First Alexandria International Book Fair

Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, Head of the Board of Trustees and Dr Ismail Serageldin, Director General of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina opened the First Alexandria International Book Fair, which ran from 24 July to 6 August 2002 in Alexandria, Egypt.

The Book Fair was attended by over 200 publishing and printing houses, from Italy, France, Kuwait, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Libya, as well as Egypt. The celebrations of the Book Fair started with the honouring of Dr Samir Sarhan, Head of the Egyptian General Book Authority, in recognition of his role in enriching the cultural and publishing sector in Egypt and the Arab world, as well as of the efforts he has exerted over the past years in various book development activities. Engineer Ibrahim El Moalem, a renowned publisher in the Arab world and Head of the Arab Publishers Union, was also honoured for his support to the Book Fair, and in recognition of his contributions in activating the Egyptian Publishers Union and the Arab Publishers Union.

Several exhibitions were held during fair. The best works of Sayed Darweesh, the famous Egyptian musician who lived during the first quarter of the 20th century, were presented by Khaled Shams. Rare documents, papyruses and manuscripts from the National Libraries and Archives were also showcased to the public. Other activities of the fair, which emphasized electronic publishing, included poetry readings centred around the theme of the nine muses, book signings, and tours around the newly reconstructed Alexandria Library. [BPN no 31, 2002, p. 14.]

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