An increasing number of resources are being made available to help people with Middle Eastern heritage learn about their family. The latest classes and videos come from the 2021 RootsTech Connect conference, held February 25–27, 2021. More than one million people attended the virtual conference, which was free to everyone.
RootsTech is presented by FamilySearch International, a service sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In previous years, large conferences were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; and London, UK, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted organizers to move everything online and expand the digital offerings.
There were more than 1,000 classes on a variety of topics, as well as a dozen keynote speakers on the main stage who shared compelling personal experiences. The following videos focusing on Middle Eastern research have already been viewed thousands of times and will continue to be available for free on rootstech.org for the next year:
- An Introduction to Middle East Family History — Jonathan McCollum
- Ottoman Records for Family History in the Middle East and Balkans — Jonathan McCollum
- Keeping Family Records to Preserve Identity in the Middle East — Elie T. Elias
- Insight on Maronite Church Records, a Persecuted Church in the Middle East — Elie T. Elias
- Births, Marriages and Deaths in Egypt — Penny Walters
- I Want My Mummy: Ancient and Modern Egypt — Penny Walters
“We are excited to make more information available to help people with Middle Eastern roots,” said Omar Kadri, FamilySearch Area Manager for Middle East and Northern Africa. “FamilySearch is continuing to expand its efforts throughout the world to help everyone discover their ancestors and preserve their heritage.”