Commonalities of Publishing Sectors in the UAE and Brazil Identified by Emirates Publishers Association

The Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) has shed light on the similarities between the Emirati and Brazilian publishing sectors, and ways in which these qualities can be leveraged to develop the books trade between the two countries, at the 25thSão Paulo International Book Fair. 

The above was discussed at a panel titled ‘Bringing International Publishers Together: Successful Emirati-Brazilian Cooperation’, which the EPA hosted yesterday (August 6), under Sharjah’s participation as the book fair’s first guest of honour.  

The session shed light on similarities and differences between the Emirati and Brazilian publishing experiences, and the impact of the UAE’s cultural diversity on texts. Success stories about copyright agreements and partnerships signed between the two countries were also highlighted during the panel.

Speaking at the session, Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director of EPA, thanked the Brazilian Book Chamber for organising the professional programme, which enabled successful networking meetings between publishers. He underlined the important role the programme will play to identify opportunities for cooperation and increase investments in each others’ publishing markets.  

Panellists Tamer Saeed, Managing Director of Kalimat Group; Iman Ben Chaibah, Founder of Sail Publishing; and Luiz Alvaro Salles Aguiar de Menezes; International Affairs Manager of the Brazilian Book Chamber, shared insights and local publishing experiences.

Moderated by TV Presenter Safia Al Shehi, the session highlighted the UAE’s belief in the role of reading and knowledge as key drivers of national development, in furthering cross-cultural communication. Panellists also pointed out similar official regulations and policies related to reading, publishing and knowledge in general followed by the two nations.

Ben Chaibah said: “We appreciate Brazil’s move in 2016 when it implemented a national initiative to encourage reading by establishing libraries and bringing young people and books closer. We also commend their great interest in supporting the publishing movement in Latin America, heavily influenced by people’s historical experiences – a trait very similar to the UAE and reflected in our literary and scientific texts. We have organisations and associations in both countries dedicated to protecting the publishing sector and preserving the rich heritage of our people.” 

Sharing her experience at EPA’s Professional Programme with Brazilian publishers, Ben Chaibah said: “The topics that Sail Publishing is targeting in its new projects are based on the youth’s mental health, financial management and careers – topics not always available in Arabic language. Thanks to this programme, we have access to Brazilian publishers specialising in these topics. Instead of wasting time on searching, we are going straight for translations.” 

Shedding light on the impact of cultural diversity on the UAE’s publishing materials, Tamer Saeed, observed: “Cultural diversity in the UAE, which is home to 200 nationalities, has contributed to enriching the content available in the country. It has also stimulated our publishing movement, boosting the exchange of publications between the UAE and the world. Expatriate residents in the UAE not only enjoy books from their countries, but also have easy access to literary content from around the world and a tonne of translations easily available to them in libraries, bookstores and book fairs. 

“This is one of the reasons that have enabled the UAE’s publishing to score an annual growth of 12 per cent in the last 10 years, with its publication imports volume exceeding $40 million per year. The UAE publishes 500 new titles a year.” 

He added: “Cultural diversity in the UAE is extraordinary; quite similar to what Latin America and Brazil have. Three percent of Brazil’s population of 200 million is represented by the Arab diaspora. This has contributed to building strong bridges of communication among diverse nationalities on the one hand, and stimulated the translations movement on the other.”

Showcasing their recent efforts to facilitate new opportunities for copyright deals between Emirati and Brazilian publishers, Tamer highlighted EPA’s participation at the 58thedition of Bologna Children’s Book Fair, where they held a matchmaking session in cooperation with the UAE’s ‘1001 Titles’ initiative and the Brazilian Book Chamber.

The Managing Director of Kalimat Group went on to say: “EPA organised a B2B matchmaking and networking session that brought together nine Emirati publishers with 30 Brazilian and 20 Latin American publishers, offering them a platform to meet, negotiate and look into the buying and selling of copyrights and translations rights.

“We seek to organise several more such meetings in future, and hope that our cultural relations will help us establish global cultural front to deal with challenges facing publishing and knowledge transfer between countries.”

For his part, Luiz Alvaro, International Affairs Manager of the Brazilian Book Chamber, said: “There are similarities between the Emirati and Brazilian culture that can be clearly seen in more than one area. Plenty of Brazilian vocabulary has Arabic roots, for instance. Brazil enjoys cultural diversity, just like the UAE, which makes publishing experiences in both countries similar in terms of content.”

Highlighting the Emirati-Brazilian cultural development, Luiz said: “Brazil launched a national reading project to advance knowledge among younger generations. This is exactly what the UAE did in 2016, when it launched the national reading project unifying both of our lingual and cultural values of Arabic and Portuguese.”

Noting that cultural cooperation between Brazilian and Emirati publishers in recent years dates back to more than a decade, Luiz said: “I was honoured to visit Sharjah where I succeeded in bringing together Brazilian publishers with their Arab and Emirati counterparts at the Professional Programme organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) on the side lines of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF). I am looking forward to drawing more Brazilian publishers to the upcoming edition of SIBF to explore how we can boost the books business between us.” 

Founded in 2009, EPA is dedicated to serving and developing the local publishing sector as well as to advancing the role of Emirati publishers through training and mentoring programmes that help raise their efficiency. EPA represents the interests of professionals in the UAE’s publishing industry by working on advancing their rights and improving the conditions of the profession and its related laws in coordination and cooperation with competent authorities in the UAE and beyond.