The Ministry of Culture was keen to embody the theme of the Doha International Book Fair, "Knowledge Builds Civilizations" to become a reality through the accompanying cultural events and a cultural festival parallel to the exhibition.
Head of the Cultural Committee of the Doha International Book Fair (DIBF) Dalal Al Dosari, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that it is part of the literature and traditions of the DIBF for its cultural program to reflect the meanings of the exhibition's theme chosen by the Ministry of Culture for each edition.
She explained that the exhibition as a whole adopts the goals of the theme "Knowledge Builds Civilizations" and builds its visual identity upon it, crystallizing it in organization, form, and content. Therefore, the cultural program reflected the essence of this civilization in its seminars, lectures, plays, artistic and poetic evenings, and activities directed towards children.
She added that the cultural program also included lectures on Islamic civilization and the European Renaissance, seminars on Islamic history, as well as others on Islamic arts during the flourishing eras of Islamic and Arab civilization. Additionally, the program organized art exhibitions and workshops in Arabic calligraphy and decorative arts, as well as plays inspired by Arab literary and cultural heritage.
The head of the cultural committee of the DIBF praised Oman's participation as an honorary guest, considering it a valuable addition to the cultural program and reflecting the strength of cultural relations between Qatar and Oman, which contributed cultural diversity through its program covering literature and arts.
She said that the 33rd Doha International Book Fair is concerned with contemporary literary and intellectual issues, as well as interacting with the cultural tastes of the exhibition's visitors and audience. In each edition, the exhibition addresses some issues stemming from the exhibition's theme and the general cultural orientation, including intellectual issues concerning civilizational values between theoretical understanding and practical adoption, and challenges in reclaiming the initiative of civilizational action.
In the literary and artistic aspect, it observes the problematic relationship between the novel and the sociology of society, the relationship of the individual with the desert in Arabic novels, and the relationship of the visual artist with the audience. The program also addressed environmental issues, cultural security issues, cultural diplomacy, and new media in the light of digital transformation, culture, publishing, information technology, and artificial intelligence.
Dalal Al Dosari continued, saying that the program embodies the ministry's vision of achieving cultural proximity to the public and enhancing aesthetic and cultural values in public activities, emerging from responding to cultural needs. She noted that the fair keeps pace with major events in the country and reflects the diversity of activities across the platforms from which they originate, each according to its field. For example, the main stage hosted 47 different activities, the cultural salon presented 234 activities, and the live kitchen featured 30 activities. The Children's Zone provided a comprehensive and diverse cognitive program with more than 57 workshops.
She pointed out that the cultural committee prepares a detailed report after each fair that resembles the cultural state of the fair's activity, including survey data, opinions of visitors, participants, press, and cultural workers. All of this data constitutes indicative indicators for the development and renewal of programs and determining the features of the next edition's program.
She said that the adoption of measurement tools and the utilization of their outputs, along with the endeavor to enhance the concept of cultural partnership and the ambition to raise the level of success in each edition, require the exhibition management and the cultural committee to diversify the activities and vary their colors based on several technical and artistic criteria, taking into account various cultural, social, and age groups, as well as various fields of knowledge and the convergence of diverse topics, hosting authors, thinkers, artists, and critics from multiple geographies because each country is characterized by its own culture and artistic expressions, and this diversity constitutes a cultural momentum at the exhibition.
The head of the cultural committee of the Doha International Book Fair highlighted the role of the "Reading Guide" service and its role in guiding the exhibition visitors, through which we aim to activate the role of the reader and create cultural projects that reflect in their surroundings and community, reflecting the goals of the Reading Guide service. She explained that this year, the Reading Guide service has been developed to extend the impact of the Reading Guide to digital media by selecting valuable books and reviewing them in all fields of knowledge to encourage society to read and explore them. Additionally, the "Little Reader Guide" service has been added, which was launched for the first time in this edition, to leave an impact in enhancing the value of the young reader and the importance of their role in encouraging their peers to read, explore, and acquire knowledge.
