Bodour Al Qasimi calls on publishers to put literacy at the heart of the trends of the age of artificial intelligence
Kuala Lumpur, 8 July / WAM / Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Book Culture at UNESCO, and former President of the International Publishers Association, issued a call to publishers around the world to make the promotion of reading and the issue of literacy a key focus in the transformations led by artificial intelligence, stressing that the future of the publishing industry is not only linked to the ability to produce more content, but also to ensuring that books reach a larger number of readers and the availability of knowledge. To broader segments of society.
This came during her keynote speech at the International Publishers Association World Conference 2026, which was hosted by the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, under the slogan “Publishing Intelligence: Sustainability towards the Future,” where her speech was titled “Reading for Literacy,” during which she reviewed how the publishing sector can employ innovation and modern technologies, while at the same time maintaining its responsibility to expand access to books and build societies more connected to reading.
Her Highness Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi based her proposal on decades of work and cooperation with the global publishing community, stressing that the most prominent challenge facing publishers today does not lie in producing more content, but rather in ensuring that this content reaches a larger number of readers around the world.
Following the keynote speech, Her Highness participated in a dialogue session with international publishing consultant Emma House, during which she discussed practical ways to contribute to reducing the illiteracy gap worldwide. The session discussed the role of publishers in strengthening reading systems, the opportunities and responsibilities that artificial intelligence imposes on the publishing sector, and the importance of building partnerships with governments and international organizations, in addition to the need to support more comprehensive and representative models in leadership of the publishing industry.
Her Highness said: For me, publishing has always been a way to expand opportunities, enhance understanding, and enable children to discover the transformative impact of reading in their lives. Today, it is our responsibility to ensure that new technologies contribute to reaching more readers, in more languages, and in more diverse communities. The future of the publishing industry will not only be determined by the books we produce, but also by the number of people to whom we provide the opportunity to read, learn, and thrive.
Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi served as President of the International Publishers Federation during the period between 2021 and 2022, and during that stage she led continuous efforts to defend issues of literacy, promote innovation in the publishing industry, and expand international cooperation, in addition to calling for the consolidation of the principles of diversity and inclusion at various levels of the global publishing sector.
Her participation in the International Publishers Association World Conference embodied this commitment, as she met with publishers from around the world to discuss ways to build a more accessible, flexible and sustainable future for the reading and publishing industry.
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