Inauguration of the Signed Manuscripts Conference
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Alexandria, 26 April 2005—Tuesday, 26 April witnessed the inauguration of the Signed Manuscripts Conference by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), and Dr. Youssef Ziedan, Director of the Manuscript Center at the BA. The conference, 26-28 April 2005, is organized by the Manuscripts Center.
The opening session began with Dr. Serageldin’s speech where he welcomed the participants, specialized in heritage research, from Egypt, France, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Turkey, UAE, and USA; and the attendants. He pointed out the importance of this conference as manuscripts reflect the great cultural heritage of our civilization. He also shed light on the achievements made by the Center since its former conference in September 2004, and their role in heritage preservation and digitization. This was followed by a lecture on the notion of signed manuscripts and their significance by Dr. Youssef Ziedan, where he displayed samples of signed manuscripts of renowned scholars as: Ibn Khaldoun, Mohie El Din Ibn Arabi, and Abu Ali Al-Hussein Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina.
The ten sessions of the conference, over the course of three days, will seek to showcase the vast array of rare Arabic manuscripts which bear autographs of eminent figures of Arabic-Islamic heritage. The topical coverage includes autographed manuscripts, marginalia, commentaries, ex-libris inscriptions, collation references, or ijazas written in the handwriting of leading Arab scholars. The term ‘Signed Manuscripts’ also covers autographed Ma’ājim al-Shuyukh, original scientific treatises.
The conference is accompanied by an exhibition, where the signed manuscripts at the BA are held on display, at the entrance of the BA Conference Center.
The last day, 28 April, will witness the honoring of Dr. Youssef Ziedan on the occasion of launching Mawso’at Al-Shamel Fel Sena’a Altebeya (The Complete Encyclopedia on Medicine Techniques) by Ibn Al-Nafees, the famous physician renowned for discovering the blood’s circulatory system.
For more information visit: http://www.manuscriptcenter.org/Signed/about.asp
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| The Opening Session |
The Exhibition |