Muscat – The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth (MCSY) on Tuesday launched the Siraj Oman initiative, a knowledge and cultural programme aimed at promoting the use of the Omani Encyclopaedia and Omani Encyclopedia for Youth in schools across the sultanate.

The launch ceremony was held under the patronage of H E Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al Busaidi, Undersecretary for Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth.

The ceremony witnessed the unveiling of the ‘Our Culture is the Source of Our Identity’ programme, which comprises a series of episodes to be broadcast through media platforms in cooperation with the Ministry of Information.

The ministry also launched the Dictionary of Printed Omani Heritage, a bibliographic documentation project aimed at recording and introducing Oman’s printed heritage by documenting its intellectual output and presenting bibliographic data in a systematic and scholarly manner.

The dictionary seeks to highlight Oman’s contribution to Arab heritage and introduce the scientific and intellectual output produced by Omanis over the centuries. It will facilitate access to this knowledge for researchers and those interested in Omani heritage, while supporting efforts to preserve, study and revive the country’s intellectual heritage.

The Siraj Oman initiative targets different segments of society, beginning with the school community, which constitutes approximately half of the population, and extending to the wider community, residents and tourists in the sultanate.

The ceremony also included the announcement of the Siraj digital game. 

Fatima Khalifa al Hosni, Director of the Oman Youth Encyclopedia Department, at MCSY, said the launch of Siraj Oman was the outcome of sustained planning and efforts implemented through several stages.

“These efforts began with a series of introductory sessions and workshops held in various governorates, targeting university, college and school students, as well as those interested in Omani heritage,” she said. 

The initiative also participated in local and international exhibitions to introduce Oman, its people, land and history, while highlighting the accurate information and specialised scholarly content contained in the two encyclopaedias.

“We targeted a wide range of visitors and those interested in Omani heritage, with particular attention to the technical and digital aspects,” Fatima said.

She added that modern tools were employed to present the content in more engaging and accessible formats, resulting in the production of more than 50 videos using varied production and visual techniques, including motion graphics, 3D animation, artificial intelligence and live-action footage.

A collection of publications was also produced to document and showcase various aspects of Omani culture and present them to readers in informative, cultural and educational formats.