Sharjah begins its cultural dialogue with Poland tomorrow through its participation "Guest of honor" At the Warsaw Book Fair

Sharjah, May 27, 2026 – The Emirate of Sharjah will open tomorrow, Thursday, in the Polish capital, a new chapter of its global cultural presence, with the launch of its participation as guest of honor in the fifth edition of the Warsaw International Book Fair 2026, which will be held in the Polish capital during the period from May 28 to 31, bringing to the Polish and European public a broad Emirati cultural program that combines literature, thought, poetry, arts, heritage, and the publishing industry, under the slogan “The Story of Letters… Between two civilizations.”

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Sharjah Book Authority, heads the Sharjah delegation participating in the exhibition, in a presence that reflects the emirate’s continued expansion of its cultural influence in major international platforms, as part of the authority’s efforts to open new paths for cultural and professional cooperation with publishing and book institutions in Europe, thus consolidating the emirate’s position as a global center for culture and the book industry, and enhancing its role in building bridges of communication between cultures.

Through a pavilion extending over an area of ​​400 square metres, Sharjah presents an institutional and creative presence that reflects the diversity of the cultural scene in the United Arab Emirates, with the participation of 21 cultural, academic and media institutions, and 36 writers, poets, academics and artists from the Emirates, along with 15 Polish participants, in a program based on direct dialogue between Arab and Polish experiences, and places the book at the heart of cultural exchange between peoples.

The emirate’s participation includes 35 cultural events, including 28 cultural symposia, 4 poetry evenings, and 3 workshops for children held at the exhibition, at the headquarters of the University of Warsaw, and at the Grochotica Public Library, in addition to 18 musical performances presented by the Sharjah National Band, to introduce visitors to the exhibition and the public in a number of locations in the Polish capital to features of traditional Emirati arts, within a program that links written knowledge and the lived experience of culture.

The participation slogan, “A Story of Letters… Between Two Civilizations,” carries a visual and cultural significance based on the formal intersections between Arabic and Polish letters, and presents the letter as a common space capable of bringing cultures together despite different languages ​​and contexts, in harmony with the nature of the program that brings together creators, institutions, and readers around questions of literature, art, and knowledge.

In this context, the artistic dimension is present in the Sharjah program through the “Imaginations” project, which brings together 10 artists and designers from the United Arab Emirates and Poland in an experience that is visually inspired by Arab and Polish poetry by designing artistic posters that express human and intellectual themes, including man, nature, the sea, and existential contemplations, based on the traditions of poetry and poster art, which constitute one of the most prominent features of visual creativity in Poland.

As part of the Sharjah Guest of Honor Program at the Warsaw International Book Fair, the University of Warsaw will witness a group of sessions and meetings that shed light on prominent features of the Emirati cultural scene. The symposium “The Pioneering Theatrical Role of the Emirate of Sharjah” addresses the emirate’s role in supporting the Emirati and Arab theatrical movement. The “Voice of Emirati Poetry” meeting presents various poetry readings by a group of Emirati female and male poets, reflecting the vitality of the poetic movement in the United Arab Emirates.

The Sharjah program at the exhibition celebrates various literary and intellectual experiences, through sessions that address the theatrical movement in the emirate, the transformations of the Emirati novel, the experiences of poetry and its aesthetic questions, in addition to discussions about the Arab cultural movement and its relationship to global experiences. The Sharjah Pavilion also presents six titles translated into Polish, giving readers in Poland a direct window into examples of Emirati and Arab creativity.

A group of cultural and academic institutions are participating in the Sharjah pavilion, including Al Qasimi Publications, the Sharjah Arabic Language Academy, the University of Sharjah, the American University of Sharjah, the Sharjah Book Authority, and the Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi Center for Gulf Studies, in addition to the Emirates Writers and Authors Union, the Emirates Publishers Association, the Emirates Library and Information Association, the House of Wisdom, the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, the Sharjah Literary Agency, and the Emirates Copyright Management Association.

Also present at the Sharjah pavilion are the UAE Council on Books for Young People, Kalimat Group, Kalimat Foundation, and the “Publish Here” initiative, in addition to the Sharjah Department of Culture, the Sharjah Heritage Institute, the Sharjah Antiquities Authority, and the Sharjah Radio and Television Authority, in a presence that highlights the integration of the emirate’s cultural project between publishing, education, heritage, arts, and media.

The program allocates space for children’s and young people’s literature through artistic sessions and workshops that address the ability of the story to cross borders and build common human bonds, and allows children to interact with the book as a cognitive and visual experience. The participation also includes a session dedicated to Emirati theatre, highlighting its presence in the Arab and international scenes.

Participating within the Sharjah delegation is an elite group of creative Emirati writers, poets, academics and artists, including Dr. Sultan Al-Amimi, His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Musallam, His Excellency Marwa Al-Aqroubi, His Excellency Fahd Al-Maamari, Kholoud Al-Mualla, Dhaen Shaheen Al-Nuaimi, Dr. Hind Al-Mashmoum, Muhammad bin Dukhain Al-Matroushi, Kalthum Abdullah, Saleha Ghabish, Abdul Rahman Al-Humairi, and Nadia. Al-Najjar, Dr. Habib Ghuloum, Dr. Abdul Hakim Al-Zubaidi, Sheikha Al-Mutairi, Amira Boukadra, Ali Al-Shaali, Dr. Latifa Al-Hajj, Fatima Al-Hammadi, Saeed Muhammad, Dalal Al-Jabri, Nasser Nasrallah, Khaled Al-Khawar, and Alia Al-Hammadi.

This year, the Warsaw International Book Fair will witness more than 1,200 diverse events, including meetings with writers, literary discussions, workshops, professional meetings, special events and book launch parties, making it one of the most prominent publishing and cultural platforms in Poland and Europe, and an open space for interaction between publishers, writers, cultural institutions and the public from different countries of the world.

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