Dr Abdullah bin Nasser al Harrasi, Minister of Information, announced that His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, will preside over the opening ceremony of the Muscat International Book Fair (MIBF) in its 26th edition on February 24.
This was announced during a press conference held at the ministry’s building to reveal the details of the MIBF.
The Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah will be the guest of honour for this year’s edition. The fair, which will continue until March 5, will host about 114 various cultural events with the participation from 27 countries, 715 publishers and over 361,000 titles.
Dr Al Harrasi mentioned that the decision to hold the book fair was under discussion, especially in the
light of the pandemic, which cast a shadow over holding of many events in the Sultanate of Oman and abroad, including book fairs.
“The decision to hold MIBF came as a matter of coexistence with the situation imposed on us by the virus, and there was no other choice but to do so, as is the same with many countries around the world which began easing precautions and gradually regaining their vitality”.
He allayed fears that the event would be an environment for the spread of the virus, and assured all precautions will be taken.
“Measures will be there to ensure smooth conduct of the exhibition, besides precautions such as wearing of masks, social distancing, etc., will be followed to ensure that the virus does not spread among visitors or participants,” he said.
Sayyid Said bin Sultan al Busaidy, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Culture, said: “The main committee has formed a cultural committee to organise all the accompanying cultural and intellectual events. The committee will organise 13 events, including poetry evenings, lectures and dialogues, besides 62 other events from the participating institutions.”
With regard to children’s activities, he stated that due to pandemic, such activities are reduced and some selected by the Children’s First Association, Sultan Qaboos University and other children bodies would take place.
Ahmed bin Saud al Rawahi, Director of the Muscat International Book Fair, said during the press conference that the momentum of participation in this year’s edition is less than the previous edition, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
“Therefore, the number of participating countries this year is 27 compared to 32 in 2020, 715 publishing houses compared to 946, and the official participation locally and abroad 41, compared to 46 in 2020.”
Al Rawahi indicated that there would be new and advanced devices to monitor the number of entrants to the exhibition. This will enable the organisers to know the number and organise entry so that there is no crowding.
PRE-REGISTRATION
“According to the decisions of the Supreme Committee, the entry capacity will be only 70 per cent, or 50,000 people per day, based on the total visitors in 2020, which was 700,000 visitors until the last day,” he said, stressing that it is preferable to pre-register for entry to the exhibition, especially for school students, for whom continuous visits will be arranged from their schools throughout the days of the cultural event.
He also noted that book signing parties would be held under caution.
As for the 27 countries participating in the 26th MIBF edition, Egypt is the highest in terms of the number of participants with 133, then the Sultanate of Oman with 93 participants, Lebanon with 80 participants, Syria with 66 participants, the UAE with 42, and Mauritania with one participation.
SUPPORT FOR WRITERS
Dr Abdullah al Harrasi commented on the Omani participation in the book fair saying that “Support for all Omani writers is essential, local publishing houses and Omani cultural initiatives in Muscat Book Fair are basic and this is confirmed by the increase in the number of these publishers and writers every year.”
Ali al Jabri, Under-Secretary of Information, said: “The institutions concerned with sorting and selecting the participating books and titles support the cultural orientation of the Sultanate of Oman and the various intellectual paths, as the support is essential for the Omani writer. The growth in Omani publishing houses in the book fair confirms this. We see this year that the Sultanate of Oman ranked second after Egypt in terms of participation, many of which also represent a mediator for other publishing houses.”
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