The “Publishers Conference” Concludes by Stressing the Importance of Educational Books

The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) concluded yesterday the "Publishers Conference", which was organized by the “Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry” on the sidelines of the Sharjah International Book Fair. The second and final day of the conference was attended by Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the UAE Publishers Association, Hussain Bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, Hugo Setzer, Vice President of the International Publishers Association, and Dr. Rashid Al Nuaimi, Executive Director of the Media Sector at the National Media Council.

The conference started with HH Hussein Al-Hammadi’s keynote, in which he said: "The Ministry's strategy aims at creating a generation empowered with reading tools and learning, which is not limited in one book, because learning depends on a variety of educational sources. And in order to achieve this equation, it has become imperative that publishers, wishing to cooperate with the Ministry of Education, contribute to the achievement of its strategy and educational agenda, through raising the level of their content to achieve our Cognitive and Value Learning Standards, which will eventually contribute to the final outcome of achieving the richness of knowledge and literary learning that the Ministry aspires for”.

Al Hammadi confirmed his full support for local publishers in the educational field, saying: “We reiterate that the opportunity exists for local publishing houses to enter the world of digital educational production through producing digital educational materials that support the curriculum, and which are alternatives to the traditional curriculum, especially that future learning will be based on independent self-learning that is not confined to walls or buildings. We have a close partnership with local publishing houses, which takes many forms and different paths that we always seek to document in order to support local publishing houses with all the necessary ingredients for their success”.

Al Hammadi called on the UAE publishers to become more distinguished, creative and committed to the UAE values and culture, saying: “Publishing houses should increase the quantity that they publish, and their publications should be world-class, while taking into account UAE particularities and its national identity. And they should attract good writers in the fields of science, literature and the arts, so that their publications are at the required global level “.

Along the same lines, Hugo Setzer, Vice President of the International Publishers Association, said: “Our exposure to the UAE's publishing experiences through the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA), provides us with a creative vision of the professional and institutional standards of the UAE publishing sector, which is keen to overcome all obstacles”.

Dr Rashid Al Nuaimi noted: “This conference furthers UAE’s achievements in the cultural sector, especially in the book industry, and in encouraging publishers, authors and readers, and consolidating UAE’s position in the global publishing market, which is witnessing new changes every day. This fact makes us more eager to support Arab publishers and enable them to strengthen their global presence in this vital sector”.

The first discussion panel titled “Encouraging Competition in Educational Publishing” was moderated by José Borghino, Secretary General of the International Publishers Association. The following panelists took part in the discussions; Wilmar Diepgrond, Chair, President of Educational Publishing at the Educational Publishers Forum, Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director, Emirates Publishers Association, Jaume Vicens, President of Educational Publishing at the International Publishers Association.

Wilmar Diepgrond, said: “There are many options offered by publishers who specialize in educational publishing. They choose curricula that are in line with the aspirations of Education Entities, and that achieve the teachers' ambition, and support the student's knowledge system”.

Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director, Emirates Publishers Association, brought the focus to the UAE context with the following comments: “the domestic publishing industry is estimated at $ 233 million. Through Sharjah, the UAE has taken remarkable steps in supporting the publishing sector by establishing Sharjah Publishing City, a free zone that brings together publishers and works on building alliances among them to support the publishing industry”.

Jaume Vicens, Vice Chair, EPF, said: “Supporting the educational publishers and building confidence between them and governments is the most important step we can take to support students' gain of science and knowledge, as it provides a fertile environment for educational dissemination”.

The second panel session, focused on publishing Arab Youth and Children’s Books, and was moderated by, Andrew Sharp, group rights and digital director at Hachette Children’s Books. The following panelists took part in the discussions; Rose Joannes foreign rights manager at Colodest in Belgium, Mones Al Hattab, from ABC Publishers in Jordan, Dr. Fadwa Elboustany, owner of Boustany’s Publishing House, and Dr. Alyazia Khalifa, founder and owner of Al Fulk Translation, UAE-based house.