Aims and objectives
This project marks the culmination of several years of work, much of it previously supported by EAP (EAP993 and EAP1216) to document and to digitise the most significant collections of manuscript and early-printed materials in Arabic on the island of Djerba in southern Tunisia. The current project takes one final step toward local capacity building in the field of cultural material heritage conservation with the change in applicant leads for the project from external to local leads. The project focuses on collections linked to the island's minority Ibadi Muslim community, whose rich manuscript heritage has a lot to offer both international researchers and local communities, both of whom value these collections for different reasons. Finally, the project will culminate in public history exhibits aimed at raising awareness among other owners of collections on the island and establishing the reputation of the host institution as a leader in heritage conservation.
