Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi chairs 5th SBA Board meeting

Attendees included His Excellency Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, CEO of the SBA; Youngsuk Chi, Chairman of Elsevier; John Ingram, Chairman of Ingram Content; Marcus Doll, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of PEN America (via video conference); and Gaurav Shrinagesh, CEO for India and Southeast Asia and a member of the Global Executive Committee at Penguin Random House.

 

Also present at the meeting were His Excellency Abdullah Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Culture; His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Amimi, Chairman of the Emirates Writers Union (EWU); His Excellency Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH); Fahad Al Maamari, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Library; Her Excellency Marwa Al Aqroubi, Executive Director of the House of Wisdom and President of the UAE Board on Books for Young People; His Excellency Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director of the Emirates Publishers Association and Director of the Emirates Rights Management Association; and His Excellency Abdulaziz Taryam.

 

 

In her opening remarks, Her Highness Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi commended the efforts of the Board members and the team in continuing to enhance Sharjah’s global standing as a leading center for knowledge, culture, and creativity, emphasising that this year marked a pivotal moment in the Authority’s journey and the Arab publishing industry.

 

Her Highness stated: “Sharjah reaffirms its leadership in building bridges of global cultural communication, from the historic partnership agreement with UNESCO to digitise its World Archives, preserving millions of pages of humanity’s memory, to our academic and cultural partnerships with leading universities in Portugal and Italy.”

 

Her Highness added: “The Sharjah International Publishers Conference has become one of the most important global platforms for rights exchange and professional collaboration, while initiatives such as the Sharjah Fund for Sustainable Publishing’s ‘Innovation Track’ continue to shape the future of digital publishing. These achievements reflect our collective commitment to empowering knowledge, enhancing the Arab presence, and solidifying Sharjah’s role as a driver of innovation and cultural exchange in the world.”

 

 

During the meeting, His Excellency Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri presented a comprehensive overview of the Authority’s most prominent achievements during the year and outlined its vision for the next phase. Key milestones for 2025 included the signing of a digital agreement with UNESCO to document and archive its global archives and integrate them into the Sharjah Public Libraries system, a project that underscores the Emirate’s leadership in preserving knowledge and human cultural heritage. He also presented the achievements of the Sharjah Literature Agency, which included signing more than 30 translation rights agreements into 10 languages and developing a new rights management system that facilitated buying and selling processes and enhanced the global representation of authors.

 

The year witnessed the opening of the Centre for Arabic Studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal and the digitization of the historic Joanina Library, further strengthening cultural and academic cooperation between Sharjah and Europe.

 

The Sharjah International Publishers Conference was the most successful in its history, with the participation of 1,599 publishers and literary rights agents from 116 countries, reinforcing Sharjah's position as a global publishing capital. The 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) also continued to solidify its status as the world's largest fair for buying and selling publishing rights for the fifth consecutive year.

 

The meeting also reviewed performance updates across the Authority's departments and affiliated entities. Saif Al Zari, Executive Director of Digital Transformation at the Sharjah Book Authority, presented on customer relationship management systems and performance indicators, which have enhanced institutional efficiency and service quality.

 

Iman Bin Shaiba, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Global Markets at the Sharjah Book Authority, presented a report on the developments of the Innovation Track of the “Anshur” Fund, an investment platform that connects technology innovators with the publishing industry. She noted that the 2026 cycle will focus on AI-powered solutions in the fields of editing, translation, marketing, and visual animation.

 

The Council also reviewed performance indicators for the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, which now houses more than 3,400 entities, including over 500 companies operating in the publishing and book sectors.

 

 

The Council approved the Authority’s 2026 Action Plan, which includes a rich agenda of new events and projects. Among the highlights are the Sharjah African Literature Festival, the Sharjah Literature Festival, and the Sharjah Animation Conference, in addition to a series of events and initiatives to be announced later.

 

Her Highness Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi concluded the meeting by emphasising the importance of teamwork in achieving the goals of the new plan, stating, "Our ambition for 2026 is to solidify Sharjah's position as a global hub for the publishing industry and to lead cultural and technological innovation in the region and the world."