H E Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali, Minister of Culture and Sports; H E Dr Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics; H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications; and H E Dr Ghaith bin
The 27th Doha International Book Fair opened on a high note yesterday at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC).
The event was opened by H E Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali, Minister of Culture and Sports; H E Dr Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics; H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications; and H E Dr Ghaith bin Mubarak Al Kuwari, Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was also attended by ambassadors and representatives of missions as well as other high ranking officials.
With a total of 895 stands spread on a 23,500sqm exhibition space, the fair is the biggest edition yet which saw the participation of 490 publishing houses, 90 of which specialize on children’s books.
“This year’s book fair continues to carry on its educational message. It also continues to witness increase in the number of participating countries and publishing houses,” Al Ali said.
He invited the people to visit the exhibition and benefit from the wide array of books in all fields. “This cultural event coincides with the celebrations for Qatar National day which falls on December 18,” he said, underscoring the fair as an important part of the big events organised in the country annually. This year’s edition of the book fair has theme “Read” which clearly aligns with the vision of the Ministry of Culture and Sports. Elaborating on the choice of this year’s themes, the Minister said Iqra (read) is the first word revealed in the Holy Quran which underscores the importance of reading and knowledge. Among the 33 countries, the ones with the biggest participation are Egypt, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Syria, some of which have set up their own pavilions.
A number of educational and academic institutions in Qatar are also participating at the fair with their own booths including Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar National Library, Qatar Museums and Katara among others. Embassies of Korea, Japan and the United States of America also have their own stands at the fair. The 11-day fair showcases 104,389 titles in Arabic and other foreign languages; out of which 15,219 were published this year. There are more than 100 volunteers to assist visitors as well as thousands of trolleys available for visitors to carry books. In addition there are free Internet service, restaurants and cafes along with ATMs provided by QNB at the venue.
The book fair is open until December 10 from 9am to 1pm and from 4pm to 10pm except on Fridays when it will be open from 4pm until 11pm.
