Cairo, (IINA) - Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail inaugurated the 47th edition of the Cairo International Book Fair on Wednesday. With the presence of around 850 publishers from 34 countries, the fair witnesses the largest number of participating countries ever since its first edition, Ahram Online reported.
The details of this year's edition, which is set to conclude on February 10, were revealed in a press conference held by the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO), the official sponsor and organizer of the event.
It is noteworthy that the fair's opening date was changed for the second year in a row to avoid coinciding with the anniversary of the 25 January Revolution.
The fair's theme this year is "Culture on the Frontline". GEBO head Haitham El-Hajj Ali said that "culture is the main solution to the problems of society and the firewall against the extreme ideas".
Picking a theme for the fair is a new tradition set after the revolution, reflecting the political scene and mostly fighting radicalism with cultural endeavors. Last year, the fair's theme was 'Culture and Renovation', which reflected the ongoing demands of members of the political elite and intellectuals in Egypt to reform and renew religious discourse.
Reformist Imam Mohamed Abdou (1849 – 1905) was chosen as the fair's person of the year in 2015.
This edition's person of the year is iconic novelist Gamal El-Ghitani, who passed away in October last year.
The countries participating in the fair include 21 Arab states and 13 non-Arab countries, with 550 publishers from Egypt, 250 from the Arab world, and 50 foreign publishers, in addition to 118 kiosks for used books.
The list of participating countries include the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Oman, Palestine, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Eritrea and the guest of honor is Bahrain.
The non-Arab countries include Italy, Russia, India, Germany, France, Paraguay, Greece, China, and the Czech Republic. The American University in Cairo was also taking part.
El-Hajj said that he is holding to the stance of Egyptian intellectuals of rejecting any Israeli participation in the fair, or any cultural relations with the country.
This year's guests include Chinese novelist Leo Gen Yun, Egyptian thinker Hassan Hanafi, Lebanese writer George Corm, Moroccan writer Hassan Orid, Tunisian Arabic-Booker winning novelist Shoukry El-Mabkhout, among many others who will participate in a very busy cultural agenda.
The fair will be open daily from 10 am till 7 pm for book selling, and until 9 pm for cultural events.
AG/IINA
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