Cooperation between "Abu Dhabi Arabic Language" and"Arab Book Verse" To enhance digital publishing of Arabic content
FRANKFURT, 16th October, 2017 (WAM) – The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, affiliated with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, yesterday signed an agreement with the Arab Book Fair, the leading publisher and distributor in the field of audio and electronic books, with the aim of making thousands of Arabic digital and audio publications available to millions of readers around the world, as part of its participation in the 77th session of the Frankfurt Book Fair, which continues until October 19.
The agreement, which comes as a continuation of a partnership recently concluded by the Center with Amazon, reflects its strategy aimed at creating a qualitative shift in the process of digitizing the Arabic book, and opening new areas for publishing books and projects issued in the Arabic language worldwide, leading to enhancing the presence of Arabic content in the international cultural scene, and supporting the Arab publishing industry through its creative initiatives and pioneering projects, including its qualitative programs, which Presented by the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
The agreement, which represents a high-level institutional cooperation led by the Centre, is expected to provide thousands of editions of Arabic electronic and audio books to millions of readers around the world, and at the same time enrich the Arab publishing, audio and digital production system, by stimulating innovation, enhancing technological partnerships, protecting intellectual property rights, and expanding the scope of Arabic content globally, thus inaugurating a new phase of digital publishing. For Arabic content through a world-class infrastructure and solid experience in the publishing sector.
His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, said that the Center realizes the great importance that modern technologies have in the current era. It has provided humanity with many advanced options that have played an effective role in improving the quality of people’s lives. From this standpoint, the Center was keen to harness its expertise in the publishing industry and benefit from it in enhancing the presence of Arabic content in the global digital space, by providing new and innovative channels that facilitate the access of literary, intellectual and knowledge publications to the reader wherever they are.
He stressed that this partnership with one of the leading companies in the field of publishing audio and electronic books contributes to bridging the digital cultural gap, especially since the percentage of Arabic content on the Internet is still small compared to the number of speakers of the language. Therefore, the Center seeks to enhance the presence of this content, ensure the wider delivery of knowledge in the Arabic language, and provide the Arab user and reader with reliable sources in their mother tongue.
He explained that the presence of authentic Arabic content provides Arab literature, thought, and art with a broader scope for global presence, encourages the production of knowledge without relying entirely on translation, preserves the Arab cultural heritage from extinction, and strengthens the connection of readers, researchers, and scholars to their culture and intellectual and cognitive identity.
He added that the Center’s keenness to participate annually in the Frankfurt Book Fair opens the way for strengthening cooperation with major European and international cultural institutions and bodies, in a way that serves to build bridges of dialogue and intellectual and cultural convergence.
For his part, Engineer Ali Abdel Moneim, co-founder and CEO of Arab Bookverse, expressed his pride in the partnership with the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language, the pioneer in the field of enhancing the presence of the Arabic language globally, through its qualitative efforts and initiatives that serve to perpetuate Arab culture and connect readers and creators with it wherever they are.
He stressed that this agreement contributes to creating strong and reliable digital Arabic content that enhances the presence of Arab culture within the global civilizational dialogue, and highlights the pioneering Arab contributions in various fields of knowledge, indicating that the center plays an active role in introducing these contributions and presenting them to readers, overcoming the challenges that may prevent the delivery of knowledge to its target audience, expressing his hope that this partnership will contribute to expanding the presence of Arabic content. And enhancing readers’ culture and knowledge.
Pursuant to this agreement, the Center will form a high-level steering committee to follow up on the workflow mechanism, in addition to specialized advisory committees to ensure the quality of the content provided, and ensure its conformity with the Center’s standards and international best practices in this field, which contributes to creating a qualitative shift at the level of the Arab Digital Library, and places it at the forefront of the international cultural scene through one of the largest global platforms for distributing books.
The agreement translates the center’s vision of employing global platforms to enhance the international presence of Arabic content, in a step preceded by an agreement with “Amazon Alexa” to license high-quality Arabic content for two of its most prominent digital projects, namely the “Meanings Guide Dictionary,” which was launched in 2021 and includes the most common Arabic vocabulary on digital platforms, and the “Poetry Encyclopedia,” which is an open electronic archive. For selections of Arabic poetry, available through Alexa voice assistant services in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, supporting the Arab publishing industry and its digital future.
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