His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, opened the 31st Sharjah International Book Fair today with a message to value authors and welcome the digital book as a way of spreading the work of talented writers to as many readers as possible.
His Highness told guests at the opening ceremony at Sharjah Expo Centre: "Despite the participation of hundreds of publishers and hundreds of thousands of valuable books in our fair this year, we should not ignore some of the challenges faced by the book and written material in general in these times."
Speaking of the new multi-media landscape which digital publishing and social media have brought, the Ruler of Sharjah said: "We believe that each has his own role and scope, and all of us as authors, publishers and intellectuals have to think of the best ways to maintain the balance of these roles and implement them quickly."
In his speech, His Highness said: "We believe that the publishing houses in the UAE and our region should keep up with this new revolution and innovate attractive ways to display "paper" books and "digital" books to encourage readers to buy books and read them in whichever way they prefer."
The Ruler's speech was delivered in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. The ceremony was organized by the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information.
The ceremony opened with the UAE National Anthem, followed by the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and a short documentary film about the history of Sharjah International Book Fair and the role played by His Highness in the successes achieved by the fair, which has become an event with widespread international recognition.
HE Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah, said: "Welcome to the capital of Islamic culture. We are still sowing seeds and we are delighted with the harvest that is coming now."
HE Abdul Aziz Hamad Taryam, General Manager of Etisalat in the Northern Emirates Region, said: "Our sponsorship for the children's book award reflects the care of Etisalat to create awareness for the coming generation."
The speech of the Egyptian delegation, the guest of honor at the 31st SIBF, was delivered by HE Dr Mohammed Saber Arab, Egypt's Minister of Culture. He said: "Visitors to Sharjah every year can see new cultural achievements, it is now the focus of all the arts in the Arab world.
"His Highness was always on our side, in times of sorrow and of happiness. If Egypt is healthy, the entire Arab world is healthy. It was a gloomy day when some ignorant people set fire to our books in the research academy, it was as if the heart of Egypt was burning."
After that, HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Patron of the ceremony, was invited to present the winners of 31st edition of Sharjah International Book Fair with their awards.
His Highness honored media man and poet Habib Yusuf Abdullah Al Sayegh, Chairman of Emirates Writers Union, with the award of Cultural Personality of the Year. This was in recognition of his great efforts in spreading and developing the UAE culture and representing the UAE culture at various forums, as well as his outstanding contribution to different cultural aspects at local, regional and international levels.
Dubai-based Explorer Publishing and Distribution received Best Local Publishing House Award. Egypt-based Dar Al Fikr Al Arabi Publishing and Distribution was awarded the Best Arab Publisher. The American Centre for Press and Cultural Affairs - US Consulate in Dubai - received the award for Best International Publisher category.
In the category of Best Emirati Author, Dr. Hamad bin Sarai won for his book Camels in the Land of the Ancient Near East and the Arabian Peninsula and Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahim for his book Sugar Time.
Best UAE Academic Book was won by Dr Salih Huwaidi Nasser for his study about Emirati short stories. No award was granted in the category Best UAE Book in for Production and Translation as it was felt no entrant met the criteria. In the category Best UAE Printed Book about the UAE, the award went to the Environmental Atlas of Abu Dhabi by Motivate Publishing.
The award Best Arabic Novel has gone to Hala Kawtharani's Ali al-Amercani (American Ali) by Al Saqi Publishing House, while the Best Foreign Novel went to author Patrick Ness for A Monster Call (Walker Books , United States of America).
The book Winning is Everything: A 10-step guide for Sure-shot Success written by Deepak Behl has won the Best Foreign Book on Economics Award (Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi). While the Best Foreign Children's Book Award went to Babar Maqbool for his book Stories of the Prophets (Maqbool Books, Pakistan).
His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi honored the sponsors and associates of the current edition of SIBF, including Sharjah Media Corporation and Sharjah Media Centre, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce, Sharjah Expo Centre, Etisalat, and Sharjah Investment Development Authority "Shurouq".
The Ruler received a number of commemorative plaques from Sharjah International Book Fair and Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) in recognition of his pioneering role in serving books, authors and writers and in honor of his sponsorship of this prestigious cultural event.
He also received the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Award for Outstanding Project in Libraries and Information Centers from Hassan Awad Al Surahy, President of the Federation.
The award acknowledges HH's efforts in establishing a number of public libraries inside the UAE and abroad, HH's outstanding contribution to providing local, Arab and Islamic research centers with original and rare books and HH's continued directives of organizing courses, programs, workshops and activities related to research and training, putting the library at the core of cultural rsearch.
Attendees were invited to a breakfast banquet hosted by HH to honor the guests, winners of the various awards and the participating publishers.
His Highness launched the Arabic edition of his book The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf, followed by a documentary film about the content of the book, including old photographs, some historical documents and letters. The book was published in English in 1989, and has also been published in Farsi.
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© Press Release 2012
