Sharjah is the Capital of Culture, UNESCO granted the title of Capital of Culture to Sharjah in recognition of the efforts made by the Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr.Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi.
His Highness Sheikh Al Qasimi, is a writer and historian, he wrote many articles, books, and novels, in addition to theatrical works, and worked as a mathematics and English teacher between 1961 and 1963, His Highness considers that culture is the basis for building human dialogue, from here lies importance of the Sharjah International Book Fair.
The book fair started as an annual cultural event before it started officially in 1982 and it is one of the three most important book fairs in the world, The fair includes more than 1,800 activities suitable for all ages, as there are activities suitable for children, as the fair receives nurseries and schools from Sharjah and the various Emirates, The fair includes more about 1,800 events suitable for all ages, there are events which are suitable for children, so the fair is chance, that's why the fair receives nurseries and schools from Sharjah and the various Emirates, For adults, there are events such as book signing, cooking activity, cultural concourses, and so on.
Sharjah International Book Fair located in Expo Centre Sharjah which covers an area of 38000 m2, 6000 m2 which is dedicated to parking, the area is designated for exhibitions in general and receives the book fair at the beginning of November each year.
Sharjah International Book Fair prizes:
In order to develop and motivate, the fair includes prizes in several fields, we could say that the fair is Oscar for literature and there are some of them:
The best book printed in the UAE
Creativity Award
Best Novel Award
Best Foreign Novel Award for a true story worth 50,000
Prize for the best foreign novel for a fictional story 50,000
Cultural Personality of the Year
Prize winners from different countries around the world, such as, creatives and writers from Brazil, Britain, Spain, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria and so on.
Sharjah International Book Fair is a creative project, repeated every year, but with a slight difference that is every time it's better than the last time.
Culture in Sharjah is not limited to annual events that last 11 days only, but there are also many libraries and knowledge centres everywhere in the emirate, in order to spread knowledge and ensure easy access to it for everyone.
There are other book fairs, such as Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, the fair aims to transform Abu Dhabi into an important centre in the world of publishing and printing, in Dubai as well, Ras Al Khaimah and each of the seven emirates.
The main reason is that the UAE gives priority to culture and knowledge, to build national competencies, however, the dissemination of science and knowledge was not limited to Emiratis only, the United Arab Emirates attaches great importance to securing books and all necessary sources of knowledge for its residents from all nationalities of the world.