National Archives of United Arab Emirates Plans to Archive and Preserve Government Web and Social Media Material

From Gulf Today:

The National Archives will next year launch the first-ever digital initiative in the region to archive, preserve and classify websites and social media accounts of UAE government bodies.
Dr Abdulla El Reyes, Director-General of the National Archives, said the vital multi-phase project constitutes an important part of the UAE’s rich, valuable memory.
“By launching this project, the UAE will be among the first countries in the world after the National Archives and Records Administration of the US and the Library and Archives of Canada, to document and preserve millions of items of e-data,” he said, adding that the project is of significant importance given the wide use and appeal of these platforms by decision-makers as well as the rapid increase in these accounts, tweets and e-messages.
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As part of the ambitious archival project, he added, the National Archives will dedicate an e-portal on its website through which researchers can use the web crawling technique to access the data.

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