A new permanent headquarter for the writers and authors of the UAE will be built in Sharjah under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. This was announced yesterday by Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority and Director of the Sharjah International Book Fair, who said that the completion of the building is expected before the 35th edition of the fair next year. The news was made public during the announcement of the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Sharjah Book Authority and the Emirates Writers Union on the sidelines of the 34th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair. The memorandum aims at promoting Emirati writers globally and spreading Emirati culture around the world.
The announcement was attended by Habib Al Sayegh, President of Emirates Writers Union, Alaa Abdul Hadi, President of the Egyptian Writers Union and a number of media personalities, writers and intellectuals.Al Ameri said that as part of Sheikh Sultan’s vision and in line with its regional and international cultural projects, the emirate of Sharjah strives to celebrate talent in all creative fields and to support Emirati writers, translating their works into other languages. In doing so they make their work known in various cultural events, he said.During the announcement he added that the authority is keen to invite a number of Emirati writer to join them during their international participations in Book fairs, festivals and conferences. This will allow the public to know more about them and will allow them the chance to communicate with their counterparts from around the world, he said adding that this would lead to sharing experiences and increasing their skills.
Al Ameri added that the authority will also work on publishing a booklet about the Emirati Writers Union that would be distributed in the various activities that they take part in to foster relationships between them and writers from outside the UAE. The booklet will also bolster the communication between the authority and its counterparts from all over the world.He said that he hopes that this memorandum will increase the popularity of Emirati writers in order to boost the distribution and reach of their works and that it would encourage international publishers to translate their works into different languages. He also thanked the Emirati Writers Union for their support and collaboration.Al Sayegh thanked the Sharjah Book Authority for the initiative saying that it will promote Emirati culture. He said: “We are always cooperating but this memorandum will ensure that the cooperation takes place on a larger scale under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.Speaking about the book fair, Abdel Hadi praised the book fair and its organisers and Sheikh Sultan’s speech during the opening ceremony which focused on the importance of translation from Arabic into other languages.