PVPF 2024

ALC Join Hands with Frankfurt Book Fair for an Expert Training Session

on Sep 07, 2022

The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), which is part of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), organized a training session for the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) crew, which was delivered by Frankfurt Book Fair professionals.

The cooperation, which was part of the ALC-Frankfurt Book Fair partnership agreement, intended to support ADIBF's new strategy and improve the event's future edition by aligning it with the best worldwide standards in the area.

The training session, which comprised five Emirati ALC workers, began in late August in Germany, intending to promote the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair among publishers and creative content producers both locally and worldwide, per the Fair's core aims and goals.

"The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre has maintained a strong partnership with Frankfurt Book Fair over the years," said ALC Chairman His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim. He further added that Frankfurt Book Fair is an exceptional and longstanding international cultural event that brings together thousands of publishers, content creators, and visitors from around the world for in-depth discussions on how to develop and support the book industry and promote culture."

"This collaboration supports the Centre's efforts to promote and develop the Arabic language on a local and worldwide scale via culture, education, research, and the arts," H.E. bin Tamim stated. "The Frankfurt Book Fair has considerable expertise, success stories, and best practices in organizing and administering important international exhibits that enrich cultural activities and define the book industry's bright future."

This, in turn, enables Emirati publishing professionals to learn the skills required to expand the sector in the UAE, benefiting from successful experiences and sophisticated tactics given by book industry pioneers. The training program we designed with the Frankfurt Book Fair strengthens our association with this prominent international event and will assist empower future generations of Emirati book fair specialists."

"International book fairs all over the globe have one thing in common - they are crucial in fostering innovation in the sector, connecting business leaders, and extending commercial prospects," stated Juergen Boos, President, and CEO of Frankfurt Book Fair.

Simultaneously, international book fairs play an important role in linking cultures and giving insights into various literary environments. The Abu Dhabi Book Fair is a sophisticated and growing event that serves as a vital entry point into the Arabic publishing market. We were thrilled to welcome our Abu Dhabi colleagues to Frankfurt and to discuss and exchange our knowledge with them," he added.

Acting Executive Director of the ALC and Director of ADIBF, Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, underlined the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre's commitment to strengthening Emirati human resources and boosting their talents in cultural and creative domains.

"This is one of our strategic goals, which we want to achieve by leveraging our excellent ties with some of the world's most important cultural organizations."

With this in mind, we created this training program in which experts from the Frankfurt Book Fair will share their experiences with organizing and managing global book fairs capable of attracting publishers and creators from all over the world, as well as meeting the requirements and aspirations of visitors and readers of all categories," Al Tunaiji explained.

For two weeks, employees from the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre participated in the first edition of the training program, where a team of experts from the Frankfurt Book Fair held workshops and meetings to talk about ways to create more opportunities for exchange between Arab and international publishers, as well as methods for attracting more creative industries to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair and promoting Arab publishers.

The curriculum also featured extensive training on marketing tactics, exhibition management, general planning, and managing relationships with stakeholders and partners, as well as intense training on public relations and social media channels for the ADIBF team.

The workshops included in the training program covered a wide range of book industry topics, such as the role of book fairs in promoting publishers, the need for cooperation between different markets in the field, and the importance of e-publishers, as well as the current challenges facing publishers and how book fairs can help them overcome them.

The training session also covered how to manage cultural projects and display innovation, as well as how to engage with visitors and partners, effective systems and best practices, and methods for developing ideal customer relations and involving the community in new exhibitions.