The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the United Nations organizations in the State of Qatar, organized a celebration on the occasion of the United Nations Day, which falls on October 24 of each year, and this is in the context of celebrating the existing cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United Nations. The ceremony, which was held Tuesday in the Flag Plaza, was attended by HE Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, HE Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and President of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights (GANHRI) Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah, HE President of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority (ACTA) Hamad bin Nasser Al Misnad, HE Acting Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri, and a number of Their Excellencies directors of departments, ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps in the country, in addition to a number of officials and representatives of the concerned authorities in the country, civil society institutions, educational institutions, and social and charitable work institutions. HE Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a speech, that the celebration of a new United Nations Day in the State of Qatar is symbolic and of high value, as these events are organized in cooperation with partners in the United Nations, in the presence and participation of members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the State of Qatar, relevant officials in the country, in addition to representatives of development and humanitarian organizations, and academic and research institutions.

On November 1-2, a workshop on "International experience on the National Qualification Framework and National Occupational Standards" was organized at the Institute of Labor Market Research under the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Mr. Lynn Stanton- expert of the EU funded "Skills Development for Employability in Rural Areas of Uzbekistan" project presented international experience, and facilitated the discussion and group work exercise to elaborate competencies and develop occupational standards with the experts in the Institute. The expert from New Zealand has more than 40 years experience in educational field with in-depth experience in the development of National Qualifications Frameworks, National Occupational Standards, and Quality Assurance system in New Zealand as well as in many other countries.    

This article is part of the initiative ‘People Behind the Books’, a series of interviews that aim to collect stories of curators to promote and raise awareness about documentary heritage in the Arab region. The articles will highlight the work of the curators, as well as provide an insight on the needs, challenges, and conditions of documentary heritage collections in the region.   Shaikha AlKharsan discusses the value of Kuwaiti documentary heritage collections and the importance of protecting them. In her capacity, managing the department of restoration and preservation at Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait, AlKharsan oversees paper collections of all kinds, represented in the form of historical documents, maps and plans, in addition to heritage photographs. The collections reveal an interesting side of history and culture, as AlKharsan describes, they hold precious knowledge that uncovers how the Kuwaiti society used to function. She explains “The collections show that our society was well organized, our ancestors were interested in languages and other cultures. They used to collect documents not only from Kuwait but also from Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and other countries.”

Participants from Lango Sub-Region who attended the Teachers’ Orientation pose for a group. ©UNESCO/Vincent Ogal