Organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), the 32nd edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF), held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) between 22 and 28 May, sees the participation of high-profile Saudi publishers, and educational and cultural institutions, which highlights the depth of the historic ties between the UAE and the kingdom, and reflects the vivid cultural and intellectual movement that Saudi Arabia has witnessed recently.
The Saudi participation in this year’s edition of ADIBF is represented by prestigious publishers and universities including the Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, the King Fahad National Library, the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah), and the King Saud University.
The partaking Saudi institutions showcase major initiatives and cultural projects such as the ‘Print’ platform, a novel printing experience that allows writers to publish their books and order their prints anytime and anywhere. It also provides services for readers, writers, and publishers using the highest standards in the world of traditional and digital printing and publishing through a new and advanced concept known as “on-demand printing”.
The initiative is seeking to become a leading platform in the world of printing and publishing that embarks from the Kingdom to access all readers around the world, and provides services that meet the highest standards, in addition to easing book printing and rapidly spreading knowledge among writers, who only have to submit their book to the platform, which will then handle the whole printing process.
Among the esteemed participants is also the Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) with the Raff publishing initiative, which launched at the Riyadh International Book Fair and comes as an extension of the long history of the group. Raff aims at becoming the most advanced publishing house in the Middle East and North Africa, by serving the audience with innovative work models, establishing developed digital forms and publishing techniques such as on-demand printing, e-books, audio books, as well as signing international partnerships with major publishing houses around the world.