National Treasures road-show at HCT

The road show started with a launch at the UAE University earlier last month in an attempt to create an electronic reservoir of UAE culture and traditions online and the next stop will take place at HCT in Abu Dhabi on 18 May.

In line with His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan declaration of the year 2008 as the National Identity Year, preserving national heritage and traditions is the responsibility of everyone, H.E.

Ahmed Al Mansoori, Coordinator General, of Watani, underlined the importance of preserving the national identity, culture and heritage of the UAE. He also added that every national citizen should take part in the initiative and carry on ancestors' values and traditions to all the coming generations.

Using the internet based portal Watani.tv, National treasures campaign aims to create an on-line archive of the country's heritage and lifestyle. As memories fade, it will open up to everyone, living in or visiting today's UAE, a platform to share views and life experiences.

Rashed Al Maftoul, one of the participating students at the National Treasures Campaign commented: "We formed a group of 12 students; each one of us visits a different historic place to get snap shots. We truly support this noble campaign and we want to enrich the portal with documentaries that can be used as valuable reference."

Students of the participating universities are invited to upload material about the UAE in a form of video, audio clips or still images that can serve as researching source for universities, schools, social researchers and everybody who is interested to know more about the past, present and the future of the UAE.

Other participating universities are Al Ghurair University, Dubai University, Zayed University, Sharjah University and Ajman University. The campaign started from April 28 and lasts for a month.

Watani, the social development program, initially launched the campaign on 'National Treasures' to celebrate the 36th National Day last year.

The main aim of the campaign is to popularise the idea of sharing of video, audio clips and still images, whereby winners of the best uploaded material capturing the traditional attributes of the UAE are honoured with awards. Visitors and residents are also encouraged to share their footages on the portal.