POSTCARD FROM CAIRO - Notes on the 2023 publishing fellowship
POSTCARD FROM CAIRO - Notes on the 2023 publishing fellowship
“Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.”
- Ken Liu, ‘The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories’
This year’s edition of the publishing fellowship, ‘Cairo Calling 6.0’ has now concluded and with great success. The programme was full of warmth and an endearing atmosphere of Egyptian hospitality.
Geared towards presenting the abundance of publishing resources available from Egypt and the Arab world, it was also an opportunity for professionals in the industry from outside the region to take up translation and the publishing of books in Arabic into other languages. It is envisaged that the exchange of publishing rights would facilitate spreading the reach of the avalanche of resources produced in the region.
Immensely grateful to the organisers at the General Egyptian Book Organisation (GEBO) for inviting me to the 2023 Publishing Fellowship.
It was a great opportunity and learning moment which provided an amazing insight into the vast world of Arab literature and publishing. It was also a delight to meet and interact with other publishers from around the world. These professionals are as diverse as they are representatives of the different cadres of publishing.
The panel discussions threw up a lot of revelations and a great deal of information on moving the industry forward. The sessions on the Future of the Publishing Industry in the Post-Pandemic World, Opportunities of Translation into Arabic, and the Prospects and Challenges of Publishing in Asia are especially robust and offer rare and insightful perspectives.
Communication between a group of publishing professionals from across the globe and those from the Arab publishing industry would no doubt have proved challenging. However, this was made easy with the active participation of the university students volunteering as translators. They were able to offer invaluable support through the facilitation of meetings. The volunteers are incredibly helpful in doing this. The entertainment and hospitality of course are superb and truly exceeded expectations.
This programme and indeed the whole of the Cairo International Book Fair show purposefulness with an intent to build a functional and sustainable legacy while introducing Arab publishing to a wider world through collaboration and cooperation.
Again, the continued success of the programme projects it as a beacon of hope that should inspire other nations to support the publishing industry.
Segun Martins Fajemisin
2nd February 2023
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