The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, has wrapped up a series of seminars and workshops at the 53rd Cairo International Book Festival,(CIBF) hailing the event a huge success.

The 12-day festival, curated by the General Egyptian Book Organisation at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre, brought together publishers, academics, media and many other entities promoting the Arabic language.

His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, ALC Chairman, said: “The extensive agenda of activities we prepared for the Cairo International Book Fair reflected the high regard we hold this prestigious cultural event – the largest of its kind in the region. The Centre’s participation was a great success, further advancing our vision to support the translation and publishing sectors, and drive the development of the Arabic language regionally and globally.  To achieve this we are committed to participating in prominent events that bring together industry leaders and global cultural pioneers.”

The ALC’s agenda for the fair included a wide range of events and activities. The Centre participated in the General Egyptian Book Organisation’s ‘Translating from Arabic: A Bridge to Civilisation – Our Books Illuminate the World’ conference, with an opening speech delivered by H.E. Dr. bin Tamim.

Additionally, the Centre participated in three workshops as part of the ‘Translating from Arabic: A Bridge to Civilisation’ conference: ‘Arab Books in the Libraries of the World: Reality and Ambition’, featuring HE Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Acting Director General of the UAE National Archives; ‘Difficulties and Opportunities of Translating from Arabic’, featuring Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, the ALC’s Acting Executive Director; and ‘What Does a Foreign Publisher Want and What Do We Nominate?’.

The ALC’s agenda also included the Arabic Language Cultural Retreat, which brought together HE Dr. bin Tamim and HE Al Ali with HE Mohammed Al Murr, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation, Dr. Salah Fadl, President of Cairo’s Arabic Language Academy, and Dr. Haitham Al-Hajj Ali, Head of the General Egyptian Book Organisation.

The retreat resulted in a set of takeaways and recommendations, which included increasing support to academies, centres, and organisations working with the Arabic language, translation, and Arabisation. Attendees at the retreat also urged publishing houses and the media not to submit to the dominance of social media, but to commit, instead, to the development of the Arabic language itself. Participants also called for investment in smart applications that focus on the Arabic language, with competitions to award the best application for teaching Arabic, in addition to establishing a media watchdog to monitor the Arabic language and its use in traditional and new media.

Further ALC activations at the fair included a series of seminars, including Dr. Fadl’s session ‘One Hundred and One Novels’; Editing Tolstoy, one of the Kalima Project for translation publications; a lecture on the novel The Sea of ​​Poppy with translator Sahar Tawfik; and a session on the Book of Stories (Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin) with translator Amani Al-Taftazani.

The Centre also showcased several publications of the Kalima Project for translation, which aims to revive the translation movement in the Arab world and build strong relations with international authors and publishing houses.

The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre strives to promote the Arabic language and advance its standing through strategies designed to develop the language and encourage its use in the scientific, educational, cultural, and creative sectors. It aims to facilitate intercultural communication and promote the mastery of the Arabic language domestically and internationally, in addition to supporting Arab talents in writing, translation, publishing, scientific research, audio-visual content creation, and the organisation of book fairs.