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Doha: With the participation of 37 countries, the 31st Doha International Book Fair 2022 will begin on Thursday (January 13) at Doha Exhibition & Convention Center (DECC).
Organized by Ministry of Culture represented by Qatar Cultural and Heritage Events Center, under the slogan ‘Knowledge is Light’, the book fair will continue until January 22. The fair will open from 9am to 10pm throughout the week, except on Friday when it will open from 3pm to 10pm.
As many as 37 countries will participate in the book fair. The number of direct publishers reached 430, while the number of agencies is 90.
The book fair will be showcasing the human journey of exploration and learning. The exhibition will introduce the latest and most recent publications that reflect human’s creative and reflective knowledge across all fields.
Director of the Doha International Book Fair, Jassim Albuenain, said that 31st Doha International Book Fair comes amid great anticipation from the readers and intellectuals, as the fair covers all segments of society of different ages and languages.
Albuenain who is also Director of the Libraries Department at the Ministry of Culture said that it is the first book fair of its kind to be held in Qatar, as well as at the level of GCC stressing that this is a great indication that Qatar has a long history of culture, and that it is continuing its bid to spread culture and knowledge.
Albuenain said that the United States of America will be the guest of honour for the upcoming edition of the fair, under Qatar-US Year of Culture 2021, demonstrating the American culture and intellectual productions.
He added that State institutions will participate in a big way within the framework of partnership with them, through the establishment of reading workshops and various cultural events.
Albuenain said that the Ministry of Culture provides support and facilities to publishing houses participating in the exhibition, such as customs clearance and exempting fees on agencies. These facilities come in order to support publishers in spreading culture and exhibition and developing the publishing industry.
He said that Qatari publishing houses such as Dar Al Thaqafah Printing Press, Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press, Katara Publishing House, Qatar University Press, Rosa Publishing House, Zakrit Publishing House, Dar Al Watad for Publishing and Distribution, Dar Al Sharq Printing, Publishing and Distribution, Nabja House for Publishing and Distribution and Nawa Publishing House will have distinguished participation in the book fair.
The Culture Ministry has supported publishing houses by exempting them from the financial cost of renting the pavilions and the cost of services provided by the exhibition halls.
Regarding the participation from GCC and Arab countries, the official confirmed the participation of the General Secretariat of GCC, Ministry of Heritage and Culture of Oman, and the Sharjah Book Authority, in addition to the participation of the ministries of culture in the Kingdom of Morocco, Algeria, Sudan and Egypt represented by the Egyptian General Book Organisation and the Egyptian National Library.
He said that each edition of the book fair presented some new things to attract publishers and visitors at the international level. Albuenain said that US publishing houses will participate for the first time in the fair, and the Italian Embassy in Doha will participate with a special pavilion displaying children’s books and establishing special activities for them, in addition to the participation of Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the world’s most important children’s book fair.
He added that there will be active participation from the embassies of Palestine, Syria, Japan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia and Russia, as well as the participation of the Republic of Azerbaijan represented by the Ministry of Culture.
In compliance with the precautionary measures and in implementation of the protocol of the Ministry of Public Health, Director of the Corporate Communication Department at the Qatar Center for Cultural and Heritage Events at the Ministry of Culture Maha Mubarak Al Mohannadi said that all precautionary and preventive measures will be implemented to ensure the safety and health of visitors and exhibitors.
She said that the entry and exit procedures for visitors will be monitored to allow the visitors up to 30 percent capacity of book fair.
Maha added that the health precautionary measures must be adhered to in accordance with the standards of the Ministry of Public Health, such as wearing masks, maintaining the correct spacing distance (one meter between each person, and sanitising hands).
She said that entry will be through pre-registration of visitors via an electronic link, and that the visit to the exhibition will be limited to vaccinated, including children 12 years and over, who completed 14 days after taking second dose or recovered from COVID-19 for a period of no less than 12 months. It is also mandatory for all visitors to show Ehteraz app.
