Seminar – Private Archives in the UAE
Date: 12 June 2025
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Venue: Virtual and In-Person at Richelieu Amphitheatre, SUAD Campus
The seminar aims at discussing the nature of private archives in the UAE and the role of private archives in complementing mainstream public archives. The archival discourse has leaned towards public archives, with limited coverage of private archives. Private archives are created by the private sector, encompassing collections of organizations, associations and individuals, and play a complementary role to public archives (Svärd, 2016).
This seminar enables speakers to bring to the fore, the peculiarities of conceptualising private archives, including the challenges of managing and accessing such archival collections in the context of the UAE. The seminar draws speakers from the records, archives and information management fraternity to amplify the discourse on private archives, with a special reference to the UAE.
About the speakers
Afraa Butti Al Qubaisi is an Archival Specialist at the National Library and Archives of the UAE, with a distinguished background in preserving presidential and national heritage. Holding a double bachelor’s degree in History and Archival Science from Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and other certificates from distinguished institutions, Afraa combines academic excellence with hands on expertise in archival training, digital preservation, and historical evaluation.
She is the founder of Archivist Club, a pioneering initiative bridging the gap between past and present by making archival practices accessible to the public. Her movement promotes archival literacy, cultural diversity, and ethical documentation standards, earning her recognition as a speaker and moderator at international platforms such as the ICA Congress.
With over four years of fieldwork, internships, and high-level freelancing, including at Qasr Al Hosn and confidential entities, Afraa brings deep knowledge of indexing, open access archives, and archival ethics. Her vision is to build a future where every generation has access to its cultural memory, preserved with integrity, purpose, and pride.
Brad Bauer is Academic Librarian and Head, Archives and Special Collections at NYU Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining this university in 2017, he served as chief archivist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, and as associate archivist for collection development and curator for Western European collections at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution Library and Archives. He has also served as an archivist with the National Archives and Records Administration (U.S.), and has held other archival and library positions in his home state of California. He holds a master’s degree in library and information science from UCLA, and a master’s in liberal arts from Stanford University
Shehab Hamad Alhefeiti is a Senior Archives and Records Management Specialist with over 15 years of experience in records governance, compliance, and organizational excellence. He graduated from Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in the field of Records Management and Archival Science. Shehab has led strategic initiatives at prominent institutions such as Khalifa University and the National Library and Archives in the UAE. His expertise includes designing document management frameworks, enhancing data governance, and delivering training programs aligned with national and international standards.
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