(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Mohammed Osman / The Peninsula
More than 150 books will be released at the 28th Doha International Book Fair which was inaugurated by Minister of Culture and Sports
H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali yesterday at the Doha Convention and Exhibition Center. The new launches are almost double compared to last year as 80 books that were launched in previous edition of the fair.
A total of 355 publishing houses representing 29 Arab and foreign countries are attending the fair. The fair will remain open until December 5.
Germany is the guest of honour of the exhibition as the culmination of the cultural year Qatar-Germany 2017, in addition to international contributions from Turkey, China and France.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, the Minister said that in the context of the siege, the challenge was not only to establish the exhibition but also in production.
He stressed Qatar respects the principle of freedom for all publications and its adherence to global standards and principles in this regard. He denied the existence of censorship on publications except in cases where there is contempt of religion, promotion of racism and extremist ideology.
The opening was attended by Minister of State H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, senior officials and a large number of heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the country. The theme of this edition of fair is 'Towards a Conscious Society.
The Minister, accompanied by guests, toured the exhibition during which he reviewed the most important modern publications and highlighted the Qatari, Arab and foreign participation. They also visited the Omani, German, American and the French pavilions as well as the Kuwaiti National Council for Culture, Science and Literature, and a number of pavilions of the Maghreb, Algeria, Iran and Turkey.
The Minsiter and accompanying officials visited a number of institutions participating in the exhibition, notably the pavilions of the Ministry of Interior, Qatar National Library, Doha Center for Religious Freedom, Rosa Publishing House and the wing of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
'This Book Fair will be one of the cultural stations not only at the level of the region, but also in the world, where we plan that the exhibition in 2022 in conjunction with the hosting of the World Cup will be one of the most important cultural events on the map of global culture, the Minister said in a press statement after the opening.
This year fair paid special attention to children's activities and Qatari youth.
In a similar statement, H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari valued the 28th edition of the book fair and its content that includes new and attractive ideas that contributes to spreading culture within the Qatari society.
He rejected the announcement of some countries who politically oppose Qatar, to cut its cultural ties with it as part of the imposed, unjust siege. Al Kawari added that severing cultural ties were never in question in history even between countries caught in war, culture, arts and literature were never part of the conflict.
Dr Al Kawari said this path has had adverse consequences as Qatar has succeeded in its cultural events, internationally and locally.
According to the fair's managements, there are 82 publishing houses for children, 26 for foreign books, 241 for Arabic books and 24 agencies. In addition, there are 760 occupied exhibition spaces, as well as 93 unique Qatari participation from different ministries, sectors and governmental and private entities.
The fair is accompanied by a number of art and culture activities with the intellectual platform being the most prominent, which will include a series of in-depth intellectual encounters, hosting a number of Arab and foreign intellectuals and writers.
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