Dubai Int’l Publishing Conference tackles digital books challenges

The Dubai International Publishing Conference concluded its activities on Monday which were held in partnership with the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai. The two-day Conference, launched under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates Literature Foundation, aims to positively impact established publishers and new start-ups to reinforce the reading culture in the local and regional communities.

The conference allowed university students to have a unique chance to learn about publishing as a career and interact with experts already in the industry.

One of the sessions discussed the digital publishing and examining the importance of access to books for the visually impaired. The participants reviewed the challenges facing digital books in the Arab region, especially the lack of commitment by many websites to their agreements as well as piracy, which led to a decline in the digital publishing.

The session also include debates on the importance of sharing literature, both fiction and non-fiction, through translation and will conclude with select Arabic and English titles presented as ideal for translation.