Arab Book Award explores ways to enhance cooperation with Saudi institutions

Doha, Qatar: A delegation from the Arab Book Award, based in Doha, met with officials from a number of Saudi cultural, media, and academic institution...

Doha, Qatar: A delegation from the Arab Book Award, based in Doha, met with officials from a number of Saudi cultural, media, and academic institutions to explore ways to enhance cooperation between the award and these institutions.

According to a statement issued by the award yesterday, the delegation — led by Prof. Hanan Al-Fayyad, the award’s Media Advisor — carried out a tour in Saudi Arabia to introduce the award. During the visit, the delegation met with officials from the Ministry of Culture and the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission, where mechanisms to enhance cooperation between the Saudi entities and the award were discussed, as well as linking the award with cultural institutions and conveying its message to the widest possible audience of authors and publishers.

Officials from the Saudi Ministry of Culture invited the award’s delegation to participate in the Jeddah International Book Fair and attend the International Philosophy Conference scheduled for next December, with the aim of strengthening cultural and intellectual exchange between the two sides.

The statement added that the delegation visited the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language and met with Dr. Ibrahim Abanmi, the Academy’s Deputy Secretary-General, who praised the award’s role in promoting scientific and literary activity and encouraging researchers to innovate. The delegation also organised an introductory seminar about the award at King Saud University, attended by the faculty members of the College of Arts and the Department of Arabic Language, coinciding with the university’s celebration of the Abdulaziz Al-Manea Chair winning the Arab Book Award in its second edition.

The delegation also met with a number of Saudi and Arab intellectuals and writers at the Golden Pen Salon, where they reviewed proposals for developing the award’s fields, including introducing new categories such as digital books and children’s books, as well as discussing modern evaluation criteria. The delegation further visited the King Abdulaziz Foundation, where they learned about its efforts in documenting Arab history and heritage and facilitating researchers’ access to sources and manuscripts.