Innovators for the East: the exhibition supports the localization of books and encourages reading The second edition of the Ramadan Book Fair will be launched this evening, under the auspices of His Excellency Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al Thani, Minister of Culture, at the Darb Al-Saai headquarters in Umm Salal, with the participation of 79 publishing houses and libraries from inside and outside Qatar. . The establishment of this copy comes amid great anticipation among publishers and the public of readers, to acquire the book, and to learn from the various knowledge and sciences that will be presented by the participating parties, in addition to different fields in the cultural fields. The exhibition is full of many cultural and religious activities for young people and children, which is in line with the vision of the Ministry of Culture aimed at enriching the visitors’ experience and keeping pace with the atmosphere of the holy month. The upcoming edition attracts 48 Qatari publishing houses and libraries, and 48 foreign publishing houses from 14 countries: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The Ministry of Culture was keen to hold this edition to promote the participation of a large number of publishing houses specialized in books for children and young adults in both Arabic and English. The exhibition will also be an opportunity to launch books and modern publications and a platform supporting authorship and the publishing and book industry in Qatar, in addition to the accompanying events that it will witness. In this context, a number of creators appreciated the initiative of the Ministry of Culture to hold the second edition of the exhibition. They assured Al-Sharq that the exhibition is the result of the efforts and tireless work of the Ministry and intellectuals, and that it will be a great opportunity to localize writers, encourage reading, and support knowledge in its various fields. The importance of the book The writer Saad Abdul Rahman Al-Baker said that Doha is no longer just a focus of the world’s attention as investment opportunities for businessmen, nor just a long-term goal for industrialists, nor is it only real estate portfolios with guaranteed profit for real estate and merchants, but rather it has become a beacon and a platform that brings together intellectuals, writers and authors of various categories and diversity of their pens. He continued: The holding of the exhibition reflects the belief of the Ministry of Culture in the importance of the book, as well as the importance of the intellectuals and the influence of the world of culture and intellectuals in general in the advancement of societies, as they are the most important factor in advancing the development process and the wheel of progress and prosperity in countries. Pointing out that Qatar’s ship, represented by (a nation that reads), is at the forefront of the state’s efforts, and these efforts are summarized in creating numerous and useful occasions throughout the year to create a diverse cultural atmosphere, and the Ramadan Book Fair this year is nothing but the fruit of the efforts, hard work and enthusiasm of a group of Qatari authors, residents and the rest of the world. Religion gave from their thought the yoke, the essence of their creativity, and the fruit of their experiences, to crystallize in the form of a book with a beautiful cover, dazzling colors, rich inventory, and deep content. He pointed out that this is a fact that everyone wishes for the concerned authorities to work and for efforts to unite and join efforts to put forward and adopt the project (Doha, the eternal book capital), and in order for this proposal to gain global and regional acceptance by the competent authority, the project for the costs of printing any book for any author, especially books, must be adopted. research, scientific and jurisprudence until this project becomes truly established, especially since Qatar has the right to monopolize this prestigious literary and cultural proposal.
Knowledge production Writer Hanadi Musa Zainal, a translation expert at the Ministry of Culture, described the exhibition as having a special nature that gives it great importance, as the general public is thirsty for books and knowledge production. Pointing to the huge momentum and popularity that Doha is witnessing as a tourist destination for many different nationalities, “as well as the state of political consensus in the region, which allowed the participation of many publishing houses in the Arab countries, as this edition comes with the participation of 79 different publishing houses, including 31 publishing houses from outside the State of Qatar.” . She said: Despite the spread of electronic reading applications on tablets, the printed book remains the main tool for spreading knowledge. Those festive events, which enhance their love of knowledge and their connection to the book, and provide them with a dose of culture. Writer Hanadi Zainal added that the economic aspect of supporting various publishing houses by displaying and promoting their publications through the Ramadan Book Fair increases the prosperity and growth of this important economic aspect, which gives opportunities to many writers to publish their works and deliver their word to the reader. Writer Rawda Al-Amiri said: Doha is living these days, on the rhythm of the activities of the Ramadan Book Fair, which creates a reader’s community, looking forward to new culture in every suit she wears, to soar with thought, and reach a meeting point, with one of the writers in a group of words, It makes him imagine all its content as images hanging in the memory of the future, to develop his thought and literary level, to become an avid reader with time, whose love for reading is filled with nothing but causes, so as soon as it ends, he returns to reading again. Culture saw for it a home among the minds of those present, to produce culture from the refinement of thought after reading books, and informing it of methods that provide it with knowledge. Noting that “culture is a part of all, and it is one of all things, and the word culture is still confusing to educated minds, and those minds looking forward to culture, so you answer them shyly that it is still in the process of growth, because culture is vast, and it always invites you to think, think, and think.” And she said: You may be a thinker, and your thought may be confused because of the books and encyclopedias in front of you that need a lifetime to live with its writers and thinkers, but the Ministry of Culture came to the book fair to shorten your wandering with your body, to wander with your thought soaring until you reach a meeting point with an idea and a thinker. Your pen may stop writing due to circumstances, as soon as that exhibition begins, your pen will return to its luster, and you will be a writer again, but after meeting all those present after them, in a group of papers, which are called books, only for you, O reader, in an invitation To glorify crafts and activate the values ​​of knowledge building, there was a book fair. Asmaa Al-Kuwari: Religious culture is present in Dar Nabja. Mrs. Asmaa Al-Kuwari, director of the Children’s Literature Center and Dar Nabja for Publishing, said that the house will participate in the exhibition with distinctive publications, and it will have several events, including a Ramadan event for breakfast, followed by attending the Ramadan exhibition, and there will also be The presence of the child in the training workshops that will be organized by the home, in cooperation with the public. Mrs. Asmaa Al-Kuwari continued: The house’s pavilion will include a group of publications for the holy month of Ramadan, “as we have selected books related to religious culture, as well as books in Arabic and English, and the house will also be present on World Book Day, among other activities.” Distinguished participation of Dar Al Sharq with more than 300 titles Dar Al Sharq Group participates in a distinguished pavilion inside the exhibition, presenting many diverse publications in various fields. Dar Al Sharq invited Qatari and resident writers and authors to display their publications in the exhibition, through the house’s pavilion. Mr. Wael Al-Saghir, Director of Distribution Operations at Dar Al Sharq, said: The house will participate in more than 300 titles in various religious, cultural, scientific and educational fields, which makes the pavilion present a unique set of publications by Qatari and resident writers and authors. He called on the audience of the exhibition to visit the pavilion and acquire the distinguished publications that he will present to them. He thanked the Ministry of Culture for its constant support to publishing houses, and for holding such qualitative exhibitions that are of special importance. He also thanked all the writers and authors who collaborated with Dar Al Sharq. He stressed the keenness of the publishing house to provide the cultural scene with quality and distinctive publications, which leads to the localization of books in the State of Qatar, in addition to encouraging reading. He pointed out that among the publications that the house will participate in in the exhibition is Jassim magazine, which enjoys a remarkable turnout in all exhibitions in which Dar Al Sharq participates, because of the useful and purposeful information it provides, which attracts the young segment to it, in addition to a large number of books and different publications. targeting different groups and ages.
