30/09/2007

MBI Al Jaber Foundation Donates to UCL’s Institute for Cultural Heritage

The MBI Al Jaber Foundation is proud to announce a major donation to University College London’s Institute for Cultural Heritage, due to open in 2010. The Institute will present a unique combination of culture, heritage and technology, housed in a landmark public building in central London. The building is designed by Dixon Jones, whose recent work at the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery extension, and refurbishment of the Royal Opera House has attracted widespread acclaim.

The Institute will be an international research centre, developing our understanding of the role of global cultural heritage in learning, promoting inter-cultural dialogue and fostering new heritage-related technologies. It will house UCL’s most important collections of rare books and manuscripts, Egyptian archaeology and art; to be displayed, interpreted and studied in dramatic new galleries and beautiful reading rooms. And it will train over 150 international young professionals each year for the cultural industries: museums, galleries, archives and libraries.

This will be a place where members of the public meet and challenge academics. With a lively programme of exhibitions, events, workshops and public lectures, the Institute will engage diverse communities with the latest research and encourage the widest involvement in cultural heritage debates. Because the building also houses major international collections including Judaica and Egyptian archaeology and texts it is intended to make this a centre for inter-faith and intercultural discussion and dialogue.

The building’s lecture theatre, which will be named the MBI Al Jaber Lecture Theatre in recognition of the generosity of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, will be equipped for state of the art presentations and will host a busy programme of public events, including those celebrating the culture and heritage of the Middle East.

For further information, please contact:
Director Public Relations
[email protected]