>> Eugene Flanagan:
Good afternoon.
I'm Eugene Flanagan,
Director of General
and International Collections
here at the Library of Congress,
and it's my great pleasure to
welcome you all here today.
And we're very delighted to have
Her Excellency Shaikha Mai bint
Mohammed Al Khalifa here
with us talking on the theme
of investing in culture.
Thank you for joining us.
Her Excellency is president
of the Bahrain Authority
for Culture and Antiquities.
She held several
cabinet positions before
that in the administration,
including Minister
of Culture from 2010 to 2015.
In the past two decades, Shaikha
Mai has spearheaded national
efforts including her
Invest in Culture initiative
to develop a sustainable
cultural infrastructure
in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
As the oldest federal
cultural institution
in the United States,
the Library of Congress is a
fitting location for moments
of cultural diplomacy
such as today's.
We are the world's
largest library with more
than 170 million items
in our collections
in some 470 languages and
many formats including books,
manuscripts, newspapers,
periodicals, maps, photographs,
prints, posters, recorded
sound, sheet music,
microphone, it sort of goes on.
And similarly broad in scope,
the collection's
geographic coverage extends
across all continents including
the Americas, Europe, Africa,
the Middle East, and
Central Asia, and to the rest
of the Asian continent
and Oceania.
And that's why the
door is always open
and a welcome always ready for
visitors from across the world.
The Near East collection alone
contains more than 600,000 items
in 40 languages and
following the lecture,
we will have an opportunity to
see a special selection of some
of these materials with
reference to Bahrain.
Dr Muhannad Salhi, our Arab
world specialist in the African
and Middle Eastern Division,
will be on hand to talk
about the display but right,
now I'm going to ask him to come
up because he's going to
start the program proper
and introduce Her Excellency.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Muhannad Salhi: Excellencies,
distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen, thank
you all for joining us
in what promises to be a very
interesting lecture on Bahrain.
Now, the obligatory plug.
Let me talk about our
division, the African Middle,
Middle Eastern Division which
is sponsoring this talk,
is composed of three sections.
There's the African
section which deals
with sub-Saharan Africa.
There's the Hebraic section
which deals with Hebraica
and Judaica worldwide.
And then there's the
Near East section.
The Near East section
covers everything from Kazan
in the north, the Khartoum in
the south, Kashkar in the east,
to Casablanca in the West.
As dr. Eugene Flanagan
just mentioned,
we have large collections in
about 30 to 38 to 40 languages
in the Near East section.
The largest collection is the
Arabic collection which is
about three to four
hundred, 300,000 volumes.
And then there is the Persian
collection which is about 60,000
to 70,000, the Turkish
collection which is about 50,000
to 60,000, and then we collect
in all other languages, as,
as much as is published by
these countries for example.
We collect in Kurdish,
in Amazeen
and various other languages.
The Bahraini Authority
for Culture
and Antiquities was generous
enough to donate a large number
of their publications
to us and a large number
of these publications,
about half are
from our own collections.
This is a small sampling of
what we have on, on Bahrain.
Speaking of generous
donations, Her Excellency would
like to donate some of
her own personal books,
books that she authored,
to the Library of Congress.
[ Applause ]
>> Oh, I have to
read it [laughter]?
>> Muhannad Salhi: Now for a
few words about Her Excellency,
our speaker Her Excellency
Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed
Al Khalifa.
Aside from authoring
six books herself,
she's been a leading figure
in the Arab world for her work
in the field of culture.
Her Excellency Shaikha Mai
bint Muhammad Al Khalifa has
championed a number of
innovative initiatives
in various cultural and artistic
pursuits aimed at fostering
and promoting local
arts and culture
and spearheaded national efforts
to develop a sustainable
cultural infrastructure
in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In 2006, she launched
an overarching investing
in culture, an unprecedented
initiative in the,
in the region, to
cultivate active partnerships
between the private and
public sectors and to invest
in the cult, in cultural
projects.
Her vision and leadership
have resulted
in a worldwide recognition
of the Kingdom's historic
and cultural significance.
During her tenure, two
archaeological sites
and one historic
site was inscribed
on the UNESCO World Heritage.
Shaikha Mai held several
positions at the Head
of the Cultural Authorities and
was appointed the first Minister
of Culture between
2010 and 2015.
She is currently the President
of the Bahrain Authority
for Cultural and, Culture and
Antiquities, the chairperson
of the board of the
Arab Regional Center
for World Heritage.
Shaikha Mai is also the founder
and chairperson of the board
of trustees of the Sheik Ebrahim
bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre
for Culture and Research, a
nonprofit organization meant
with the conservation
and preservation
of local arts and architecture.
Shaikha Mai holds an
MA in political history
and is the author
of seven books.
She is a recipient of many
distinguished awards including
the Legion d'Honor in 2008, the
Knight of the Legion d'Honor
from the French government
in 2012,
noble honor for being
distinguished,
for being a distinguished
intern personality in the field
of ideology and culture
by a Royal Decree
from His Majesty
Mohammed the [inaudible],
King of Morocco in 2010.
She's also received the Goldberg
Prize for creative, creativity
and heritage and Watch award
by the World Monuments
fund in 2015.
She has also been
nominated Special Ambassador
of the International Year of
Sustainability for Development
in 2017 by World
Tourism Organization
and Arab Heritage
Personality of 2019.
By the tourism and media center,
tourism and media center.
Now, without further ado,
Her Excellency Shaikha Mai
bint Mohammad al Khalifa.
[ Applause ]
[ Speaking in foreign language ]
>> Her Excellency Shaikha
Mai bint Mohammad al Khalifa:
Good morning.
Excellencies, ladies and
gentlemen, distinguished guests,
allow me first to
thank the Library
of Congress for hosting
me today.
It's an honor and a
great pleasure to be here
and have the opportunity to
present Bahrain's approach
of cultural preservation
and share our experience
towards building a sustainable
cultural infrastructure.
No one can deny today
the importance of culture
and supporting sustainable
development.
I think this is [inaudible].
Case study around the
world have established
that culture is a driving
force and powerful means
to revive the economies
of cities
by stimulating urban
development, generating new jobs
and attracting investors.
This is very important for
me to attract the investor
to support the cultural field.
More cities now focused on
exploring different create,
creative models to build
or enhance their
cultural infrastructure
and cultivate the benefit
of cultural tourism.
And [inaudible] back
on the large development
of the country.
In that context, the Kingdom
of Bahrain represent an
interesting case study
in the region that has witnessed
a dramatic cultural boom
in the past ten years and mainly
the creation of major projects
as a means to redefine
their urban image.
Despite its small
geographic area,
Bahrain has largely invested
in building its cultural
infrastructure,
highlighting what we consider
the country main asset -
cultural heritage.
While many may know the Kingdom
of Bahrain as a financial harbor
and a gateway of GCC
market, few, few are aware
of its millennium world
heritage and rich culture.
I, I always want to focus
on the cultural side
and pass the right
message about Bahrain.
Although it's very small,
but we always keep telling
that it's rich in culture.
Bahrain has always attracted
the attention of travelers
with its natural beauty, rich
archaeological landscape,
and fascinating fairs.
>> I'm sorry, Shaikha
Mai, I hate to interrupt.
We already have a technical
problem [inaudible].
Okay.
>> Her Excellency: Thank
you very much, Doctor.
Due to its strategic
location linking Mesopotamia
to the Indus Valley,
it's a pleasant climate,
of course except summer.
Avoid visiting Bahrain in
summer, July and August.
It's very harsh.
Abundance of the sweet water,
abundance of sweet water
and wealth of peddling
fisheries,
the island of Bahrain was
settled around 4500 BC
and became by 2,000 BC
a major marketplace.
It was home to the, to the
civilization of Dilmun,
the most important
civilization in the Arabian gulf
from the third to the first
millennium BC and was described
in ancient texts as the land
of immortality and abundance.
The island flourished through
the ages as a main harbor.
We always said that
Bahrain is ancient harbor.
And became one of the
major pearling centers
in the Arabian gulf.
Actually, up until
the early '30s.
They discovered the oil in 1932.
The economy of Bahrain was
largely based on pearling
and related activities.
The discovery of oil
introduced major change and led
to some significant urban
and cultural developments.
But this brought the modern,
the modernization of Bahrain.
The country, local heritage
and cultural traditions
were grounded and investing
in the cultural infrastructure
was going hand in hand
with the development
of the state.
Allow me here to bring
to your attention
that Bahrain is a
known for being pioneer
in the Arabian Gulf for many
cultural initiative including
the establishment of the
formal education system in 1899
with the support of
the American mission.
And all I always like to say
the American School started
with the class for
girls before boys
in Bahrain [laughter]
120 years ago.
[Inaudible] few milestone,
the first school,
officially school opened
in Bahrain in 1919,
the first literary club
was established in 1920,
the first magazine was issued
in 1939 by Abdul Azaid,
he's a famous writer and poet
and he was the only editor
for the whole magazine.
The first archaeology
exhibition was held in 1936.
The department, Department
of Antiquities was
established in 1970.
The annual fine art exhibition
was showed, showcase in 1972
and continue until now
as annual art exhibition.
Bahrain National Museum
opened in 1988 as the first
in the region with
international standard.
What I want to convey here
is that Bahrain investing
and cultural infrastructure
is not a new concept
and the protection
and preservation
of the country cultural
heritage has always been one
of the government's
main priority.
Over the years, the Bahrain, the
Bahrain Cultural Authority grow
into vibrant sector that has
focused on fostering innovation
and creativity, highlighting
diversity,
and empowering local
communities.
In particular, we have a
long term strategy that aim
at building a sustainable
cultural infrastructure.
Our integrated approach
to cultural preservation has
resulted in the protection
of historical and archaeological
site, protection of local
and tangible heritage, the
recreation of historic district,
the creation of network of
museum and visitor center,
and thanks to Dr. Anna Dean, she
always support in this field,
she is our advisor for
Museum and Archeology,
thank you again Dr. Anna Dean.
As well as inscription of
the three Bahraini site
on the UNESCO World
Heritage List.
I think Bahrain site, Bahrain
fourth, was inscribed in 2005
and we consider the site
as the most important
as ancient harbor.
The second one, the capital
of Dilmun, the second one,
the pearling also is
very important project.
The third when we celebrate
this year, the burial mound,
the third site listed
in the World Heritage,
and in the process there is
another three coming soon.
And today we celebrate another
international recognition
for our work in the
historic city of Muharraq,
the second main island
of Bahrain
and its previous
political capital
as we have just officially
received last week,
the 2019 Khan Award
for architecture
for the city of Muharraq.
The project-
[ Applause ]
It's always nice to
focus on the old cities
because the old city has
the soul and you know,
I believe that investing in
the old city is more important
than the new project, so thanks
to Aga Khan to focus on that
and give us a credit
for [inaudible]
and the pearling bath.
The project include, includes
the UNESCO World Heritage
Pearling Path and
the historic houses
of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin
Mohammed al-Khalifa Center
for Culture and Research.
The center is a nonprofit
organization that I founded
in 2002 to encourage
dialogue and preservation,
local art, and architecture.
But this work would
not have been possible
without the great support
of the private sector,
so thanks to everybody
who support this project.
A lot of them, they
believe in our mission
and they support a lot.
Because of the limited,
limited budget
and the government structure,
I introduced the investing
in culture initiative
for public sector,
drawing on my personal
experience
with Shaikh Ebrahim Center
where I established
this initiative in 2006.
The Investing in Culture
is an active partnership
between the private
and public sector
which basically encourages,
encourages the private sector
to invest in Bahrain cultural
projects but in addition
to funds, it was very important
for us that our partner believe
in the importance of this
cultural heritage in order
to take part in preservation.
Our responsibility as a cultural
authority is to raise awareness,
establish connections,
encourage dialogue.
This is how we can share
our community better.
This is how we can allow a
rich cultural environment
to flourish.
So this partnership has
allowed to raise awareness
about the importance of
the cultural heritage
as an essential part
of our life.
Through the understanding
culture platform,
a number of important
projects have been completed
and other are waiting
for funding.
We'll start with the first one,
the Bahrain National
Theater sponsor or, you know,
it was a gift by His Majesty
King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
on Manama.
Manama was the capital of Arab
culture 2012 and we managed
to finish the project
in two years only.
The second one, the Archeologies
of Green is our pavilion.
We, we participate in
the Milan, Milan Expo
and we win the second prize
for architecture and we managed
to shift the whole
pavilion to Muharraq.
Shaikh Abdullah, you have
to visit the pavilion.
And also shifting the
pavilion was not easy.
With the support of Her Royal
Highness Shaikh [inaudible].
We manage to bring the
pavilion to Bahrain.
Qal'at al-Bahrain, the
Society Museum of Bahrain,
sponsored by our apital
bank the generous bank.
They always support us.
And my own initiative in Shaikh
Ebrahim and the official sector.
Here for site museum
also with the support
of the private sector al-Baraka
Bank and a lot of people
who believe in our mission,
we managed to Al-Khamis Mosque
Visitor Center is sponsor also
by His Royal Highness Prince
Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa
and it was open in 2015.
Pearling Path Visitor Center
is one of the [inaudible].
You know, this, this building
changed the whole area
because it's a large
building and it's done
by a very famous architect.
He's from Switzerland, Valerio
did a great job for [inaudible].
Future project I'm looking for a
sponsor, new sponsor [laughter].
If there is anyone, please don't
hesitate to ask any question
about the budget or location
or the mission of this project.
One of them is Tadao
Ando Museum.
It's a dream to build a
site museum [inaudible]
Saar settlement.
And I mentioned to
Her Excellency about,
about the project because
you, both of you lived
in Saar years ago and always
nice to see our friend again.
And Saar settlement we want
to, to build a site museum
and in the other hand a
permanent regional center
with sufficient Bahrain
original center support all the
Arab region.
And I think this, this
would be on the track soon.
The support will
come from Kuwait,
from His Highness
the Emir of Kuwait.
Good news.
Children's Museum looking for
a sponsor and Johar Hadid.
It's very important to project.
I hope we will find.
You know, we need only
100 million dollars
for this one [laughter],
so if anybody want
to participate, most welcome.
Future project again, Barbar
Temple, a visitor center,
also interesting project
and this will cost only
very limited budget,
so ten thousand million
dollar will be okay
for this project [laughter].
Here Muharraq City where
we start and Shaikh Ebrahim
and then the Pearling Path
and it's something interesting
and the public space
and Muharraq now,
we finished almost
17 public space.
Also the support of
Islamic Bank of [inaudible],
we managed to survive
and continue.
Dar al-Muharraq, also
with the support of Alba
for traditional music.
Every Saturday you can enjoy
the traditional cheery music,
something really
interesting and I'm planning
to bring the group
to, to Washington
as I promised His
Exellency Shaikh Abdullah
to bring them next year I hope.
Here another house, one
of the pearling path,
but this project sponsored
by Shaikh Ebrahim center
and it was the first, in
between the rest of the houses,
the rest in the process now.
Here at Shaikh Ebrahim Center
for Culture and Research
where I started and
from the Center it's led
to the official Department.
I didn't think that I
will join the government
or official mission but I,
when I started the project,
it attract a lot of people
and I end up with responsive,
a bigger responsibility,
responsibility
for historical site in Bahrain.
Here, search center, part of
Shaikh Ebrahim, also sponsored
by the Emir of Kuwait.
It's amazing building done
by Japanese architect
Atelier Bow-Wow.
They are famous for
a special building
and you have some more
photos, you end with?
Where is it, it's next
to it, you can read it.
Opera [inaudible] read.
It's a children library.
The library opened in 2006 in
Muharraq and we have another one
in a village of Bahrain and
[inaudible], the second,
the second [inaudible].
And I'm planning to extend more
and have more acara
same as for children.
Here, al-Zayed House I mentioned
that he published the first
newspaper in Bahrain as one
of the original houses and
it's beautiful, so please,
I hope it will encourage
you to visit Bahrain and,
and visit those houses.
Here, part of Shaikh
Ebrahim center,
the original, the
original house.
And here the house
of architecture.
We arrange some exhibition for
architectural and preservation
in this house> The Investing
in Culture has been success
and our fundraising has expanded
over the years to include banks,
banks, private companies
official and individual and even
as I mentioned some of neighbor,
neighboring countries who wanted
to be part of this
urban regeneration.
Since, since its
launch, we have raised
around $145 million US dollars.
It's a little for us,
we need some more that,
that were invested in
various cultural project
that have transformed the
cultural and urban landscape,
hosting a cultural tourism,
created a new jobs opportunity,
generated revenue and raised
the profile of the Kingdom
of Bahrain as a hub for cultural
activities within the region.
Above all, investing in culture
has respected local culture
and diversity of the
Bahraini community
which is the only
guarantee to ensure
that they develop the
development as relevant
and hands sustainable.
Many thanks all of you for
your kind attention and I would
like to end with a film
about Shaikh Ebrahim Center.
After that, if you have any
question don't hesitate to ask.
Thank you very much.
[ Applause ]
[ Speaking in foreign language ]
[ Music ]
>> Muhannad Salhi: Thank
you, your excellency,
for such a wonderful
presentation.
We have a few minutes for
a couple of questions.
Anybody? No?
Okay, so we would strongly
encourage you to take a look
at the display we've, we
have for you and also I want
to urge you to come
to the African Middle Eastern
Division anybody interested
in the Arab world,
Iranica, Turcica,
we'll be happy to help you.
We have a lovely new reading
room on the second floor.
So please, we thank
Her Excellency
and I encourage you again
to look at our collection.
[ Applause ]