The Documentation Project

This project aims to survey government departments and private homes for documents and other material, such as pictures, manuscripts, correspondence, newspapers, books, and unpublished papers, which, taken together, could be considered a part of the historical heritage of the city of Damascus since 1860. When successful in locating said material, the Foundation then seeks to collect, preserve and catalog them in order to make such rich archive available for scholars, researchers, young academics and the general public.

The Foundation has the necessary experience in evaluating and archiving all types of documents in wherever they are be held. The Damascus History Foundation can also provide assistance to organisations working in the fields of documentation with the aim of improving the process of archiving and sorting in similar ongoing projects. The historians and experts affiliated with DHF can also help other initiatives in contextualizing the historical material they are working to preserve in order to further refine the documentation process.

Cooperation Agreement with the Antiquities and Museums Foundation:

 A memorandum of cooperation between the Damascus History Foundation and the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums is currently being prepared. The memorandum will provide for establishing cooperation between the two institutions in order to document, preserve and archive documents, photographs, stories, papers, manuscripts, audio and video materials pertinent to the history of Damascus. The material will be accessible to researchers, scholars and educational institutions, thus providing a wider array of sources on the history of Damascus.

The Damascus History Foundation is committed to achieving these objectives through the following actions:

• Assisting the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in archiving and cataloging images, documents, manuscripts and audiovisual recordings relating to the history of Damascus, which are located at or owned by the Directorate, in accordance with established technical standards for the conduct of this process.
• Providing qualified specialists in the field of archiving and documentation.
• Procuring the necessary technical equipment, hardware and software for archiving, documentation, cataloguing and archiving.