While the 27th Muscat International Book Fair is the biggest one-stop shop for all kinds of books and novels, it also offers a platform for discussions on a wide range of topics that affect modern social lives.
For the first time since restructuring, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has a pavilion showcasing a wide range of projects that will give a distant identity to Destination Oman, such as the upcoming Botanic Garden in Al Khoud.
Speaking to the Observer, one of the fair coordinators said: "We have a team of youngsters to manage and provide updates on social media, young budding writers for write-ups, and a group of volunteers to guide visitors to books, authors."
Omani author Ammar al Naimi has come out with a book 'Hazim' for the second consecutive year.
On Saturday, the Governorate of South Al Batinah, the guest of honor, organized a session on sustainable development in the school environment. On Friday, there was a session on a passion for writing and the path of criticism by Dr. Mona bint Habras al Sulaimiyah.
Mona spoke about her passion for writing and said it started during her school days.
"The desire to explore literature and great writings had a great role in the development of the writing career. I read books and compared them with others in the competition," she said.
She added that the education she received from her father, the poet, had a great role in refining her abilities and skills in this field.
She talked about her studies in Morocco and their impact on her writings as it helped her meet many prominent intellectuals and writers.
In one of the sessions, Dr. Hosni Ibrahim, assistant professor of sociology, touched on the beginnings of the study of sociology at Sultan Qaboos University, which began with the establishment of the Department of Sociology aimed at contributing to the cultural and social development of Omani society.
The book fair hosts 826 publishing houses from 32 countries with 533,063 titles on display.
Artificial Intelligence has been used in this year's edition to analyze various data about guests. The book fair will include a Bahraini Cultural Week. This book fair will hold 165 cultural events and 166 children's activities.
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