Since 2009 MEPPI has held three photograph preservation courses aimed at training collection personnel in the region. To date MEPPI has trained more than 60 professionals representing institutional and private collections in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. These include national archives and libraries, museums, press agencies, universities, and private collections. MEPPI courses provide an overview of the technical history of photography and photographic processes; an introduction to the history of photography; digitization fundamentals; emergency preparedness and response; preservation planning and the care, handling and storage of photographic materials.

Map of collections represented by MEPPI

ALGERIA
• Centre National de Documentation de Presse et d’Information (CNDPI)

BAHRAIN
• Bahrain House of Photography

EGYPT
• American University in Cairo
• Bibliotheca Alexandrina
• Cairo University
• Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT)
• Grand Egyptian Museum – Conservation Center
• Ministry of Water Resources & Irrigation Library
• Qasr el Doubara Institute for Historical Research
• Visual Culture Heritage

IRAN
• Cultural Research Bureau
• Golestan Palace
• Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies
• Kamran Collection

IRAQ
• Iraq National Library and Archive

JORDAN
• Darat Al Funun
• Department of Antiquities
• Jordan News Agency (Petra)
• Museum of Jordanian Heritage, Yarmouk University
• National Library of Jordan
• Royal Protocol – Royal Hashemite Court

KUWAIT
• Tareq Rajab Museum

LEBANON
• American University of Beirut
• An-Nahar
• Arab Image Foundation
• Bibliothèque Orientale – Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth
• Dar Al Hayat Information Center
• Institute for Palestine Studies
• Ministry of Tourism
• National Museum of Beirut
• The Fouad Debbas Collection

LIBYA
• Department of Antiquities

MOROCCO
•Bibliothèque Générale et Archives de Tetouan
• Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc
• Ecole Nationale d’Architecture

PALESTINE
• Ecole Biblique et Archéologique Française
• Institute for Palestine Studies
• Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA)
• Palestinian Museum
• RIWAQ

SYRIA
• City of Aleppo Archive
• Institut Français du Proche Orient (IFPO)
• The Archaeological Society of Aleppo (Aladeyat)

TUNISIA
• Centre de Documentation Nationale
• Maison de l’Image
• Musée de Carthage

TURKEY
• Koç University Library
• SALT

UAE (ABU DHABI)
• Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority
• Al Ittihad Newspaper Archive

UAE (DUBAI)
• Noor Ali Rashid Archive

UAE (SHARJAH)
• Sharjah Museums

YEMEN
• Gabreez

13 participants from the MEPPI alumni cohort attended the Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs workshop, an advanced workshop part of MEPPI Phase II. The workshop was a two-week workshop which took place at the bibliothèque nationale du royaume du maroc 10-21 October 2016.
The Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs provides additional training and experience in preventive conservation, with a particular emphasis on the storage and exhibition of photographs. Topics covered are environmental impacts on photographs; condition assessments; environmental monitoring and control options; selecting and creating enclosures; cold storage; planning a small storage facility, preservation concerns of exhibition; concerns of exhibition, packing and shipping, lighting; mold management.
Workshop teaching involved lectures, case studies, practical exercises, discussions and visits to photograph collections.
The sessions were lead by instructors Debra H.Norris, Nora Kennedy, Bertrand Lavédrine, Tram Vo and teaching assistant Maha Ahmed.
MEPPI Phase II workshops include a series of two Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs, and three Digitization of Photographs workshops offered between the second half of 2015, through early 2017. Both workshops build upon the foundation of information and skills acquired by participants during their first MEPPI course, letting them expand their knowledge in topics fundamental to the preservation of their institutions’ photograph collections.

The next and final Digitization of Photographs workshop will be held in March 2017.

18 participants from the MEPPI alumni cohort attended the Digitization of Photographs workshop, an advanced workshop part of MEPPI Phase II. The workshop consisted of two four-day back to back workshops which took place at the Arab Image Foundation from 10-13 May & 16-19 May. Topics covered included understanding quality issues of digital reproductions; quality control and image processing; choosing and evaluating equipment; and file and metadata management. The workshop teaching includes lectures and practical work sessions. The sessions were led by Klaus Pollmeier, and teaching assistant Charbel Saad.

MEPPI Phase II workshops include a series of two Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs, and three Digitization of Photographs workshops offered between the second half of 2015, through early 2017. Both workshops build upon the foundation of information and skills acquired by participants during their first MEPPI course, letting them expand their knowledge in topics fundamental to the preservation of their institutions’ photograph collections.

The next and final Digitization of Photographs workshop will be held early 2017.

16 participants from the MEPPI alumni cohort attended the Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs workshop, an advanced workshop part of MEPPI Phase II workshops.
The Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs workshop was a two-week workshop which took place at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut 9-20 November 2015.
MEPPI Phase II workshops which include series two Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs, and three Digitization of Photographs workshops are offered between the second half of 2015 and through 2016.  Both workshops will build upon the foundation of information and skills acquired by participants during their first MEPPI course, letting them expand their knowledge in topics fundamental to the preservation of their institutions’ photograph collections.
The Environment, Exhibition and Storage of Photographs provides additional training and experience in preventive conservation, with a particular emphasis on the storage and exhibition of photographs. Topics covered are environmental impacts on photographs; condition assessments; environmental monitoring and control options; selecting and creating enclosures; cold storage; planning a small storage facility, preservation concerns of exhibition; concerns of exhibition, packing and shipping, lighting; mold management.
Workshop teaching involved lectures, case studies, practical exercises, discussions and visits to photograph collections.
The sessions were lead by instructors Nora Kennedy, Bertrand Lavédrine, and Tram Vo.
The workshop also included a public lecture on the role of photography in oral history, which took place 17 November, 6:30 pm at the Issam Fares Institute Auditorium, AUB.
The event included a discussion and screenings on the role of photography in oral historywith case studies on AUB’s Neighborhood Initiative’s Ras Beirut Project by Maria Abunnasr, and the Palestinian Oral History Archive presented by Hana Sleiman. The event included a screening of “Jours Tranquilles en Palestine” (1998), directed by AIF co-founder Fouad Elkoury and Sylvain Roumette.

The Middle East Photograph Preservation Initiative held its third course in photograph preservation gathering 17 participants, which began in January 2014 with an 8-day workshop hosted by Darat Al Funun in Amman.

MEPPI courses are designed to provide basic theoretical and practical training in the care of a broad range of photographic materials found in the collections of museums, libraries, archives and other repositories.
MEPPI Amman 2014 Course structure

· An eight-day workshop in Amman that included lectures, demonstrations, hands-on projects, collection visits, and case studies.

· An appproximately eight-month distance-mentoring period of assigned work that participants carry out in their own institutions while remaining in contact with an instructor. These assignments allow participants to apply the concepts and information presented during the workshop to their own collections. Instructors mentor participants by providing advice, guidance and additional information to assist them in their work with their collections. Participants can expect to spend from five to ten hours each month on practical work and distance mentoring with an instructor.

· A follow-up meeting in Beirut which allows instructors and participants to review progress made since the workshop and consider the potential next steps in advancing the preservation of their collections.

Workshop date: 20-28 January 2014Workshop Venue: Darat al Funun, Amman, Jordan

Distance mentoring: February 2014-September 2014
Follow-up meeting: American University of Beirut (AUB), Beirut, Lebanon 26-30 January 2015

Photo taken by participant Abdulrahman Al-Ghaberi

The Middle East Photograph Preservation Initiative’s (MEPPI) second course opened on the 11^th of November 2012, gathering 16 participants from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Iran and the UAE. The course began with an 8-day workshop, generously hosted by New York University, Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). The combination of lectures and hands-on sessions focused on the history of photography in the Arab World, image formation and degradation, storage practices, emergency preparedness, and digitization.

The workshop provided an overview of the technical history of photographic processes with a particular emphasis on the characterization and identification of albumen, silver gelatin, and chromogenic color print materials, glass- and film-based negatives. Other more rare photographic processes such as the daguerreotype, were introduced. Lectures interwoven with hands-on practica were conducted by conservators Debra Hess Norris, Nora Kennedy and Tram Vo as well as scientist Bertrand Lavédrine. The importance of balancing preservation and access was highlighted in discussions on establishing handling guidelines, improving storage and exhibition practices—including cold storage, environmental assessment and practical control measures, as well as mitigation from airborne contaminants and pollutants. Sessions were also held on best practices for digitization and access.

The importance of emergency preparedness, response and recovery was emphasized. Methods for collections’ surveys and prioritizing for preservation were touched upon in the interest of creating practical strategies for long-term preservation of collections. Lectures and discussions on fund-raising, contemporary art, and the history of photography and contemporary art were provided by Zeina Arida, former Director of the Arab Image Foundation, and other invited speakers.

Participants had the opportunity to present to the group an overview of the institutions they represent. The workshop also featured site visits to the national collections of the Tourism and Culture Authority of Abu Dhabi, the National Center for Documentation and Research in Abu Dhabi and the archive of leading local newspaper Etihad. Contrasts in methods of conservation and preservation were observed and discussions were engaged in. The group also spent an afternoon in Dubai, where they visited the impressive archive of late royal photographer Noor Ali Rashid and learnt of its establishment and preservation from the photographer’s daughter, Shamsa Rashid.

A public talk was also held on the first night of the workshop, at an auditorium in the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Given by Debra Hess Norris and Nora Kennedy, and moderated by Shamoon Zamir (Associate Professor of Literary and Visual Studies of NYUAD), the speakers addressed an interested audience on topics related to the preservation of family photographs and museum practices. The lecture was followed by a series of questions, focusing, among other topics, on digital files and their preservation.

MEPPI Abu Dhabi 2012 Course structure

· An eight-day workshop in Abu Dhabi that included lectures, demonstrations, hands-on projects, collection visits, and case studies.

· An approximate eight-month period of assigned practical work that participants carry out in their own institutions while remaining in contact with an instructor. These assignments allow participants to apply the concepts and information presented during the workshop to their own collections. Completed assignments will be submitted periodically to the instructor through the MEPPI website. Instructors mentor participants by providing advice, guidance and additional information to assist them in their work with their collections. Participants can expect to spend from five to ten hours each month on practical work and distance mentoring with an instructor.

· A final four-day meeting in Istanbul where the participants and several of the instructors shared the results of their experiences and consider the potential next steps in advancing the preservation of their collections.

Workshop date: 11-19 November 2012Workshop Venue: Downton Campus, NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, UAE

Distance mentoring: December 2012-July 2013
Follow-up meeting: SALT Galata, Istanbul, Turkey 16-20 September 2013

Photo by participant Kamran Najafzadeh

The first edition of MEPPI took place in Beirut in January 2009.
Institutions from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria participated in nine days of workshops animated by Nora Kennedy (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and Debra Hess-Norris (University of Delaware).
To find out more about the previous edition of MEPPI, please consult the MEPPI 2009 blog

The Middle East Photograph Preservation Initiative (MEPPI) Beirut 2011, held its first course in photograph preservation co-ordinated by the Arab Image Foundation (AIF), the Art Conservation Department at the University of Delaware, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Getty Conservation Institute. This was the first of a series of three, 8-day photograph preservation workshops in the Middle East.

MEPPI Beirut 2011 welcomed 18 participants from leading photograph collections of the greater Middle East, including national archives and libraries, museums, press agencies, and universities from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Syria. Participants and instructors engaged in theoretical and practical sessions addressing the identification, preservation, and display of photographic materials, whether analog or digital. Participants were provided with preservation toolkits and sample housing materials. Selected participants were provided with state-of-the-art environment monitoring data loggers, to gather data on storage conditions. The workshop included collection visits to the American University of Beirut, the Arab Image Foundation and the Hashem el Madani studio in Saida, South Lebanon. A public talk at the Beirut Art Centre addressed the critical challenges and best practices associated with digital print preservation.

The workshop was directed by Debra Hess Norris (University of Delaware) and Nora Kennedy (The Metropolitain Museum). Speakers included Franziska Frey (Harvard Library), Bertrand Lavedrine (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections), Tram Vo (Getty Conservtion Institute), Zeina Arida (former director of the Arab Image Foundation), Akram Zaatari (artist and founding member of the Arab Image Foundation) and Issam Nassar (scholar and historian of photograph and member of the Arab Image Foundation).

MEPPI Beirut 2011 Course structure

– An eight-month period of assigned practical work that participants carried out in their own institutions while remaining in contact with an instructor. The instructor mentored participants by providing advice, guidance and additional information either electronically or by telephone to assist them in their work with their collections. The MEPPI website was also developed to allow participants to share information with one another and to take part in joint assignments and projects. Participants were expected to spend from five to ten hours each month on practical work and distance mentoring with an instructor.

– A final four-day meeting in Rabat for the participants and several of the instructors  to share the results of their experiences and to consider the potential next steps in advancing the preservation of their collections.

Workshop date: 10-18 November 2011
Workshop Venue: American University of Beirut

Distance mentoring: December 2011-July 2012 
Follow-up meeting: Rabat, Morocco, September 2012 

Photo taken by participant Nada Itani