In keeping with its commitment to participate in all cultural forums in the Arab world as well as across the globe, the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) is taking part in the 49th edition of the Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF), one of the region’s most prestigious cultural events. The EPA has allocated a pavilion at the event that brings together a host of renowned Arab and foreign authors and publishers.
The EPA’s participation at the fair, which runs until February 10 in Egypt’s capital city, forms part of its strategy to reach out to the largest number of international publishers and to promote and disseminate its key initiatives and efforts among influential publishing sector stakeholders.
Through its participation at the event the EPA aims to promulgate its efforts in the publishing industry and explore the latest achievements of Arab and international publishing houses and their vast body of expertise that contributes to nurturing the Emirati publishing sphere.
Already hosted at CIBF 2018 was a discussion panel titled ‘The Importance of Establishing a Publishing Association in the Publishing Industry,’ which addressed the UAE-pan EPA as an example of the pioneering entities that are involved in the sector.
Featuring Ali Al Shaali, Vice President of the EPA; Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director of the EPA and Aisha Moghawer, Secretary General of the Arab Children Book Publisher's Forum, the panel discussed the vision, mission, mechanism and key objectives of the EPA, as well as its previous, current and forthcoming projects. The panellists also educated their audience on the realities of the publishing industry in the UAE, in keeping with the EPA’s drive to expanding the scope of participation and the exchange of experiences with Arab and global publishing houses and associations.
The EPA pavilion at the fair was visited by HE Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, and a host of official personalities, as well as Arab and international publishers.
“The UAE and Egypt share many strong bonds, especially in the field of culture. Our participation in the prestigious CIBF exemplifies the depth of our mutual cooperation and at the same time provides the UAE publishing sector with a fantastic opportunity to explore and share pioneering publishing expertise and experiences. CIBF brings together renowned authors, intellectuals and publishers from around the world and we recognise it as being a vital platform for us to promote Emirati culture,” said Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director of the EPA.
“The fair contributes significantly to enhancing Arab cultural relations, especially in the publishing industry. The sector needs constant support to fulfil its plans and programmes that are designed to develop the quality of books. For this reason, we organised an engaging discussion panel that allowed us to exchange expertise and create a communication link between Arab and other cultures. It enabled us to find out more about global practices, as well as promote UAE publishing experience amongst a large segment of publishers,” he noted.
Founded in 2009, the EPA is dedicated to serving and developing the publishing sector in the UAE and to advancing the role of Emirati publishers through training and mentorship programmes. The association represents the interests of professionals in the UAE’s publishing industry and improves the conditions of the profession and its related laws in coordination with concerned authorities locally and internationally.