The opening ceremony of these seminars was held on Thursday 28th of Jumada Ula 1439 AH corresponding to February 15, 2018, at the Hall of Imam al-Hassan (Peace be upon him) at the al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine, in the presence of the Eminence; the Senior Official Sayed Ahmad al-Safi, in which he stated: "When the supreme religious authority has issued the blessed fatwa against those who spread terror on earth, the nation has then woke up from its sleep. These young men fought bravely and have been martyred. Some of them are below adult age while others are over eighty years old. As soon as the nation regained its self-confidence, our brave men chased the ISIL terrorist gangs, killing some while others run away in a record period. Then the country recovered. Estimates of those who claimed and understood on the military field that the war will last for 30 years, a frustrating number, but these young Iraqi men ended it up in 3 years, making those who said that the war will continue for 30 years ashamed, and is a crown over the head of the Mujahideen who, in a record period of three years, managed to end it. Therefore, we must benefit from these events..."
There was also a speech of the Arab Federation of Libraries and Information, delivered by its President; Dr. Khalid al-Halabi, in which he stated: "The obliteration of the identity of any people begins by destroying its intellectual and cultural heritage, and the people without a civilization are a people without identity..."
This was followed by a speech of the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, delivered by the Director General of the Regional and Local Development Department, Dr. Mohammed Mohsen Al Sayed, in which he highlighted the work of the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Planning in general on achieving the goals of sustainable development, in which most of the countries of the world and civil society organizations, including Iraq, participated, and the formation of an international governmental team concerned about putting an Intergovernmental Panel on Proposals to Build a Development Framework for Sustainable Development Objectives and Implementation Mechanisms. Iraq has responded to this call within the Arab States to participate in the Sustainable Development Program (2030) to achieve the objectives, including maintaining the cultural heritage and achieving equality between members of society and legal laws. "
The opening session was concluded by a working paper entitled: "Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in the Library and House of Manuscripts of the al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine", presented by Dr. Azhar Zayer Jassim and Sayed. Hassanein Al-Moussawi.
After that, the attendees went to the opening of the Exhibition of Manuscripts and Publications of the al-Abbas's (p) Holy Shrine, which was organized by the Library on the sidelines of these seminars, which included a number of precious manuscripts and publications.
The seminars began with evening work papers that were as follows:
- Working paper entitled: The role of Iraqi professional associations in the field of libraries and information in the sustainable development of Dr. Jassem Mohammed Jargis.
- Working paper entitled: The role of Iraqi legislation and laws in the protection of individual property rights of Mr. Ahmed al-Saadi of the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.
- Working paper entitled: Management of Excellence in the face of challenges and changes in the Central Public Library in the province of Basra and its role in the national investment of Dr. Ali Abdul Samad.
- Dr. Anam Mohammed's paper entitled: The Role of Information Institutions in the Ministry of Industry and Minerals in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
These working papers ended the first scientific seminar, and the second scientific seminar will continue on Friday morning, God willing.