pommerening presented on the History of Pharmacy, Egyptology, and Archaeology at Marburg University. The day was concluded at the Institut für Arabische Forschung und Studien in Zamalek, where the delegation was welcomed by the Director of the institute, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Kamal, and a round table discussion, led by Dr. Volker Adam and Ms. Anja Piller, on joint projects, open access publication was held.

The fourth day of the event took place at the historical building of the Dar El-Kutub; the delegation was greeted by Dr. Aida Abd el-Ghani, the Head of the Bab El-Khalq branch of Dar Elkutub, and her team. The day's theme focused on open access and copyright laws in Germany and Egypt; fittingly, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Hossam Loutfi, of the Faculty of Law at Bani Sueif University explained to the participants the scopes and limitations of the Egyptian Copyrights laws and Open Access. Similarly, Dr. Volker Adam touched on German National Research Data Infrastructure: Policy, Opportunities, and Significances for a Digital Cooperation with Egyptian Partners.

On day five, the delegation was hosted by  'Ayn Shams University; the project’s representatives were greeted by  Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Meteni, the President of 'Ayn Shams University,  Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ayman Saleh, the Vice-President for Postgraduate and Research, and Prof. Dr. Mamdouh el-Damaty, Dean, Faculty of Archaeology. In his speech, Prof. Dr. Albrecht Fuess emphasized that “Cultural Heritage in Cyberspace"  aims to establish a strong cooperation with the Egyptian academic and memory institutes, paying considerable attention to the fields of Islamic and Arabic studies, Middle Eastern studies, oriental manuscripts, heritage studies, and digital humanities. As the project manager, Prof. Fuess signed together with Prof. el-Dmatay the memorandum of understanding for the joint M.A degree on the "Digitization and Preservation of Epigraphic Heritage" within the framework of the project. The day was then concluded with a visit to the Egyptian Museum of Civilizations in Fustat.

Day six involved an excursion to the technological hub of Smart Village, where the delegation was greeted by the Head of Development Partners Bureau and the heads of the concerned departments at the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). The delegation was provided with an overview of the academic services offered by the Information Technology Institute (ITI) to Egyptian universities and the cultural-heritage-related-projects executed by the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT).

Furthermore, on the 28th of November, also within the framework of the project, Dr. Feras Krimisti gave a well-received lecture at ‘Ayn Shams University on the social and cultural contexts of marginal notes and their significance in the seventeenth-century Arab world.

Cultural Heritage in Cyberspace’s Cornerstones Conference received considerable media attention in Egypt, where both Prof. Fuess and Hala Ghoname, the Coordinator of the project, illuminated that "Cultural Heritage in Cyberspace: Education, Preservation, and Access" works to promote an informed development in the quality of research, the continuous exchange of knowledge, the preservation of cultural heritage and the creation of continuous progress in the areas of teaching and technical capabilities within the institutes targeted by the project. They both stated that each stage of the project targets a specific type of heritage, including not only tangible heritage, such as the holdings of libraries, museums, antiquities, and architecture, but also intangible cultural heritage such as folklore and music.

Media coverage: al-Dostor , Rosaelyoussef , al-Bayan ,  almasryalyoum , al-Gomhuria , al-youm7