Amin Abbas, Dubai

The Sharjah International Book Fair that was held from November 4 to 14, 2020, at Sharjah Expo Centre was a successful event that turned the challenges posed by the global Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic into a unique experience for all exhibitors and visitors.

The hybrid offline – online model of SIBF 2020 themed ‘The World Reads from Sharjah’ and organized by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), offered 1,024 publishers from 73 nations a much-needed opportunity to showcase millions of titles including 80,000 new releases to a physical audience of 382,000 people who visited the book fair.

On the other hand, SIBF 2020’s diverse cultural agenda, was taken entirely on SBA’s ‘Sharjah Reads’ virtual platform, and attracted a global participation of 63,500 attendees who joined in virtually from around the globe to hear from renowned authors, intellectuals, poets and politicians, and partake in key discussions led by social media and digital experts.

Speaking exclusively to Arab News Japan, H.E. Ahmed Al Ameri, chairman of Sharjah Book Authority said: “This year was exceptional in every aspect as the world facing the Covid-19 pandemic and travel procedures has changed drastically around the globe for SIBF as it’s an international event and one of the biggest book fairs in the world.

“Most of SIBF exhibitors are from different countries outside UAE and that put many challenges on us due to the governmental procedures in those countries, which made us anxious at the beginning. But we had decided to hold the event since last June.

“The modality of doing the event during Covid-19 was a major barrier for us, but His Highness Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, the sovereign ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah and member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates, had instructed us to do the event with all necessary measures to ensure the safety of everyone at SIBF 2020.

“We had opened the registration on SIBF website for exhibitors to participate in the event and we were surprised by the huge number of registrations from many exhibitors around the world who wanted to be part of SIBF 2020. That gave us the determination and hope to do the event this year. But, things changed as we witnessed the surge in Covid-19 cases around world that could affect the participation of many international exhibitors for the event, but we decided to provide the necessary Covid-19 safety protocols (i.e. mask mandatory, social distancing, online registration, etc) to ensure the exhibitors for their safety at the event.

“Also, SIBF 2020 was marked as the first major cultural and trading event around the world during Covid-19 pandemic and it’s considered as a major success for Sharjah cultural project and for the United Arab Emirates as well.

“Many people put their trust and safety at SIBF 2020 and that’s what made 1,024 exhibitors from 73 countries come to Sharjah city. We received many visitors from around the globe but we put mandatory online registration and limited visiting hours for them at the event to limit the capacity of visitors in each hall at the event.

“We had to accept only 70% of the previous exhibitors list for this year’s event to avoid crowded places and give more space for visitors to go around the event. All the measurements that we did in SIBF 2020 was a proof of our commitment for the visitors to feel safe and present them a unique experience.”

Regarding the 40th edition of Sharjah International Book Fair that will happen next year, HE Ahmed Al Ameri said: “The 40^th edition of SIBF will be an exceptional edition depending on the situation of Covid-19 next year, but what we have accomplished in this year’s edition of SIBF gave us the will and determination to make the next year edition of SIBF a major and memorable edition for everyone,” he added.

Mohammed Fawzy, media and communication officer at Mahrousa Center for Publishing (Egypt) said: “It was a great achievement for the organizers of SIBF to hold the event during Covid-19 where all the major events around the world were cancelled or postponed. It was a real concern for all our publishers as they were facing many issues in terms of sales and printing during these difficult times.”

Eng. Jasem M. Ashkanani, General Manager of Platinum Book publishing (Kuwait) said:  “This is our 12^th participation in SIBF and we are very pleased to be part of this year’s edition of the event as we had concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic that led to the cancellation of many events around the world this year.

“Our participation in this edition of SIBF is considered a challenge against Covid-19 pandemic as we have to do the health quarantine after our return to Kuwait as part of the mandatory procedures that’s being applied to many countries around the world against this pandemic. But, we have insisted and decided to participate in SIBF 2020 to approve and send the message of holding events during Covid-19 pandemic and we want to give our thanks for the management of Sharjah Book Authority for their marvelous efforts to make this event possible for everyone to be part of it,” he added.

Mahmoud Labanieh, Sales Manager at AlHudhud Publishing & Distribution (Dubai) said: “Our participation to this year’s edition of SIBF came after the cancellation of many events around the Middle East region since last February and we wanted to meet the people and get their feedback after a long hiatus of over 9 months.

“We are very grateful for the amazing efforts and support from Sharjah Book Authority to make this year’s SIBF possible under these difficult circumstances caused by Covid-19 pandemic and provide all the necessary safety protocols against it for everyone to be part of the event.

“We wish that the public will care more about reading from physical books despite the orientation for the e-book reading and remote learning because reading is essential for the development of any society around the world and reading from physical books is more effective and memorizing for many people till this day,” he added.