His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, accompanied by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Government Council of Dubai, attended the launch of the Al Maktoum Archives, an entity overseen by the Government Workplace of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which is aimed toward documenting and preserving the wealthy cultural heritage and legacy of Dubai’s rulers and the Al Maktoum household, guaranteeing its accessibility for future generations.
The archives will function a complete repository of data and knowledge pertaining to Dubai’s rulers, encompassing their biographies, collections, and literary works, whereas documenting their important historic position in remodeling Dubai into a contemporary international cultural and financial hub. The power will even assist disseminate the mental, humanitarian, and cultural legacy of Dubai’s rulers via publications and media channels.
Mannequin for advancing growth
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed mentioned: “The Al Maktoum Archives is a nationwide archive and an open guide providing insights on the historical past of governance in Dubai as a mannequin for advancing growth.”
His Highness added: “The Al Maktoum Archives can be a brand new pillar for strengthening our nationwide historical past, and a reference for these looking for the secrets and techniques of our successes and the essence of the management and humanitarian experiences of males who devoted their lives to serving the nation. Preserving our nationwide heritage is our responsibility and the suitable of those that come after us. The story of a ruler is inseparable from the story of his individuals. The leaders and folks of the UAE will stay one in spirit.”
The launch occasion was attended by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council; His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and Chief Government of Emirates Airline and Group; His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Nationwide Olympic Committee; Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Tradition and Arts Authority; His Highness Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Media Integrated; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; and His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Chairman of The Government Workplace of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, together with a variety of senior officers.
Through the ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed attended the screening of a brief documentary titled ‘Rashid the Chief’ and one other brief video about Dubai’s rulers.
The occasion additionally featured a show highlighting the Al Maktoum household tree in addition to a group of books and reference publications housed within the archives that inform the story of Dubai and its leaders through the years. The occasion additionally featured interviews with people who performed key roles in or bore witness to pivotal moments in Dubai’s historical past.
Historic images of Dubai Rulers courting again from 1894 via to current instances had been exhibited in the course of the occasion, together with two never-before-seen images of the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum, who dominated Dubai from 1894 to 1906, and the late Sheikh Butti bin Suhail Al Maktoum, who dominated from 1906 to 1912.
Additionally on show had been images of the late Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, who dominated Dubai from 1912 to 1958, the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum who dominated from 1958 to 1990, the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum who dominated from 1990 to 2006, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has been main Dubai’s progress and transformation since 2006.
Digital document
Through the ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed was briefed on the mission and targets of the Al Maktoum Archives, and the plans for it going ahead, together with making a complete digital document of the emirate’s rulers and the Al Maktoum household, and qualifying nationwide expertise with experience in archiving and in data administration, organisation, and oversight to handle the power.
The archives will function a major reference for decision-makers, researchers, teachers, and others interested by Dubai rulers’ management, mental, political, social, and administrative legacy.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed additionally obtained an summary of the Al Maktoum Archives’ programmes to gather and doc the oral historical past of the emirate and its rulers, produce documentaries and audio-visual content material, conduct interviews with people who lived alongside the emirate’s rulers and Sheikhs and witnessed key associated occasions, undertake historic research on the biographies of the emirate’s rulers and the Al Maktoum household throughout time, and doc artefacts and historic occasions related to the emirate and its historical past.
Al Maktoum Archives Basis
In a associated growth, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in his capability as Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree No. (44) of 2025, establishing the Board of Administrators of the Al Maktoum Archives Basis. The Board of Administrators can be chaired by the Chairman of The Government Workplace of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with the Secretary Normal of The Government Council of Dubai, the Director Normal of Dubai Municipality, the Director Normal of the Dubai Tradition and Arts Authority, the Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of Dubai Media Council, the CEO of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library Basis, and two skilled members specialised within the related discipline, to be chosen by the Chairman, as its members.
The Decree will come into pressure on the day of its issuance and can be printed within the Official Gazette.
In his speech on the occasion, His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Basis, spoke in regards to the historical past of Dubai and its rulers. He highlighted how that they had remodeled the emirate right into a mannequin of willpower and ambition, guided by the conviction that challenges are alternatives for growth, progress, and prosperity.
His Excellency Al Murr famous: “What units Dubai’s journey aside is that it has by no means been merely an financial or city success story; it’s, above all, a human story led by rulers who made serving individuals their aim, bettering life their mission, and constructing human potential the aim of each mission. Al Maktoum Archives will doc this distinctive expertise and make it accessible to researchers and to present and future generations, to allow them to draw inspiration from its values of management, spirit of giving, and devotion to the nation.”
Collaborative imaginative and prescient
The Al Maktoum Archives will collaborate with related native, regional, and worldwide organisations to facilitate the alternate of knowledge and experience of historic paperwork, and to lift cultural consciousness about paperwork, books and biographies pertaining to Dubai rulers.
The archives will publish books, bulletins, and reference works on historic paperwork, and develop its cultural and media content material to spotlight the management expertise and humanitarian contributions of Dubai Rulers. It would present data to researchers and audiences, and coordinate with related entities within the UAE to determine cooperation mechanisms that advance the archives’ targets regionally, regionally, and globally.
Historic paperwork of this nature embrace official correspondence and data issued by Dubai Rulers with their signatures or seals, and people associated to them, documenting the historic occasions of Dubai and the Al Maktoum household, and reflecting their achievements, contributions and visions throughout varied domains.