Dr. Nevin Al-Kilani, Minister of Culture, unveiled Sunday at a press conference held in the Small Hall, in Cairo Opera House, the details of the 55th Edition of Cairo International Book Fair.
The event is held under the patronage of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and will be inaugurated by Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, and attended by: Dr. Ahmed Bahi El-Din, Head of the Egyptian General Book Authority, and Hilde Klimtsdal, Ambassador of Norway in Cairo.
It will run from 25 January to 6 February at the Egypt International Exhibition Center under the slogan: “We create knowledge... We preserve the word” and with the participation of The Kingdom of Norway as a guest of honor.
Egyptologist, Dr. Selim Hassan was chosen as the character of the fair, and the name of the writer Yacoub Al-Sharouni, was chosen as the character of the Children’s Book Fair.
The Minister of Culture said: “Today we announce the launch of a distinguished edition of the Cairo International Book Fair, which contributed to building the thought of generations to feel proud of their identity.
She added, "From the Opera Square, we launch the 55th edition which I wish to be a milestone in the history of the Book Fair due to the effort we exerted.
Moreover, the Minister explained that the presence of the Kingdom of Norway as a guest of honor for this year is a bridge of communication between the Arab culture and the culture of Northern Europe, introducing the other cultures to Egyptian and Arab society to achieve cultural and creative exchange, creating a sort of interaction between creators and the public, to realize the openness to human cultures.
For her part, she thanked His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, The President of Egypt, for his generous patronage of the book fair, and the Prime Minister for opening this year's edition of the book fair, emphasizing Egypt’s civilizational and cultural leadership from ancient times until today and supporting Cairo International Book Fair as one of the pillars of cultural industries.
The Minister of Culture confirmed that the fair comes during the challenges and the difficulties facing the world, with the participation of 1,200 publishers from all over the world, with an increase of 153 publishers compared to the previous edition, with the participation of 70 countries of different nationalities, which confirms the idea of the fair’s slogan, “We create Knowledge...we preserve the word”.
The Minister of Culture indicated that the Cairo International Book Fair has a rich history, confirming the Egyptians’ interest in culture and creators as the “soft power” that goes along with the vision of the new republic of building humanity.
She continued, “In the book fair, writers from Egypt and the Arab world will witness a scene that looks like a large cultural carnival with a rich cultural program, events, and conferences about prominent figures. Egyptian and Arab thinkers and intellectuals will tackle issues that are related to the new digital world, and they will address many intellectual, social, and national issues”.
Furthermore, the minister added: “We were keen to develop the book fair in its last fifty-fourth edition to promote the fair in its current edition to reflect the status of Egypt and its authentic culture. We were honored by the presence of Princess Mette-Marit, the wife of the Crown Prince of Norway, the foreign ministers of Venezuela and Albania, and Arab and foreign cultural figures, in addition to our intellectual personalities. We were also keen to document the ties of human civilization through meetings and conferences, linking all ancient civilizations to the civilization of Egypt, - the cradle of civilization”.
She concluded, “I promise you that this year’s fair will be different in its vision, and it will be a mark in the history of the Cairo Fair “.
As for his part, Dr. Ahmed Bahi El-Din, head of the Egyptian General Book Authority explained that the Kingdom of Norway is the “guest of honor” of this edition, which confirms the influential role of Egyptian culture in the world, and its influence in building humanity and spreading human knowledge”. He stressed that The current edition is being held on an area of 80 thousand square meters, with (5) exhibition halls, and the number of participating Egyptian, Arab, and foreign publishers and official bodies reaches 1,200 publishing houses, from 70 countries around the world, with the participation of 5,250 exhibitors.
Bahi El-Din pointed out that the fair’s poster was designed by the artist, Dr. Ashraf Reda, professor of fine arts, expressing the spirit of ancient Egyptian art, which confirms the slogan of the edition “We create knowledge... We preserve the word”.
The cultural program for the 55th edition emphasizes Egyptian cultural identity, Egypt’s cultural position in human civilization, and the role it has played in the formation of human awareness throughout history. He pointed out that the program includes approximately 550 events.
Bahi El-Din stressed the cooperation with national institutions that support the Egyptian cultural project. The fair will also announce the prizes, which are sponsored by the National Bank.
Bahi El-Din explained that the fair of this year introduced a new event entitled “One-Day Conference,” which includes 6 conferences, including the “Artificial Intelligence Technologies” conference, in cooperation with Misr Informatics University, and the “Translation from Arabic, A Bridge to Civilization” conference, with the participation of ministries of Culture and Endowments, the “Intellectual Property...Protecting Creativity in the New Republic” conference, “Taha Hussein” conference, and “Nazik al-Malaika” conference.
The fair will also celebrate new cultural projects: “The Collection of Egyptian Poetry”, “The Restoration of Taha Hussein”, “Tales of Victory,” and “Oqul- Minds”- which are projects created by the Writers’ Association
Bahi El-Din stressed that the fair is keen to achieve Egypt’s Vision 2030, through the role of institutional and community partnerships. The fair presents several initiatives and projects with official institutions, such as: the “Dawai” initiative with the National Council for Women, which is the national initiative to empower girls to obtain basic skills and services, “Wa’i- awareness” initiative with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, “A Vision for Youth” project with the Ministry of Endowments.
The fair will also witness the participation of 94 Egyptian and Arab ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Administrative Control Authority represented by the “National Anti-Corruption Academy”, the Ministry Endowments - Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Dar Al-Iftaa, Information and Decision Support Center of the Council of Ministers, Presidential Initiative “A Decent Life”, Judges Club, and other official institutions.
Bahi El-Din continued: “The exhibition adheres to the state’s plan, represented by the Ministry of Culture and the Egyptian General Book Authority, to support the publishing industry and Egyptian publishers in general, as a pavilion was allocated to emerging extra publishing houses for this current edition. The pavilion includes a large group of small publishing houses.
Ambassador Hilda Klemitsdal, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway in Cairo, said: “It is a pleasure for me to be here today,” and she thanked Dr. Nevin Al-Kilani, Minister of Culture, and Dr. Ahmed Bahi El-Din, head of the Egyptian General Book Authority, for choosing Norway as the guest of honor for this Edition.
Klemitzdahl continued: “We are very grateful for being the guest of honor of the Cairo International Book Fair 2024, and we are honored to be part of this important event. Egypt is the cradle of the world- with its unique history and culture, and Egypt has inspired the world with science and the arts for thousands of years.”
Klemitsdal added: “I am very pleased that Her Highness Princess Mette-Marit, wife of the Crown Prince of Norway, visited Egypt and attended the Cairo International Book Fair, accompanied by Mr. Espen Barth Ede, our Minister of Foreign Affairs”.
The Norwegian Ambassador explained that this participation emphasizes the importance of bilateral relations in all fields between the two countries, noting the participation of Her Highness Princess Mette-Marit, who represents Norwegian Literature at the international level, as she is a passionate reader and is keen to spread reading to new generations.
Klemitsdal stressed that the Cairo International Book Fair represents a great opportunity to present a wide range of Norwegian literature in Egypt and the Arab world, as it is one of the largest book fairs in the world, visited by millions of reading lovers. We also consider it an important gateway for spreading Norwegian literature, art, and culture to the Arab audience.
Klemitsdahl pointed out that translated books bring different countries of the world closer, and allow us to expand our understanding of each other to gain new experiences, as literature has a unique ability to build bridges between cultures and enhance cooperation across borders.
Klemitsdal said: “Translating books from the Norwegian language into Arabic is a great challenge, and our goal as the guest of honor here in Cairo is to support this process, so that more Arabic literature becomes available to the Norwegian public, and we hope that the meeting between writers from both countries, at the Cairo Book Fair, will bring more Arabic knowledge and culture to Norway”. In addition, the program of the fair includes organizing meetings with Egyptian readers and the Arabic audience to discuss the topics of the important issues, such as: “sustainability, climate change, the environment, and gender equality.”
She confirmed that the cultural program for the guest of honor extends over 13 days. The focus will be on a Norwegian author and his literary works. Many of the authors who participate in the literary program have recent publications by Egyptian or Arab publishers, and Egyptian authors, researchers, journalists, publishers, and scholars will join the program. Plus, a special focus will be on children’s literature with the participation of Norwegian authors and designers of children’s books, as children’s literature plays a pivotal role in shaping young minds, enhancing imagination, instilling values, and laying the foundations for the love of reading and lifelong learning.
She indicated that she hopes that the works of Jon Fosse, Nobel Prize laureate, will be translated into Arabic, to make them available to the Egyptian and Arab public, stressing that the Cairo International Book Fair symbolizes a strong bridge of dialogue between the Arab countries and the Norwegian guests.
The Cultural program for the guest of honor
The Kingdom of Norway, the guest of honor of the 55th edition of the fair, participates in a large cultural program, which includes a group of writers in Norway, to introduce the Arab world to Norwegian culture, in addition to children’s literature in Norway. The Norwegian writers participating are writer Terje Tvedt, author of a book about the Nile, writer Jostein Gaarder, and writer Lynn Starlsberg.
The program celebrates Jon Fosse, the Norwegian Nobel Prize writer, an entire day is devoted to him to discuss his various works, writings, and poems. It also celebrates the most important playwright in Norway: Henrik Ibsen, known as the “Father of Norwegian Theater.”
As for children’s literature, the program celebrates children’s literature, through the participation of Nisreen Maktabi Barquqi, Director of the National Center for Children’s, considering the participation an exchange of experiences in the field of writing for children between Norway and the Arab world.
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