Sharjah book fair: Morocco's Saïd Yaktine is cultural personality of the year
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Le Matin
Moroccan academic Saïd Yaktine was named cultural personality of the year at the Sharjah International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates, and dedicated the distinction to Moroccan and Arab writers. The fair's 45th edition, inaugurated by the ruler of Sharjah, brings together publishers and authors from several countries, according to Le Matin.
Moroccan academic Saïd Yaktine was named cultural personality of the year at the Sharjah International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates, and dedicated his distinction to Moroccan and Arab writers who help make Arab culture known around the world. In his speech, the researcher explained that this tribute held a special place among the awards he has received during his career, because it was given to him in Sharjah, which he described as the "permanent capital of Arab culture".
Recalling the some fifty years he has devoted to the Arabic language and culture, Saïd Yaktine stressed the role of writers in promoting dialogue and tolerance, as well as in rejecting discrimination. He also praised Sharjah's efforts to make the book a means of transmission and of bringing peoples closer together.
The 45th edition of the fair, inaugurated at the Sharjah Expo Centre by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council of the Emirates and ruler of Sharjah, brings together publishers, authors and cultural figures from several countries. The Sultanate of Oman is presenting its publications and literary heritage there, with its Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Saoud bin Hilal Al Boussaïdi, highlighting possibilities for cooperation in publishing, translation, research and the arts.
The ruler of Sharjah presented the 143 volumes already completed of an Arab encyclopaedia devoted to the sciences, letters, arts and great figures, in which more than 1,500 specialists take part and whose completion is announced for next year. He also announced the creation of the Haroun Al Rachid international prize, which will each year reward four figures for research or creative work in the Arabic language. The Catalan publishing house Karwan received the Turjuman 2026 translation prize for a selection of the Arabian Nights translated into Catalan by Margarida Castells Criballés.
