Kalimat’s participation in the event will be supported by du, with which it signed an agreement in November last year to promote Arabic literacy and a love for reading among children in the UAE. This is one of a number of local events, including book readings, signings, illustrators' workshops, and local book fairs, in which du will support Kalimat in 2011.
Speaking of the upcoming participation, Kalimat Founder and CEO Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi said, “One of the most important goals for Kalimat has been promoting what we see as our traditional Arabic values through our books and one of these is the importance of family ties for our social, emotional and mental wellbeing. This year, the Abu Dhabi Book Fair falls immediately before Mother’s Day and we have decided to highlight this by promoting our books dealing with family bonds, particularly those that focus on the mother and child bond. Only a woman has the privilege to become a mother and this is one of the greatest privileges she has been given. Our partner in our local participations, du, will be supporting us in this endeavour.”
Echoing the sentiment, Hala Badri, EVP, Brand and Communications, du, said: “Once again we express our delight to be partners with Kalimat, as promoting Arabic culture and literacy is a duty upon all of us and a genuine necessity we face today. Adding life to life is a philosophy we live by at du, being a telecommunication company, our role is centered at bringing people together, and connecting society, so what better day is there to promote our genuine cultural values of family ties and bonds than this special day.”
“Heaven lies under the feet of the mother, is a belief deeply imbedded in our culture, ethos and faith, thus, I would like to extend my warmest wishes for a wonderful day, well deserved by all mothers out there,” added Badri.
Kalimat publisher Dareen Charafeddine spoke about the titles Kalimat will be promoting at the Book Fair: “Among the books that we will be promoting during the fair is Kam Tuhibbinani (Mom! How Much Do You Love Me?), written by Fatima Sharafeddine, whose young adult novel Faten was named as the Best Book at the Beirut Book Fair 2010. Kam Tuhibbinani is a paean to motherhood and illustrates the boundless love a mother has for her child. We will also be promoting Fatima Sharafeddine’s Jaddi and Jaddati, both about atypical but lovable grandparents, and Abir Ballan’s Wazifat Mama (Mama’s Job) featuring a homemaker mum juggling her multiple roles, our most recent book on this topic.”
“In partnership with the Goethe Institute, we will also be holding readings and Q&A sessions for schoolchildren on 16 March with a number of our authors, including Fatima Sharafeddine, Maitha Al Kayyat, author of Tareeqati Al Khassa (My Own Special Way); Noura Noman, author of Qutta Qutna (Cotton Kitty) and Qunfuth Kiwi (Kiwi Hedgehog); and Marwa Al Aqroubi (Ahmed El Helou (Sweet Ahmed),” she added.
Dareen Charafeddine will also be delivering a presentation at a Goethe Institute-sponsored workshop for Emirati authors on the children's book industry from a publisher's perspective. The presentation will cover the general publishing scene in the UAE and the challenges particular to publishing in the country. It will also examine what publishers look for in a manuscript, as well as giving an insight into how a publishing house works – how publishers find authors, how authors should go about approaching publishers, and what authors can expect from publishers and vice versa.
Kalimat is the first publishing house in the UAE dedicated solely to publishing and distributing high-quality Arabic books for children aged 0 to 16 years. With a portfolio of internationally acclaimed authors and illustrators, Kalimat’s extensive range of books highlights traditional Arabic culture alongside the modern challenges faced by today’s children, with the aims of engendering a life-long love of reading and Arabic literature among Arab children.
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