Egypt’s state-of-the-art library and cultural centre Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) has won the 16th Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the category Publishing and Technology.
The annually-held Sheikh Zayed Book Award commemorates the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Founding President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. Held at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, the award is an independent initiative administered by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism.
The library offers a range of programmes and events that spread and enhances awareness, science, and knowledge; and activities presented through international research centers such as the Francophone Activities Center (CAF) and the Center for Mediterranean Studies.
Director of BA Dr. Mostafa el Feki says that Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a global edifice of culture and enlightenment and plays a leading role in the field of publishing and heritage at national, regional, and global levels. He also points out that winning the Sheikh Zayed Book Award this year was of special significance as it coincides with the library’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
He added that the Great Library of Alexandria is a cultural legacy of the past and a revival of a larger institution called the Mouseion, and was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world, which was lost in antiquity. Inaugurated in 2002, Bibliotheca Alexandrina with its striking disc-shaped, ultramodern architecture is the largest of its time with a shelf space for eight million books in multiple languages and a digital archive that caters to the needs of readers from all over the world. The library has also issued several unique publications and has contributed immensely to cultural and artistic activities by inviting leading intellectuals to cultural conferences and seminars, in person and online.
Speaking on the occasion, Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Latin American Affairs Ashraf Mounir says, “The Library of Alexandria is an important global cultural monument that we are all proud of headed by Dr. Mostafa el Feki, the highly skilled diplomat with extensive experience in the political and cultural fields garnered from a prolific career in the international arena. It also represents the Egyptian state’s commitment to promote knowledge and awareness all over the world from Alexandria, the “Bride of the Mediterranean.”
Economic advisor at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and member of UN Economic Commission for Europe Saeed al-Batouti says that the library is a prestigious scientific and intellectual institution with a recognized global standing, as it represents a centre of international thought and enlightenment and includes millions of books in all branches of knowledge. He asserts that the library’s winning of this important award enhances the pattern of cultural tourism, a pattern that the United Nations calls and encourages as it benefits the local population, and will increase the attraction of cultural tourism to Egypt, especially as it possesses unique global cultural sites.
He appreciated the work done by the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi and its Director General Tourism Sector Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry to enhance the tourism and cultural movement, pointing out that the UAE is working to promote tourism through effective plans.
