The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi was pleased to host a range of successful meetings at its pavilion during its participation at the Frankfurt Book Fair to further develop the translation industry in the region.

The series of talks discussed the prospects of co-operation with international publishers to translate a series of titles into Arabic through the Kalima Translation Project and co-ordinate the participation of the Guest of Honour at next year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF.

The Kalima project aspires to obtain the rights to translate new sets of titles on contemporary interests, such as space and science, children's books, and other books on self-development, management skills, youth interests, the science of sleep and health and lifestyle. The project also aspires to translate world-renowned writings on scientific advances published by international universities and publishing houses.

The meetings included talks with publishing houses from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, Korea, Japan and Mexico.

Saeed Hamdan Al-Tanaiji, Director of Programme Management at Dar Al Kutub, the National Library, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said, "Our participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair has resulted in a number of serious understandings to transfer modern knowledge works into Arabic. We were very pleased with the international publishers’ interest in the project and their trust in us. Now we will be able to provide Arabic libraries with modern works to complement Kalima’s objectives to revitalise the translation movement in the Arab world."

The pavilion also held preparatory meetings for Poland’s participation as Guest of Honour at the next edition of ADIBF, which will be held from 25th April to 1st May 2018. The Polish Book Institute presented a preliminary vision of the upcoming participation programme and discussed prospects for co-operation with the Warsaw Book Fair and the Krakow Book Fair in Poland. Dozens of international publishers have also shown interest in participating in ADIBF, the region's fastest-growing book fair.

"Our participation in international book fairs contributes to establishing long-term partnerships with international publishers and book fair directors," said Mohammed Al Shehhi, Director of Research and Publication at Dar Al Kutub.

"We expect Poland’s participation as the Guest of Honour of next year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair to attract even more visitors. This comes as part of our work to broaden the horizons of our exploration of cultures with the aim of promoting Abu Dhabi’s status as a hub for international dialogue."

The Department’s participation in the world’s largest publishing trade event coincides with the celebrations of Kalima’s 10th anniversary. Since its launch, Kalima has translated more than 1,000 titles from 13 languages into Arabic.