Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, will take part in the 1st edition of the ‘Belt and Road bookfair’ for copyright trade in Shandong, China, from 19th to 21st August 2017.

TCA Abu Dhabi will be represented by the ‘Kalima’ translation project as a continuation of discussion carried out with the Chinese counterpart during the 27th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

The ‘Belt and Road Bookfair’ is expected to host more than 100 Chinese and foreign publishing houses, including a number of activities and events, such as the Summit Forum, a series of lectures and a tour of the Chinese philosopher Confucius’ hometown, will coincide with the fair’s activities.

Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director-General of TCA Abu Dhabi, said, "In September 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road initiative aiming at promoting exchange, cooperation and innovation between Eurasian countries. It is important to underscore China's rise in the world in all areas, especially as China is also one of Abu Dhabi’s key international markets. China is now our largest overseas source market with year-to-date (YTD) guest arrivals up 55 percent to 185,000."

China established the Confucius Institutes in 2004 as vital platforms for spreading the Chinese language and culture. Presently, the number of established Confucius institutes and classrooms has reached 1,500 in 135 countries, 9 of which are divided between Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Tunisia and Jordan.

"Through our participation at the Fair, we seek to promote dialogue among different cultures and find common grounds that will establish a genuine partnership, and achieve development based on respect for history, traditions, customs, values and heritage, all of which are consistent with the Chinese experience," added Ghobash.

The Fair’s agenda includes discussion sessions on the diverse aspects of the Chinese culture, including Chinese literature across all genres. The agenda also provides participants with the opportunity to plan or develop and select new partners in the Chinese market, in addition to learning about traditional Chinese culture, especially the hometown of Confucius and his personal cultural standards in the Shandong Province.

Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Acting Executive Director of the National Library at TCA Abu Dhabi, reiterated TCA Abu Dhabi’s interest in studying the foundations of the Chinese development and the will to investigate all possible routes of cooperation with China. "We seek to attract Chinese creativity and benefit from the Chinese publishing experience and best practices of writing, authorship and publishing," he said.

Al Ali also stressed the importance of Kalima’s participation in the 1st edition of the Fair, in addition to establishing a future business relations network for the TCA, and the ‘Kalima’ project in particular.

 

We accept Guest Posts