The Manuscripts and Cultural Heritage Unit at the University of Human Development (UHD) held its first international symposium titled ‘Kurdish scholars’ manuscripts are our cultural heritage’ on 19th May 2022 with the aim of creating discussion and exchanging ideas on how to collect, categorise and catalogue manuscripts written by Kurdish scholars in the past.  

‘The problem is not that we as the Kurds do not have manuscripts or that ancient Kurdish scholars did not write enough. It is that we have not been able to collect and classify our manuscripts. We in this centre are dedicated to this task. We want to preserve our heritage and help researchers and writers to benefit from this invaluable legacy,’ said Dr Hardi Mahdi Mika, the symposium moderator.

After the opening speech, the UHD President Prof. Dr Mariwan Ahmed Rasheed welcomed the attendees and said that UHD looks at old Kurdish manuscripts with great interest, ‘we have established a unit to collect and preserve Kurdish scholars’ manuscripts as they are part of our national heritage.’ He mentioned that the new Unit is currently working on a database to digitalise the manuscripts and create links to similar databases so that new researchers can easily access them. And he thanked the media channels for covering the event.

The symposium was held in two sessions. In the first session, the following scholars presented arguments on the topic under discussion: Mr Muhammad Ali Qaradaghi, an expert and researcher in manuscripts, talked about ‘mechanisms and steps to archiving Kurdish manuscripts in Iraq’, Dr Awid Naqshbandi, proficient in Kurdish history and geography, evaluated ‘methods of collecting Kurdish manuscripts in Iran’, and Mr Muhammad Majid Amedi, a professional from the state Archives Department, discussed his topic under ‘scholars’ manuscripts in public libraries, preserving and publishing them’.

In the second session, Mr Sdiq Salih, a researcher at Zhin Centre, elaborated on ‘the obstacles to archiving manuscripts in the Kurdistan Region’, Dr Muhammad Abduli, Editor in Chief of Kashkol Magazine for Manuscripts and Documentation – Mahabad, Iran, explained what needed for collecting and preserving Kurdish manuscripts, and Mr Zafer Onur, a manuscript professional from Turkey, talked about ‘Kurdish scholars’ manuscripts in private libraries.’

Participants later gathered for lunch at the UHD cafeteria.