Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), a partnership between Qatar Foundation and British publisher Bloomsbury, will hold a World Book Day in Qatar on April 23.
This will be the first World Book Day to be held in Qatar; Egypt and Lebanon are the only two other Arab countries to have staged the event.
The event is a Unesco initiative that celebrates a love of books, reading and the promotion of a literary society.
To be held in co-operation with the College of Education at Qatar University, the event will include a special invitation to 100 six-year-olds from five elementary schools chosen randomly.
They will attend a reading event on April 23, at Qatar University’s Ibn Khaldoon hall.
Guests will read to the children from a book in English and Arabic, underscoring the importance of bilingual development which is essential to Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing’s mission to produce quality original books in both languages.
International guests will include Cathy Schofield, co-ordinator of World Book Day UK, as well as Nigel Newton, founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Supporting events like the World Book Day is a key strand in BQFP’s reading and writing development strategy as well as in the overall mission of promoting the enjoyment of reading amongst all ages in Qatar.
In countries with well established programmes such as the UK, World Book Day brings bookshops, publishers, schools and community members together in support of books and the love of reading.
Other initiatives include encouraging parents to read to children at home as well as promoting reading in public spaces such as coffee shops, all of which helps to spread an awareness that reading is not only for professional or academic purposes but can be a life-long pleasure as well as furthering the pursuit of knowledge and self-development.
Qatar Foundation Bloomsbury Publishing was established in 2008 and will soon start to publish books of originality and excellence in Arabic and English for all age groups. - QNA
Follow us on our social media channels:
@ILQlive
@ILQlive
@ILoveQtr
ILoveQatar
