A Place where Open Minds Meet Life Opportunities
41st Edition of Sharjah International Book Fair
Where: Expo Centre Sharjah, UAE
When: November 2-13, 2022
95 countries, 2,213 participants, authors, experts, intellectuals, and publishers sharing similar values will gather and lead thousands of activities across an 18,000 sq. meters area.
Under the slogan “Spread the Word”, Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), organized by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), opened its doors where Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed AlQasimi, The Ruler of Sharjah, welcomed everyone, inaugurated the fair, and said: “The opening of the 41st SIBF marks the beginning of a celebration of 12 days of cultural activities and is an opportunity for children, youth and families across the UAE to enrich their learning in arts and sciences, and forge close connections with cultures across the world through books of diverse genres at the fair.” During his word, The Ruler expressed his gratitude to the experts, linguists, and researchers for their dedication and efforts to accomplish a new set of 19 volumes that, together with 17 volumes of the Historical Corpus of the Arabic Language, launched last year, document nine letters of the Arabic alphabet
At the opening ceremony, the Italian Ambassador to the UAE – Lorenzo Fanara represented Italy, the Guest of Honor nation of the 21st Sharjah International Book Fair, mentioning Sharjah as a cultural capital of the world that is spreading the word of books and knowledge across nations. He also addressed The Sharjah Ruler and thanked him for shaping the name of Sharjah in the history of culture.
Creative live performances during an opening ceremony delivered a message of expressing the power of the written word in building civilizations, “Everything begins with a word. The mind gives shape and form to the word through meaning which helps build civilizations and nurture generations.”
It is noteworthy, that SIBF is the largest book fair in the world for the second time in a row in terms of buying and selling copyrights in 2022. “The Sharjah International Book Fair has a history that spans 40 years and has cemented the foundation of the emirate’s future for a century ahead! My hearty congratulations to Sharjah and the UAE on this momentous occasion! This feat is founded in the wise vision, unwavering support, and relentless efforts of Your Highness… You have our sincere gratitude,” Sharjah Book Authority Chairman, Ahmed Al Ameri has stated.
Georgia Today had an opportunity to speak with the visitors of the fair, who shared their experiences and spoke about the benefits of SIBF:
“It is not my first time at the fair, I attend it every year, as each year is unique with different thematic activities, a variety of books are offered, and I get to know more and more like-minded people”.
“It is a great place to be for our family, they offer lots of kids’ activities, so much fun for them, and most importantly, we have a chance to get acquainted with new trends, buy the latest books from different publishing houses and travel in the world of books”.
“It is the best place to be for us to get our business to a whole new level, we held several meetings already with top publishers and distributors, there are so many great things happening here, a place full of opportunities”.
It is also significant, that during a special ceremony held on Day 1 of the fair, the Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, honored winners of the 41st SIBF 2022 awards. His Highness also honored winners of the Sharjah Translation Award ‘Turjuman’ and the 14th edition of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature.
His Highness also honored winners of the SIBF awards, including Dr. Mashael Al Naboodah, who won the Best Emirati Novel Book award for her title ‘Jerah Mozmena’; Dr. Abdallah Sulaiman Al Mughani, who received the Best Emirati Academic Book award for his ‘Features of UAE’s History through the Writings of Western Travelers and Politicians’; and author Shaikha Saif Al Nakhi, winner of the Best Emirati Creative literature Book award for her title ‘Those Days’.
The Deputy Ruler also honored Kuwaiti Author Muna Al Shimari, winner of Best Arabic Novel for her book Khademat Al Maqam; Angelika Dunsmore, Head of Sales, Penguin Group, on behalf of Penguin Random House, winners of the Best International Fiction Book award for the title Micro Life: Miracles of the miniature world revealed; and South African author Futhi Nsthinglia, winner of Best International Non-Fiction Book award for her book They Got You Too.
As for the Sharjah Publisher Recognition Award, Rewayat, an imprint of Kalimat, won the Best Local Publisher award. The Best Arab Publisher award went to Arab Diffusion Company from Lebanon while International Islamic Publishing House received the Best International Publisher award. His Highness also honored winners of the 14th edition of the AED 1.2 million Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature. The Early Reader award went to How do You Feel Today? by Massara Touqan, illustrated by Haya Halaw, and published by Kalila Wa Dimna Publishing House, Jordan; The Picture Book award was won by Kingdom of Antiquity by Manar Haza, illustrated by Basema Husam, and published by Alia publishing, Egypt; Whispers of Trees by Fay Mousa, illustrated by Fatima Madi, and published by Dar Asfar Publishing, Saudi Arabia won the Chapter Book award; The Young Adult Books award went to I’ll start now, do you hear me? by Anas Abu Rahma, illustrated by Lubna Taha, and published by Dinosaun Publishing, Palestine; while the Comics category was closed by Jurors for this edition.
At the end of the ceremony, His Highness honored SIBF partners and sponsors, including Etisalat from e&, which was received by Abdulaziz Taryam, CEO, Advisor, and General Manager of Etisalat e& – Northern Emirates; Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, which was received by Rashid Abdullah Al Obad, Director of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority; Expo Centre Sharjah, received by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Abu Dhabi Media, which was received by Mohammed Al Shehhi, Head of government communication.
On the first day of the fair, His Excellency Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), received and welcomed Nathalie Kennedy, Consul-General of France in the UAE, during her visit to the book fair where they highlighted the role of book fairs in building bonds between cultures and instilling a culture of reading. They reaffirmed their commitment to promote translations in Arabic and French and initiate more cultural activities. Cultural exchanges through the power of written words between France and Sharjah were in focus on an opening day. With 15 publishers from France participating at SIBF 2022, the French Consul-General said: “We are keen to identify Arabic books that can act as cultural bridges and the book fair is an opportunity for readers to get a taste of French literature.” The two officials reaffirmed their solidarity to enhance their relationship through cross-cultural communications to promote literature.
Another very important conference after the opening was organized by Emirates Publishers Association in partnership with Sharjah Book Authority, the conference was held under the theme, ‘Arabic Content Creation and Post-Pandemic Challenges’, and brought together distinguished local and regional personalities including Her Excellency Noura Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth; Mohamed Rashad, President of the Arab Publishers Association (APA); and Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, in the presence of HE Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), representatives from the League of Arab States as well as 35 publishers and speakers.
In her keynote speech, Bodour Al Qasimi shared three lessons learned during her tenure as President of IPA when she visited book fairs in the region and around the world and met with publisher associations from over 25 countries. She said these lessons include the necessity of working and communicating with the global publishing sector, strengthening bilateral regional cooperation between publishers, in addition to promoting policies of diversity and inclusion to achieve positive change.
For her part, HE Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, asserted the importance of convening APC alongside SIBF 2022, pointing out that the book fair is one of the major Arab and international cultural events and has a positive impact on the Arab publishing ecosystem. The Minister said that this reflects the growth of the UAE’s publishing sector and the corresponding increase in demand for investments in the book industry which is the result of the milestones and successes achieved by the UAE over the past years in organizing exhibitions, launching literary awards, providing incentives and introducing legislation that protects and safeguards rights of publishers and authors and supports the development of the publishing sector ecosystem, locally and regionally.
In a recorded message, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League, emphasized that the league considers culture as a bridge between Arab countries, adding that culture is a strong and everlasting bond as it is based on the Arabic language used by Arabs to read and create academic and creative content. The Secretary-General urged Arab governments to continue their support for the publishing industry due to its vital societal and cultural role.
Mohamed Rashad, President of the Arab Publishers Association, pointed out that the Sharjah Ruler has sponsored the participation of the Arab Publishers Union in international exhibitions in Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Bologna.
Iman Ben Chaibah, Vice-President of EPA, pointed out that APC aims to deliberate strategies to accelerate the creation of tools and solutions to reach a wider network of readers and meet the demands of various segments of society. The EPA Vice President added this was essential especially for students and scholars due to the increased adoption of remote learning, which makes Arabic content creation and development a key priority.
Day 1 of the Arab Publishers Conference included several sessions and opened with a discussion titled ‘Book Fairs during the Era of Digitization’. The panel discussion was led and performed by top experts of the field. The other sessions included: ‘Digitization Impact on Copyrights During the Pandemic: Challenges and Opportunities’, ‘Developing Publishers and Publishing Industry and Addressing the Evident Skills Gap’, and ‘Post-pandemic Marketing Opportunities for the Arabic Book’.
SIBF will continue until the 12th of November, stay tuned and make sure if you are visiting UAE, not to miss this special event. Visit the best place in the world – amongst the books!
