Liwan is a leading partner in the Iraqi Manuscripts Initiative, a programme that works to protect, safeguard and celebrate the House of Manuscript's collection. Protected in 2003 by local communities, this collection is considered the largest in Iraq, and now housed and protected at the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad.
The Iraqi Manuscripts Initiative was borne from a SBAH/House of Manuscripts and Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) joint effort to work together across a number of fields, including digitisation, capacity building, conservation and planning. It focuses on building the capacities of SBAH's staff and experts through the development of long-term planning and support.
The Iraqi Manuscripts Initiative was launched on 17th October 2022 at the Donny George Hall, Iraqi Museum Library in Baghdad. The partnership was signed between BnF and SBAH and was supported by the French Embassy and the Italian Embassy.
