Press Release

The Head of State, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, presided over the opening ceremony of the Library and National Archive on Monday.

These are modern buildings built on 5.400 m2 and 6.200 m2 respective areas and, each with many areas for administrative work, documentations, projections, meetings, conferences, exhibitions.

Made over a period of 30 months, these new infrastructures in our culture also obey the most supplied architectural rationalisms, including a forecast of accessibility to all ranges of public, including the special needs components.

They are also pushing charm through their propensity to offer training and initiation and development courses related to the occupations of archivist and librarian.

In an address at the rostrum of this event, the President of the Republic described the new buildings created for our culture as ′′ privileged instruments of information, education and training for the service of the people “.

They are also an illustration of our ′′ attachment to the practice of culture and intellectual dynamism pursued by our country “, he noted before highlighting the established vocation of these structures to serve as a rampart, for our society and our youth, ′′ in the scourge of the century that is the folding of oneself “.

Reading is the most appropriate gateway to initiate the world of culture and knowledge. It allows you to open up to the worlds. It’s a practice that also allows everyone else to be conditioned “, he said.

The Head of State dedicated another central part of his intervention to the valuable contribution these new cultural buildings are likely to bring to the ′′ duty of memory which is at the very center of our country’s history “.
′′ These archives will remain unstoppable sources for researchers and intellectuals, but will also constitute niches of information and testimonies for the different generations “, he stressed.

For this reason, he invited ′′ Public and autonomous authorities and other services to transfer their archives from more than 7 years to the Djibouti national archives to strengthen the documentation capacity of that institution “.

′′ The main role of these archives is to report the past to read the present and to enlighten the future “, The availability of information to the new archives department is of a strategic nature and “, of general interest to our nation “, has actually pointed out the Head of State.

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