Rounding the corner to the exhibit hall, I understood quickly that this day at the fair would be different altogether. In every direction were lines of school children in pristine uniforms accompanied by their parents and teachers eagerly awaiting the opening of the fair. Altogether, nearly 10,000 visitors would come through the hall today day, nearly half of them children.
The children represent a major cultural goal of the fair—to create an early appreciation for books and reading. The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) founded the fair to support this goal and it is why the Director, Mr. Jumaa al-Qubaisi, sees the fair remaining a public one.
Indeed, the public comes ready to buy—and with good reason. To support its cultural goal, the government provides each student and their teachers with a voucher worth approximately $15 to purchase books at the fair. This voucher system makes selling books directly from the stand worthwhile, especially for professional/trade book publishers like Scholastic. Seth Russo estimates they’ve sold around 2,000 books at their stand so far.
Though this cultural undertaking is widely applauded, it also poses a challenge for educational publishers who come here to find distributors, sell rights or display new titles. The fair leadership acknowledges that the dual-purpose focus of the fair is confusing. However, they believe by building the selling side of the fair, the business side will follow. Yet despite all the indicators of strong the market potential, there remains for me the question of whether a selling fair in Abu Dhabi makes sense for our members. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I can only pass along comments of teachers like Ellen (last name remains anonymous) who stopped by the stand looking for children’s readers in English. Her traditional Arab dress did not give her away, but her perfect English did. She was born and raised in New Jersey. She said teachers in her elementary school are eager to find new and interesting ways to teach English. She also reiterated what I had already heard regarding government funding to support major education and curriculum reform. On Sunday, I will meet with the Abu Dhabi Education Council to learn more.
As for the cultural highlight of the day, I attended the banquet presentation of the Sheikh Zayad Book Awards. These awards recognize the best children’s, young adult and adult literature as well as the best literary translation. Winners were chosen from a field of more than 700 entries from 300 nations. This initiative is yet another building block in the cultural foundation rising up in Abu Dhabi.
The event was held at the lavish Emirates Palace Hotel, often cited as a playground of the rich and famous. This epithet was born out by a minor celebrity sighting by our group as we sat in the Palace at the lobby bar. Recognizing a familiar voice, I turned around and spotted a gentleman sitting nearby who I recognized as George, The Donald’s sidekick from The Apprentice. Cultural icon or stranger from New Jersey? You decide.Is That You, George?
Either way, it is certain that this day ended in a world opposite of where it began.
Factoid of the Day
Illiteracy rate in the United Arab Emirates: 37%
Source: Libri GmbH, Germany
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