“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” –Greek proverb
The Qatar Unified Imaging Project Mission
To preserve the unique character of Qatar by providing easy access to digitized primary source materials in an agile centralized collection carefully managed and preserved for a persistent, authentic and continually-growing resource; to promote awareness and understanding of Qatari history, culture, and heritage.
QUIP is....
- The pilot program for the Qatar National Digitization Program
- The first project of its kind in Qatar
- A model for cultural preservation in light of rapid industrialization and an aging population
- Funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) through the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) in June 2010
- A research collaboration between Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar, Exeter University, the Ministry of Culture Arts and Heritage and the Qatar Museums Authority
- Advised by a committee of Qatar’s cultural and historical experts
- Working to identify significant collections of primary source materials about Qatar and the surrounding Gulf
- A transnational project looking at holdings in Qatar, the United Kingdom, India, Denmark and France
QUIP values
- Collaboration
- Preservation
- Equal Access to information
- Open standards for object records and storage formats ensuring high data portability, digital longevity and persistence
- Qatari empowerment on all aspects of QUIP’s collection creation, maintenance and growth to ensure a comprehensive and authentic resource
QUIP Outcomes
- An aggregated guide to primary source materials about Qatar and the Gulf through Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
- Significant narrative objects about Qatar are given wider access through a database of digital surrogates from the primary sources about Qatar and the Gulf
- We build bridges among cultural institutions and educational institutions
- Displaced primary sources are brought together digitally
- Stimulate awareness of Qatar’s rich history and traditions