Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qassimi, President of International Publishers Association, invited African publishers to participate in the third session of the African Fund for Innovation in Publishing, which includes grants totaling USD 800,000, provided by “Dubai Cares” over a period of four years in cooperation with International Publishers Association, stressing that despite the challenges that Corona pandemic has imposed on the book industry, publishers have an opportunity for a fresh start.
This has been announced during the meeting of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qassimi, with a number of members of Ghana Publishers Association and a group of local publishers, as she discussed with them, during her recent visit to Ghana, opportunities to enhance the future growth of the African publishing sector by taking advantage of the changes imposed by Corona pandemic at the global level.
Ghana's visit was done within a series of visits by the President of the International Publishers Association to a number of African countries, during which she would meet major institutions and companies of publishing industry in Africa, in order to promote dialogue and exchange knowledge and experiences and discuss the challenges faced by publishers. Sheikha Bodour believes that achieving these endeavors will pave the way for developing global partnerships and diversifying business models in the publishing industry.
During the meeting, Sheikha Bodour Al Qassimi shed light on the diversity of educational solutions in Africa, the opportunities provided by virtual education, the tendency of millions of African students to online education, in addition to the great opportunity for African publishers to have a new beginning. During the visit, the President of the International Publishers Association met the members of African Publishers Network and invited the most prominent stakeholders and concerned entities in the publishing industry to cooperate with the International Publishers Association and explore the existing opportunities.
Under the slogan, “My Family Reads”, the UAE celebrates today the month of reading of 2021 nationwide, in implementation of the Cabinet’s Resolution, which sets March every year as a national month for reading, in a step that affirms the leadership’s keenness on establishing and stabilizing the UAE’s position as the capital of culture and knowledge, and the preparation of an educated generation able to carry the banner of knowledge and lead the march of sustainable development in the state.
Executive Director of the National Archives, Abdullah Majed Al Ali, said, “The month of reading is an important initiative that reflects awareness of the necessary priorities that are integrated with other coordinated efforts to build the society of knowledge and consolidate practices that support the development of human resource capacities to the maximum possible extent.”
He pointed out that “Rapid response from various state institutions stressed the awareness of the importance of the initiative, as there were many successive projects and ideas that enhance reading opportunities and provide incentives and motives for various groups, especially among youth and children, in order to get involved in this process, which would become soon a habit, to which they will stick, when they discover the great fun and benefits they directly get, along with the advantages and opportunities granted by reading to them.
Ministry of Culture and Youth has chosen the slogan “My Family Reads” for the month of reading of 2021, in order for supporting and strengthening the role of parents in instilling love for reading in children, highlighting its importance and great role in early childhood development, stabilizing it as a permanent society culture and habit among members of society, strengthening its role as a key motive and indicator of family unity and cohesion, as well as focusing on it for fun, exploration and inspiration for children in the UAE society.
The Arab Children’s Book Publishers Forum announced the winners of the Award for the Best Child’s Book for the ninth session / 2022, which was granted, according to the jury’s decision, to a number of distinguished and outstanding works that fulfilled the Award criteria, namely:
Firstly: Early Childhood Books Category:
The Book entitled (Do Not Call Animals Out Loud)
The writer: Tamara Kashha and illustrations were made by Anna Zurita; the publisher: Dar Al Yasmeen / Jordan.
Secondly: Middle Childhood Books Category:
The Book entitled (This is why Rayan walks like this): The writer: Yahya Ashour and the illustrations were made by Abdullah Qawariq; the publisher: Tamer Institute for Community Education / Palestine.
Thirdly: Young People Books Category:
The Book entitled (The Garden): the writer: Reda Salam and the illustrations were made by Yasser Jaisa; the publisher: Wow Publishing and Educational Services, United Arab Emirates.
On this occasion, the Forum management congratulated the winners, wishing them continued excellence and success and it extended its best wishes to all members of the Forum.
Ms. Aisha Hamad Meghawer, Secretary-General of the Arab Children’s Book Publishers Forum, also praised this level of members’ publications, which reflects what the Forum seeks, with respect to serving the child’s book and raising the level of its members’ publications, so that it could remain a tributary that enriches the knowledge among the generations. In addition, it would play its role in upgrading Arab children’s literature. Then, she pointed out that this Award is dedicated for developing the children's book and encouraging the publishers to provide the best quality, which would contribute to motivating children to have and acquire the book, as well as develop their reading habit.
The Award’s jury concluded its work during the past few days in assessing the works participating in the ninth session of the Forum’s Award for the Best Child’s Book through a set of assessment criteria for this Award, which aims at the enhancement of the creative production of publishing house members of the Forum and development of their contributions in the publishing fields of the Arab child’s book.
The winners were honored on Saturday, 14/5/2022 within the activities of the Sharjah Reading Festival.
Mexico is honoring the Emirate of Sharjah, guest of honor at the 36th edition of the Mexico City International Book Fair, from November 26 to December 4. During its attendance, Sharjah displays 57 Emirati publications translated into Spanish and exhibits a wealth of cultural, literary, media, artistic and heritage events and activities, including 27 sessions, presented by 20 cultural institutions and organizations and 24 Emirati and Arab writers and creators. The Sharjah Book Authority, which is involved under its umbrella: Sharjah Publishing City, Translation Grant, Sharjah International Agency for Literary Rights and the Arab Forum of Children's Book Publishers, "oversees the Emirate's program in the exhibition.
Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority, stated: “In this global celebration of the cultural project of the Emirate of Sharjah, we reap the fruits of a wise vision developed by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, in which he emphasized that the strongest bonds that unite the world’s civilizations are the bonds of culture With all its manifestations, this is why we embody in the activities of Sharjah, the guest of honor of the Mexico International Book Fair, the common aesthetic size that brings together Arab culture with its counterpart in Mexico, and highlight the unique creative identity of the UAE through its symbols of writers, artists and creators.
The Emirate offers a rich cultural program that embodies the UAE's cultural message and helps introduce the Mexican people to Arab culture, as it includes a number of book launch parties, readings, folklore performances and poetry evenings.
The activities of the Emirate's program take place in a huge pavilion to which the exhibition management has allocated a large space at the entrance of the exhibition, and it includes a number of discussion sessions, dialogue seminars and cultural, media and film forums, including a symposium entitled "Arabic Vocabulary and its Impact on the Spanish Language" and a discussion session entitled "Marketing Trends." Books," and a media forum on the role of the media in strengthening ties between the UAE and Mexico, and another cultural one on travel literature in the two countries.
Arabic calligraphy features prominently in the exhibition, where representatives from Sharjah discuss its history, origins and impact on world cultures.
