The Riyadh International Book Fair 2023 concluded its activities yesterday after a successful 10-day run at King Saud University in Riyadh.
More than a million visitors from various parts of the Kingdom and abroad attended the fair, which had the theme “An Inspiring Destination”.
Oman was chosen as the guest of honor for this year’s edition.
Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission CEO Dr. Mohammed Hassan Alwan said that a vast number of people attended the fair, including writers, intellectuals and speakers from various fields, adding that the turnout resulted in a significant increase in the revenue of the participating publishing houses. Over 1,800 publishing houses from 32 countries participated with 800 pavilions.
Alwan emphasized that the results achieved by the Riyadh Book Fair 2023 are on par with past successes, and reinforce its position as a cultural interface for Saudi Arabia that promotes creativity and culture among Arab and international communities.
He credited the success of the fair to the National Strategy for Culture, whose goals are to enrich content, reach local and global audiences, encourage reading, nurture competition, and raise awareness for the purpose of improving the quality of life, all in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Alwan stressed that the organizational skills and knowledge development will be present in future editions of the fair, as instructed by Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan.
The upcoming editions will work to provide solutions to any potential challenge, to enrich the experience of visitors, through different events, showcase new works and use technological developments.
The fair was held on an area of over 55,000 square meters; cultural bodies and institutions, and global publication houses participated, displaying rare books, manuscripts and paintings.
The cultural program of the fair included over 200 events and activities, like interactive symposiums, poetry evenings that included a selection of poets and Nabati poetry, workshops in various fields of knowledge, theatrical performances of Saudi and international plays, concerts, and a “book talk” event that hosted influential thinkers and authors.
For the first time, the fair organized a children’s competition of poetry delivery, during which children enjoyed the experience of reading poetry in front of the audience and learned poetry-writing skills, which helped them become more self-confident and enhanced their language skills.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
