In a two-day conference at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the second conference of the Arab Publishers Association (APA) took place. It was held in collaboration with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Ministry of Culture and the Egyptian and Arab Publishers unions. Entitled “Knowledge Empowerment and Publishing Problems”, the event brought together publishers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria as well as Egypt. At the opening -- where Assem Shalabi, President of the Arab and Egyptian Publishers Union, Y S Chi, President of the International Publishers Union and Ismael Serageldin, Director of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, were all present — Minister of Culture Mohamed Saber Arab said, “Publishing is not only an intellectual art. It is also a very important industry. We hope this conference will be held every year rather than every three years. We need publishers to address society and intellectuals to conduct a dialogue on the concept of the book...” Board members of the International Publishers Union, Arab ministers of culture, writers, librarians and book specialists demonstrated the possibilities for such dialogue. Ezeddin Mihoubi, the former Algerian Minister of Information and current National Library Director, was chairman of the first session (on media and knowledge empowerment). “Nowadays,” he said, “we have some 35 thousand television channels that broadcast knowledge in all fields. Nevertheless, books in the Arab world do not enjoy any media attention or responsiveness as do sports and the arts.” Regarding the internet and its role in spreading culture, Mihoubi said, “Not all that is written on web sites is 100 percent trustworthy.” As for Ayman Al-Sayyad, editor in chief of Wujhat Nadhar (Point of Views), perhaps Egypt's most accomplished review of books, he said, “The main role of the media is information and not to direct people to any particular standpoint. The first step towards knowledge empowerment is to make knowledge available and accessible and not ban it.” In the second and the third sessions, “Public libraries and their role in developing the Arabic book” and “The future of e-publishing and online sales”, respectively, Sherif Shahin, director of the Supreme Council of Culture, highlighted the importance of public libraries as a citizen's second home, providing educational and cultural needs, and reviewed relevant initiatives across the Arab world. Shahin also discussed the role of libraries abroad: how books are sustained and empowered through merchandising and activities: “If the older generation took an interest in public libraries, I have no doubt that the young generation is interested in Mobile Public libraries...” Mohamed Yunis Abadi, director of the Jordanian National Library, said “The national library is the country's library and the nation's memory. It mirrors the country's cultural movements.” Dr. Abadi spoke of the 1,000-library campaign in the Jordanian countryside. Richard Charkin, Vice President of the International Publishers Union, explained how the selling e-books has made a leap in the US, with giant companies like Amazon and Google adopting the trend. Salah Eddine Chebaro, the director of the Nile and Furat web site (perhaps best described as the Arab world's answer to Barnes and Noble) said he has been working in the field of e-books for over 14 years quite successfully. He spoke about the piracy problem in the Middle East and suggested the solution of banning pirate sites from appearing on search engines. The fourth session tackled the concept of freedom of speech. Richard Charkin, speaking on behalf of Chi said freedom of speech is an inalienable right related to the freedom of publishing. Ideas must be spread, not prohibited or censored. The International Publishers Union should take full responsibility for protecting such rights. Yet Charkin added, “It is tragic that books are still banned from being published, libraries are closed or burned down, authors and journalists are threatened...” Salem Hemeish, the celebrated Moroccan author and minister of culture, said that publishers act as the protectors of culture and that freedom is necessary for their work. He stressed the bond between responsibility and freedom. Sometimes, publishing may seem to some publishers to be simply commerce — but that is why publishers are sometimes no more than merchants. The fifth and the sixth sessions featured Peter Givler, director of the International Publishers Association, who said that though piracy exists we should be optimistic. Books are still being published even if profits are low. He also pointed out that the digital marketing of books is slowly developing in the Arab world. Amr El Shanebiety, chairperson of the Alef bookshop chain, talked about his project and its incredibly speedy development, with the number of shops rising from one to 14 in under four years. He said he found out that, while people are not against the idea of reading, they don't have enough teasers to encourage them. The government has to take responsibility for raising awareness of books and of reading by all means. He also discussed Alef's own initiative: “EGYPT READS”. The seventh and the last session, “Translation Problems and the Publishing Industry”, focused on translation problems and the future of translation in the Arab world. It was followed by recommendations including setting up an observer body for publishing, a committee for e-publishing and a prize to encourage reading as well as coordination with the media.
