Documenting Arabic Heritage and Culture

Interview with Nadia Barclay, Director of Development and Outreach at al-hakawati, as she shares insight about her initiative.

How did this inspiring  journey start? 

al-hakawati started with the idea of collecting stories from the region and publishing them in a magazine. In time and with changes in technology this idea grew to creating an open-access Arabic digital library about Arab heritage and culture. This has been a family project with my mom, sister, and grandparents working together. It has been a labor of love.

Are there any new projects you are working on?

Most recently I initiated a partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Together we are developing Arabic teaching resources, available on al-hakawati.la.utexas.edu.

How would you describe your readership base in terms of location and growth? 

Our readers come from countries around the world. The site averages 8,000 visitors per day, with Saudi Arabia, US, and Egypt topping the list.

Who contributes the site’s content? 

Over the past decade, readers have contributed invaluable content with local knowledge about tribes and traditions, as well as stories, poems, and art.

In hoping to grow the virtual library of Arabic heritage, how would you describe your achievements?  

Our Beirut based team has digitized over 400 Arab heritage books on topics ranging from science, math, music, language, religion, and medicine. Every book and every article contains suggestions for other material, which we research and add to al-hakawati.

For more info – www.al-hakawati.net