King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives
The Saudi Press Agency have revealed that the Oral History Center of the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives, otherwise known as Darah, has archived around 6000 interviews with Saudi nationals from the past and present. Having been established in 1997, the Saudi Oral History Center is the third of its kind in the world, following the US and UK.
The King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives, through the Saudi Oral History Center, is considered to be the main source of national history from the KSA and is home to millions of recordings, photographs, books, maps and manuscripts. The organization arranges for specialized teams to visit the various regions of the kingdom to speak to citizens about their personal histories, study the sources of national history from the region and document the stories of the people who may have contributed to history in one way or another.
Darah has conducted audio-visual interviews with many people, transcribed them and has developed further research on those stories based on scientific and technical practices and did so by collaborating with universities and international centers specializing in oral history, alongside national and regional institutions interested in culture and heritage.
To the organization, oral history is an important resource, whether it is directly from someone who has lived it or reported it. Like many western countries, Darah encourages the recording and preservation of oral accounts and considers them a useful tool to potentially help bridge gaps that cannot be found in recorded history, especially when it comes to personal histories of families.
