U.S. Government Initiative on Islamic Manuscript Preservation Attracts Private Partner Investment in Nigerian Education
(Kaduna: May 7, 2009)

DCM Piascik making remarks at the Arewa House Conference. | FULL SIZE

U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Lisa Piascik has noted the U.S. Mission to Nigeria’s delight that the partnership project with northern Nigerian historical and cultural institutions on conservation and preservation of Islamic manuscripts is making great progress.  Initial successes have attracted private partner investments in education from American organizations and corporations.

Ms. Piascik made these remarks at the Arewa House, Kaduna while participating in the opening ceremony of a two-day national symposium on exploring Nigeria’s Arabic and Ajami manuscript resources for the development of new knowledge.  The ceremony also included the award of post-graduate grants to outstanding Nigerian students specializing in Arabic manuscript research development in Nigeria sponsored by the Ford Foundation. 

The Deputy Chief of Mission said supporting efforts to save Nigeria’s Islamic manuscript heritage is part of the U.S. Mission’s partnership with Nigeria to invest in people, in this case by preserving a portion of Nigeria’s unique culture and history.

The objective of the preservation project is to ensure that these manuscripts will not only serve as an important window on the rich religious, artistic, and intellectual heritage of Nigeria and the West African sub-region, but also attest to the achievements of human ingenuity.

Recalling that the Islamic manuscripts conservation and preservation idea was conceived in 2006 through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, Ms. Piascik said with measured optimism, “Together, we have worked to rescue and reclaim Nigeria’s rich intellectual and literary heritage.”  She went on to caution the stakeholders that, “Your challenge is to ensure its continuity, so that the rest of the world can learn so much more from Nigeria’s impressive intellectual legacy.”

She said the facilitation efforts of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria in collaboration with Arewa House have encouraged private partners including the Microsoft Corporation; the Wesleyan University Library in Middletown, Connecticut; and the Ford Foundation to contribute to the project through specialized training, technical advice, equipment and grants. 

The U.S. Government provided partial funding to the Arewa House in March 2007 to organize an International Symposium on the Preservation and Digitization of Islamic Manuscripts.