Abu Dhabi book fair unveils ‘Professional Programme’

Abu Dhabi, Feb 21, 2012 (WAM) - The 22nd annual Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2012, organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, has announced the elements of the Professional Programme. The Professional Programme has been designed to bring together the best in business panels, networking and seminars, with the key aim of assessing the current state of the book publishing industry and digital content in the Arab region. The Professional Programme will be touching on vital topics such as digital publishing and design. Broad elements that form the programme include an illustration corner, the eZone, a service provider area and The Education Chapter. The Professional Programme within the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair has been designed to provide the Arab publishing industry a platform to discuss business issues and opportunities. It will focus in depth on content, quality of speakers and interaction. The dedicated Professional Programme will host an intricate calendar of events. Among the most notable is a roundtable discussion on digital publishing. The session will discuss the state of digital publishing in the Arab region and where it is headed. The panel comprises Shadi Hassan, Managing Director of Rufoof.com and Flagship.co; Mohammed Al Baghdadi, CEO of Al Manhal Publishers, Jordan; Sana Ghenima, CEO of Sanabil Med, Tunisia; Salah Chebaro, CEO of Neelwafurat.com/nwf.com; Octavio Kulesz, Director of Teseo; Alexander McNabb, Co-Founder of Spot On PR; Dr. Panayiotis Paschalakis, President of Digibooks4all and Patrick Beyrouti, Senior Business Development Manager for Middle East at Arab Business Machine, authorised distributor of Apple. A key session for the Arab publishing and digital industry will be on “Making Arabic eBooks.” The session will focus on how to create ePubs and the technology behind them. The list of speakers includes Samer Al Sayyah, Senior Developer at Flagship Pro, Dominique Roux, Presses Universitaries de Caen and Emmanuelle Corne, Publisher at les Editions de la Maison des Sciences de L’Homme, France. Another interesting session will be on understanding the key differences between eBooks and Tablets. The session on “eBooks vs. Tablet books” will be led by Shadi Hasan. The popular Illustrators’ Corner will return in its second year hosting several talented individuals and agencies, who bring books to life with their artistic work. The eZone & Service Provider Area will include different presentations on the technical side of digital publishing. And The Education Chapter will offer access to market presentations from speakers of the Ministries of Education and Higher Education in the region. The annual book fair also offers a range of cultural activities that include lectures, literary and intellectual events targeting people from all age groups, movie screenings and concerts. - Emirates News Agency, WAM