10th International congress of Fez on History of Médicine: The manuscripts of the Arab medical heritage between revival, study and professional practice
October 26, 27, 28, 2022 | Under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God grant him victory, the Heritage Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry in Fez organized the tenth edition of the Fez Conference on the History of Medicine under the title “The Manuscript Arab Medical Heritage between Revival, Study and Professional Practice” on October 26, 27, 28, 2022.
The official lecture of the conference was scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, 2022, at five o’clock in the evening, under the title: “The Manuscripted Arab Medical Book, Reading and Verifying,” delivered by Dr. Ahmed Shawki Benbin: Director of the Hassanian Treasury at the Royal Palace in Rabat.
It should be noted that this international forum has gone beyond its scientific nature to the fact that it constitutes a field for cultural openness and intellectual and social cross-fertilization between various countries of the world, after the great success witnessed by the previous sessions in form and content, as well as the turnout from various actors in the medical field and researchers in history in general and the history of medicine in particular. To participate at the national and international levels.
The most important objectives of this edition are to introduce the manuscript in general and the importance of studying it, with a particular focus on the Arab medical manuscript by encouraging scientific research in the field of its study and verifying its texts, as well as raising awareness of the importance of indexing.
The conference themes are represented in six main topics: medical sciences and their institutions in heritage, bibliographic and definitional studies, operating and reviving texts, applied models for institutions or individuals in verifying medical texts, and studies on the Moroccan medical manuscript.
This year’s edition also witnessed the participation of local and international institutions specialized in Arabic manuscripts, such as the Al-Maddad Foundation for Heritage, Culture and Arts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo, the House of Manuscripts in Istanbul, the Rawafed Center for Studies and Research, and the Scientific Research, Studies and Research Foundation “Mubda’”.
Thus, the conference witnessed the contribution of thirty-seven participants, from various scientific disciplines, belonging to university institutions, research centers and archives in: the Kingdom of Morocco, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Turkey, Italy, the Republic of Tunisia, and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The scientific contributions were divided into six sessions, in addition to organizing two round tables on the manufacture of medical manuscript indexes between theory and application, and the specifics of medical text verification, in addition to four parallel workshops on reading the manuscript text, the concept of indexing and its types, indexing medical manuscripts as a model, and a journey with… Arabic calligraphy, and the effects of terminological study in documenting and verifying the text. The conference also organized an exhibition of manuscripts, represented by the Al-Maddad Foundation for Heritage, Culture and Arts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sidi Mishish Scientific Foundation from Morocco. The cultural program also included field visits to the historical landmarks of the city of Fez, especially the Al-Qarawiyyin Library and its precious manuscripts. The artistic aspect includes theatrical performances and a music concert. Andalusia presented by college students.
It should be noted that the second day of the conference was organized in partnership with the Fez Sais Association at the latter’s headquarters in Batha in the Old City.
