The First International Conference on African Manuscript Heritage Opens in Saint Petersburg
Today, Wednesday, 23 September 2026, the First International Conference on the Comprehensive Study of African Manuscript Heritage opened in Saint Petersburg, Russia, under the theme:
“Codicology, Palaeography, Textology, History of Collections, Cataloguing and Conservation.”
The conference is jointly organized by the Sheikh Al-Taher Al-Zawi Center for Studies, Research and Heritage Manuscript Verification, Tripoli, Libya; the National Library of Russia, Saint Petersburg; and the Faculty of Asian and African Studies at Saint Petersburg University, with the participation of scholars and specialists in manuscripts and cultural heritage from Libya, Russia, and several Arab, African, and European countries.
Opening Session:
The opening session featured welcome addresses by representatives of the participating institutions, including:
• Ms. Zhanna Alekseeva — State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation.
• Dr. Denis Tsypkin — Director General of the National Library of Russia.
• Dr. Salem bin Mohammed Al-Malik — Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO). His address was delivered on his behalf by Dr. Idham Muhammed Hanash Alhamd, Director of the Centre for Calligraphy and Manuscripts at ICESCO.
• Dr. Salah Ali Alshaab — Vice-Director of the Sheikh Al-Taher Al-Zawi Center for Studies, Research and Heritage Manuscript Verification, Libya.
The session also featured the participation of Prof. Nikolay Dyakov, Head of the Department of Middle Eastern History at Saint Petersburg University, and Ms. Olga Vasilyeva, Head of the Oriental Collections Sector of the Manuscript Department at the National Library of Russia.
The opening also witnessed the significant participation of H.E. Salem Al-Alam, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development of the Libyan Government of National Unity, who delivered an address highlighting the importance of culture and heritage and the need to strengthen cooperation in the field of manuscript heritage preservation.
Scientific Sessions:
The first day featured a series of academic sessions addressing specialized topics related to the preservation and restoration of African manuscripts, cataloguing, textual studies, the history of manuscript collections, and Arabic manuscripts in Africa.
The sessions brought together a number of researchers and specialists, including Dr. Sidi Idriss Drissi Bouanani from the Hassania Library in Morocco; Dr. Bassam Daghestani from the Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates; Dr. Faissal Al Hafian, Director General of the Syrian General Book Organization; Dr. Ahmed Abdelbaset Hamed Mohamed, an expert at the Centre for Calligraphy and Manuscripts at ICESCO; and Muhammad Ilyas from Kankou Moussa University in Mali.
During the afternoon, the scientific sessions continued with the participation of researchers from Algeria, Mali, and Nigeria.
The first day concluded with a tour of the New Building of the National Library of Russia.
The conference represents an important platform for strengthening academic and cultural cooperation among specialized institutions and supporting efforts to study, preserve, restore, catalogue, document, and make African manuscript heritage accessible to researchers and future generations.
