Culture & Education | Wednesday 4 November, 2015 3:16 am |

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Adviser to Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, and Governor of Makkah Province, will open the 34th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) today (Wednesday). The 11-day fair taking place at Sharjah Expo Centre will continue until November 14th, and see participation of 1546 publishing houses from 64 countries showcasing more than 1.5 million titles.

The opening ceremony of SIBF will honour the winners of the SIBF 2015 Awards and the winners of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, as well as the “Cultural Personality of the Year”. The ceremony will be attended by host of dignitaries, intellectuals, cultural figures, Ministries of Culture, diplomats and consulate officials and representatives of media from all over the world.

Prince Khalid Al Faisal, known as the Poet Prince will be honoured as the “Cultural Personality of the Year”, during the ceremony. SIBF bestowed the title on Prince Khalid in recognition of his cultural, charitable and humanitarian contributions, and his constant pursuit of promoting the values of tolerance and moderation by encouraging intercultural dialogue and interaction.

Renowned celebrities including Egyptian actor Mohamed Sobhy, Egyptian politician Dr. Mustapha Al Fiqi, author, journalist and TV host, John McCarthy, Nigerian author and poet Ben Okri, and Indian actor Mohanlal will attend the opening.  

This year’s SIBF will see participation from nine new countries namely Poland, Peru, Ghana, Albania, Argentine, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Mongolia and Serbia. The fair will feature over 900 events, which includes the Intellectual Programme, the Cultural Café, Kids Programme, Social Networking Platform, and Cooking Corner. There will be hundreds of personalities from cultural, media and arts sphere participating, in addition to actors, exhibitors, and social media stars. 

A Comic Pavilion will be featured for the first time at SIBF 2015. Organised in partnership with ComicCave, the largest distributor of comic products in the UAE, the 150 square feet stand will house at least 26 specialised publishing houses. Action figures, toys, gifts and merchandise, as well as comics featuring Batman, Superman, the Avengers, Hello Kitty and Japanese Manga will be available at the stand. The Comic Pavilion will host activities, workshops and shows to enthrall children and adults alike.

The book fair will see the second edition of the joint conference between Sharjah International Book Fair and the American Library Association, with the participation of more than 330 librarians from 18 countries. There will be a special stand for librarians to explore latest products and services, and workshops will be held on advanced subjects for professionals in public, academic and government libraries.

SIBF is held under the auspices of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) and attracts thousands of visitors from around the world and hosts numerous activities and events targeting every segment of the UAE community including Emiratis, expats and international visitors. The fair is dedicated to celebrating books and bringing together readers, writers, publishers and lovers of the written word.