Sharjah Book Authority promotes Publishing City venture at Frankfurt book fair
Frankfurt, Germany: The UAE’s publishing sector is being promoted on the global stage with the Sharjah Book Authority’s (SBA) participation in the Frankfurt International Book Fair.
The 69th edition of the world’s largest book fair ends on Sunday.
SBA’s participation at the five-day literary event, which is witnessing the participation of more than 7,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries, forms part of its efforts to highlight Sharjah’s landmark initiatives that aim to develop the publishing industry, and attract international publishing houses to Sharjah and the UAE.
The authority’s participation follows the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) honouring Sharjah with the prestigious title of World Book Capital for 2019.
The SBA delegation is utilising the event to network with publishers and cultural institutions.
With France being celebrated as a Guest of Honour at the event, the French Ministry of Culture has sent over 130 writers, intellectuals and media personalities to support its presence in Frankfurt, in addition to the participation of dozens of publishing houses, cultural institutions and publishers’ associations from the country.
Ahmed Al Ameri (right), chairman of SBA, highlighted the important role book fairs play in developing channels of collaboration and communication between publishing industry professionals and experts as well as in enabling them to combine their attributes for mutual benefit.
“Book fairs serve as vital mediums where individuals and organisations can learn about other cultures and build bridges of dialogue. Sharjah Book Authority is honoured to be able to represent Sharjah at Frankfurt International Book Fair and to portray the emirate in line with the vision of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, who is a leading light in promoting the need for empowerment and investing in human resources through the mediums of culture, knowledge and intellect,” Al Ameri said.
He noted that the SBA stand at the Frankfurt International Book Fair has made the best of the event to promote the Sharjah Publishing City (SPC), the first phase of which will be inaugurated end of October. The facility is the world’s first free publishing zone dedicated to providing services to the book industry. He added that SPC has garnered the attention of many leading international publishing houses that seek to enter the region’s book market and expand across the region.
The SBA stand has received a large number of diplomatic figures, ambassadors and consuls general of Arab countries in Germany, in addition to Arab and foreign cultural and media personalities and the representatives of the world’s major publishing groups. The stand has also received managers of book fairs and heads of publishers’ associations, as well as experts and academics involved in the book industry who are interested in opening channels of cooperation with their counterparts in the UAE.
The SBA delegation conducted a series of meetings with publishing industry leaders and professionals who have been invited to attend the 36th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which takes place on November 1-11 at Expo Centre Sharjah. The meetings have seen SBA delegates introducing their guest to SIBF’s Translation Grant, which has enriched culture with hundreds of translated books from and into many languages.
SBA also welcomed the participation of publishers, academics and librarians in the Professional Programme it organises annually for publishers before the opening of SIBF with the aim of developing the skills and expertise of publishing industry professionals. The Sharjah delegates have also highlighted the joint library conference between SIBF and the American Library Association, which is held annually during the fair, in order to establish greater cooperation in the field of culture and knowledge.
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