The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi is geared up for Abu Dhabi Publishing Forum that begins on January 30, 2018. The two-day event will delve on the transformations and achievements in the publishing industry from an Emirati lens.
The forum, taking place at Manarat Al Saadiyat, will host expert Arab and foreign publishers and writers representing institutions and centres from around the world.
Sheikha Budour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and President of the Emirates Publishers Association, is participating in the forum’s opening session with a paper titled ‘Road Map of the Future of Publishing in the UAE’, along with Dr. Hany Torky, Chief Technical Advisor of the Arab Knowledge Project, United Nations Development Program, who will present a study on ‘Reading Indicators in Arab Countries’.
Participants in the sessions also include Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Director General of Abu Dhabi Media Company, Habib Al Sayegh, Secretary General of the Arab Writers Union and Chairman of the Emirates Writers Union, Ali Obaid Al Hamli, Director of News at Dubai Media Corporation and Saudi writer Dr. Sulaiman Al Hattlan.
Also participating in the forum are Isobel Abulhoul, CEO of the Emirates Foundation for Literature and Director of the Emirates Airline Festival, Naoya Herata, General Manager of the Kinokuniya Book Stores in Dubai; Margaret Obank, Publisher and Director of Banpial Magazine in London; Dalia Ibrahim, Chairwoman of Nahdet Misr Publishing Group; Rania El Muallem, Deputy Director of Dar Al Saqi in Beirut, and Noura Al Noman, a writer and publisher.
The forum will address the challenges facing the publishing sector not only in the region but also internationally. Discussions will focus on the transformation in the regional publishing sector and the opportunities and issues of electronic and print publishing.
