SBA showcases Emirati culture at FIL2025

Extensive engagement

During their participation in the worldwide exhibition, which continues until December 7, SBA met with 30 cultural institutions, publishers, and government agencies working in the knowledge and creative industries. The programme aimed to find new areas of collaboration, exchange expertise, and promote projects that increased Arabic content translation, publishing, and distribution in worldwide languages.

Sharjah’s cultural vision

The CEO of SBA, Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, stated that Sharjah's cultural project, led by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah,  prioritises international cultural exchange. Our participation in international book fairs serves as a living expression of Arab and Emirati culture, as well as a tool to boost its position in global creative and knowledge production.

Strong interest in Sharjah’s culture

The CEO continued, "At every foreign interaction, we observe tremendous interest in Sharjah's cultural endeavours and strong praise from prominent institutions and cultural figures. This is seen in the response to the Spanish edition of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah's book The Inquisition: An Investigation of Twenty-Three Files of Cases Committed Against Muslims in Andalusia, which has received substantial attention from visitors."

Meetings with government agencies

During the book fair, SBA met with Alejandra Chacoff Ricci, Head of Literature and Bibliographic Heritage and Head of Chile's Translation Support Program at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Vanina Colaggiovani, Publishing Sector Coordinator at the Argentine Creative Industries Market (MICA), to strengthen cultural exchange with South American institutions.

Discussions with Mexican and Spanish cultural entities

The Authority met with Verónica Mendoza, CEO of the Carlos Fuentes Bookshop at the University of Guadalajara; Mònica Ganzenmüller, Market Development Lead for Catalan Arts - Llibre; and Joaquim Bejarano Rodenas, Director of the Book Area at the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC), to discuss potential collaboration on cultural and literary events.

Strategic discussions with publishers

SBA also looked into working together on sharing rights, translation programmes, and professional training with people from national publishing groups, including José Manuel Anta and Fernando Benzo from the Federation of Publishers' Associations of Spain (FGEE), Philip Hunziker from the Guatemala Publishers Association, Christian Rainone from Fundación El Libro, Antonio Alonso from the Mexican Publishers Association (CANIEM), and Emiro Hernán Aristi.

Meetings with directors of international book fairs

Discussions were held with the leadership of major international book fairs, including Ezequiel Martínez of the Buenos Aires International Book Fair; Rafael Eduardo García González and Henoc de Santiago Dulché of the Monterrey International Book Fair, Adriana Ángel, Director of FILBO Bogotá, Claudia Neira Bermúdez of the Centroamérica Cuenta Festival, José Diego González Mendoza, Technical Director of CERLALC-UNESCO, and Dejanira Álvarez and José Higuera López of the Participate in receptions and publishing festivities.

Participation in receptions and industry events

The SBA's programme also included attendance at cultural and industry events organised by Canada, Chile, Barcelona, Bologna, Argentina, the Buenos Aires Book Fair, and independent publishing businesses. The authority also attended Planeta Publishing House's reception and Hachette's 60th anniversary celebrations.

Enhancing Arabic culture internationally

The authority's participation aims to strengthen Arabic culture's presence on the international stage, create new platforms for Emirati and Arab publishers and authors, and investigate areas of collaboration in digital publishing, literary talent development, and the organisation of joint events between Sharjah and cultural cities in Latin America and Europe.