Sharjah will host the 3rd Arab Publishers Conference (APAC) on November 2-3 under the title “Publishing Industry: Prospects and Challenges in the Digital Age”.
The conference has announced the names of its keynote speakers, including Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and Patron of the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA), American adviser and expert Alec Ross, and Lebanese writer and novelist Elias Khoury.
The speakers will deliver keynote speeches during the conference which will be held at Al Jawaher Reception & Convention Centre. They will highlight multiple issues related to their experience in the publishing industry including professional observations in line with the conference direction aimed at exploring the future of publishing in the Arab world and across the globe.
Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, said, “With a flourishing publishing industry, nations are able to write their future and determine the course and the philosophies of their civilizations. In the Arab world, the publishing industry has never been in a better position to seize many opportunities despite various challenges. However, it is important to take into account that Arab geo-political and economic contexts are putting a lot of pressure on the Arab publishing industry and the production of cultural goods in general, and we cannot discuss the future without fully coming to terms with what this context really means to the industry.”
Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi is an active and prominent figure in the publishing industry and children’s literature.
Alec Ross is a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University and senior low at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
He is a leading expert in innovation and has previously served as Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also as Convener for the Technology, Media, Telecommunications Policy Committee on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He was later appointed as adviser to President Obama after he won the presidential election.
In addition to his long experience in communications, media, and technology, Ross is an expert in cyber security, internet freedom, disaster response, and the use of networking technologies in conflict zones. Foreign Policy magazine named Ross a Top Global Thinker in 2011, and the Huffington Post included him in their list of 2010 Game Changers as one of 10 game changers in politics.
Elias Khoury is a renowned writer, novelist, and critic in the Arab region and the world.
The conference events organised by the Arab Publishers Association and the Emirates Publishers Association, will include introduction and relationship building sessions, in addition to professional meetings, keynote addresses, and presentations. The sessions will cover a variety of themes, such as property rights and digital piracy, electronic distribution, freedom of speech, translation and the Arabic language, the evolution of the publishing industry, libraries, education, intellectual property, and content development.
The conference will be attended by a range of publishing professionals including Ministries of Culture, unions and associations, publishing syndicates in the Arab world, directors of national libraries, managers of Arabic book exhibitions, public and private institutions involved in the publishing industry, intellectuals, writers, journalists, legal experts, academics, and university students from around the world.
