University expands wealth of digital archive items in partnership with Arab Educational Institute

The Birzeit University Museum recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Arab Educational Institute to facilitate cooperation between the museum’s Palestinian Digital Archive and the institute. 

Signed on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, the agreement grants the digital archive access to the Arab Educational Institute’s Palestine-Family Net, a digital repository of Palestinian culture and history, including its archives of photos of refugees and families living in Bethlehem and abroad. 

The agreement, celebrated by the attendees as the latest in a string of initiatives by the Birzeit University Museum to document Palestinian life through the eyes of the local community, includes plans for future workshops - held jointly by the digital archive and the institute - on restoration and preservation of documents and images. 

Launched in 2011, the Palestinian Digital Archive preserves a large variety of documents, written and audio-visual, relating to the history of the Palestinian people over the past century, and donated by individuals, families, and popular organizations. 

As the foremost seat of higher education in Palestine, Birzeit University is always building networks with other archives to assist the global community of researchers committed to documenting the life of Palestinians and the Palestinian quest for freedom and independence.