The curtains came down on the activities of the 28th Muscat International Book Fair at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday amid a diverse cultural presence from the Sultanate of Oman and abroad, under the auspices of Dr Abdullah bin Nasser al Harrasi, Minister of Information and Chairman of the Main Committee of the Muscat International Book Fair.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed bin Saud al Rawahi, Director of the Muscat International Book Fair, said 32 countries presented their treasures of knowledge and latest productions from publishing houses locally and internationally, amounting to a total of 847 publishing houses.
Attracting thousands of book enthusiasts over 10 days, the world of knowledge had something for children too, with illustrated stories, and short stories, not to mention the joy they experienced at the Children's Museum and the adjacent theatre. All of this is likely to instil a love for reading in today's children, making them the readers of tomorrow.
The number of visitors to this year's book fair increased since its start on February 22. A large number of families participated in various seminars and brainstorming sessions held as part of this major regional event. Over 340,000 visited the book fair till Friday.
He said that the book fair was a spacious cultural space, with a solid cultural programme, which included approximately 130 diverse events, as well as activities directed to children and young people. The fair also hosted in its session this year an elite group of symbols of thought, culture and literature from Oman and abroad, who presented a summary of their experiences. Their ideas, in addition to the large group of media professionals who represented various visual, print and audio media, contributed to conveying a vivid and honourable image of the exhibition in particular and of the Sultanate of Oman in general.
The director of the Muscat International Book Fair said: "The exhibition gave a wide space for Omani writers and others who were an essential part in the success of its various programmes and activities, in addition to the presence of various publications, which represented the bright civilised face of creativity, thought and knowledge in our dear homeland."
He added that this year’s exhibition celebrated Al Dhahirah Governorate as a guest of honour, which constituted a qualitative addition to the exhibition’s programmes and various activities.
Al Rawahi announced after his speech that North Al Sharqiyah Governorate will be the guest of honour of the fair in its 29th session, which will be held from April 25 to May 2, 2025.
Raya bint Amer al Jabriyah, member of the Community Initiatives Committee, announced the National Reading Programme project through an annual competition among young people implemented by the Ministry of Education and supervised by the Community Initiatives Committee at the book fair.
She said that the programme aims to enhance students’ linguistic and expressive abilities, stimulate critical thinking, and enhance their love of reading. It targets all governorates of Oman, and more than 15,000 male and female students benefit from it in its first season. It continues over an academic year according to three competitive stages, and the winners will be honoured at the 29th session.
The active media institutions that allocated a wide media space to cover the exhibition and the accompanying cultural events were also honoured, including the Oman News Agency, the Sultanate of Oman Radio, the Sultanate of Oman TV, the Oman newspaper, Oman Observer newspaper, and several local newspapers, in addition to the supporting companies, the guest of honour of the exhibition, and the Arab Publishers Union.
It is worth noting that the publishing houses participating in the exhibition this year amounted to 847 houses from 34 countries, of which 676 participated directly and 171 through agencies, while the total titles and publications listed on the site reached 622,000 titles, including the Omani book collection, which amounted to 19,000 books. The number of modern publications published between 2023 and 2024 is about 35,989 books, Arabic books are 269,000, and foreign books are 200,000 books.
The Ministry of Information participated in this session with a pavilion that included four pillars representing the Oman News Agency, the General Directorate of Electronic Media (Ain Platform and Media Portal), Nizwa magazine, and the General Directorate of Publications and Artistic Works.
He added, "The arts had another story in this exhibition, embodied by the Art Hall, where the elements of artistic creativity harmonized in various forms and expressive styles. It provided visual pleasure and refined amazement for the exhibition visitors and beauty connoisseurs."
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