Kurdish Digital Archives Project
The aim of the Kurdish Digital Archive Project is building a major new open access archive of Kurdistan’s culture, history and politics. This is done in close collaboration with colleagues from leading Kurdish archival repositories in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdish Heritage Institute and the Zheen Centre for Documentation and Research. Representatives from the organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021. The work builds on the University of Exeter’s Omar Sheikhmous Archive and Digital Archive of the Middle East (DAME) project. Digital collections are of particular significance to emerging fields such as Kurdish Studies with difficulties of access to primary source materials.
Dr Farangis Ghaderi, the principal investigator of the project said: “The study of materials held at the Zheen and the KHI will bring to light many yet unknown facets of Kurdish history, politics, and culture and will recognise Kurdish knowledge production. Most importantly it is an archive of representation of Kurds by Kurds and digitisation ensures its preservation and dissemination.”