Frankfurt: For its consistent efforts to promote international cultural communication and understanding, Sharjah has been named the Sao Paulo International Book Fair’s Guest of Honour for the year 2018. The announcement was made at the Frankfurt International Book Fair in the presence of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
The Sao Paolo International Book Fair is one of the largest and most important in Latin America, and the honour reflects Sharjah’s status as a cultural leader in the Arab world and a crucial hub to launch initiatives, events and awards. The emirate is seen internationally as a meeting point of humanitarian and cultural discussion, which encourages dialogue between different philosophies through ideas, books, arts and music.
Sharjah has launched major projects in support of the publishing industry, promoting translation and literary exchange, and has played a key role in sustaining visual arts and creativity using a variety of channels, including painting, poetry, fiction and cinema.
Today, Sharjah’s International Book Fair is the third largest book fair in the world, with more than 1,500 participating publishing houses and 1.5 million titles on display. It has also launched many initiatives to translate to and from Arabic and has successfully built a cultural bridge spanning many international borders, attracting leading writers, intellectuals, artists and journalists from around the world.
Luis Antonio Torelli, president of the Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL), said, “After so many years, it is very important to the Brazilian Book Chamber to foster and strengthen international relationships at the São Paulo International Book Fair. This recovery, so special to us, would have to be with a guest of honour who could reawaken the passion, fascination and excitement in our publishers and Brazilian readers. We have found all of those elements in the emirate of Sharjah, one of the most important cultural hubs in the Middle East and across the Arab world. The unique cultural influence Sharjah brings with it will be a great benefit to visitors that will be able to recognise a little bit of our own Brazilian cultural background. It will also be a great opportunity for our readers to discover new stories, a genuine business opportunity for our publishers, and a great honour for the Brazilian Book Chamber.”
The publishing trade relationship between Latin America and the Arab world is reflected in the United Nations’ most recent statistics that shows a significant growth. The export of books to Latin America from the Arab world represents 94 per cent of the annual publishing trade, and the UAE make up 83 per cent of the exports, which is worth $861,650.
In 1998, Sharjah was awarded the ‘Cultural Capital of the Arab World’ title, and in 2014 was named the ‘Islamic Culture Capital’.
Also present at the announcement were Shaikha Budoor Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, founder and honorary president of Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) and founder and CEO of Kalimat Group; Ali Abdullah Al Ahmad, UAE Ambassador to Germany; and Ahmad Bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA).
