- William Warda: The workshop aims to protect the moral, intellectual and cultural heritage of Iraqi minorities as part of the Iraqi national heritage.
On Thursday morning, September 5, 2024, the training workshop on protecting and preserving the ancient manuscripts, especially Christian ones, began in Basra Governorate. The workshop will continue for (10) consecutive days.
The training workshop held in one of the kindergartens halls of (Sayidet Al-Bashara) in Basra, Mr. William Warda, Director of Public Relations of the Organization, General Coordinator of the Project, opened the workshop with a welcoming speech to the participants numbering (15), in which he emphasized the objectives and importance of the project and its working partners, pointing out that the workshop is part of a two-years project entitled "Inclusiveness of the right", devoted to the effective and participatory integration of the Christian community in Iraq ", sponsored by the John Paul II Foundation and with funding of the Italian Development Agency. The project included human rights education and awareness in four schools in Basra, specialized workshops to raise awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities in Baghdad, and expanded sessions and meetings to promote coexistence and peace building in Basra.
These workshops and sessions have benefited approximately 800-1000 people.
Mr. Warda also added that the workshop we are holding in Basra is aimed to protect the moral, intellectual and cultural heritage of Iraqi minorities and thus at protecting Iraq's national heritage in general.
The workshop then continued its work according to the pre-prepared agenda, in coordination and cooperation between Hammurabi Human Rights Organization (HHRO) and the Oriental Manuscripts Digital Documentation CNMO), which assigned two trainers to train participants over a period of 10 days namely Zakhuta Toma Irmia and Mays Raad Mikha.
The first day of the workshop included an explanation of the importance of maintaining and preserving manuscripts, the stages and methods of preventive maintenance and importance, after the opening session witnessed the introduction of the trainers and participants, and the introduction of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization and the role of the Oriental Manuscripts Digital Documentation Center (CNMO) in protecting the Iraqi heritage and memory, including the heritage and culture of minorities.
A video recording was also played regarding the destruction and burning of Christian manuscripts during the ISIS occupation of Nineveh Governorate, and the subsequent maintenance and storage work for the manuscripts and ancient paintings that were saved, and the role of the Oriental Manuscripts Digital Documentation Center in the maintenance and protection work.
It is to be mentioned that this workshop is not the first implemented by Hammurabi Organization, but rather the organization carried out a similar workshop last February of this year in Baghdad, from which (15) people benefited, in cooperation between the Organization and the Iraqi National Manuscripts House, and in cooperation with the Assyrian Church of the East in Baghdad.
