Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, secretary-general of the Sheik Zayed Book Award and chair of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, speaks at this month’s program in Tokyo. Image: ADALC
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Bin Tamim: ‘An Array of Constructive Partnerships’
The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center‘s Sheikh Zayed Book Award on Thursday (September 19) opened an extensive cultural exchange program in Japan, advancing the center’s agenda of widening its international program.
Made up of meetings, cultural presentations, and panel discussions, the program is a follow-up to the conference series Arabian Nights: A Cultural Journey Across Continents and Centuries: From Abu Dhabi to Madrid, via Tokyo to London, which was organized in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates‘ embassy in Tokyo at Keio University’s Mita campus.
The series in the past featured an event at Casa Árabe in Madrid in June, and will conclude with a third edition at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, in October.
Participating officials included Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, chair of the Arabic Language Centre and secretary-general of the Zayed Award; Shihab Ahmed Al Faheem, the UAE’s ambassador to Japan; Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, executive director of the language center; and Abdulrahman Mohammed Al Naqbi, director of the language center’s literary awards program.
Related article: Sheikh Zayed Book Awards’ Top Honor: Spain’s Casa Árabe. Image: Zorin Mircetic
Cultural programming during the event featured Japanese authors and cultural figures, and viewings of collections representative of the bond between the nations. For example, participants had an opportunity to view the Arabic manuscripts of the Daiber Collection at the University of Tokyo; visit the National Diet Library in Tokyo; and tour Keio University. Meetings were held with the Japan PEN Club; the Japan Book Publishers’ Association; the Japan Association for Middle East Studies; and the Japan Foundation.
The Arabian Nights collection of stories were at the heart of the Japanese program, pointing up the degree to which those tales have traveled across borders and time. (While there are physical materials related to these eighth- to 13th-century stories as far back as the 9th century, the 1704 collection made by Antoine Galland is one of the first cohesive evocations of the work in Europe, and the Bulaq Press edition (1835) is considered a first definitive collection rendered in Arabic.)
Related article: Abu Dhabi: Sheikh Zayed Book Award Opens 2024-2025 Submissions. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
A special session titled Japanese Visualization: Works of the Arabian Nights explored artistic interpretations of those writings. Another session was titled The Compilation of Manuscripts of the Arabian Nights in Europe.
Impact of the Literary and Dramatic Works of Renowned Japanese Writer and Poet Yukio Mishima was another key presentation, as was Reason vs. Emotion in Storytelling and Gender in the Story of ‘The Prince and the Seven Viziers.’
The Arabian Nights and Its Potentiality as a Global Literature was followed by Expanding Drift Stories and Avatars of Sindbad in non-Arabic Arab Literature. Another paper looked at the Joseph–Charles Mardrus translations of Nights, and that work’s widespread acclaim. Another presentation surveyed the complexities inherent in cross-cultural communication efforts in the context of translation between Japanese and Arabic.
Al Faheem: ‘Diverse Communities and Cultures’
Shihab Ahmed Al Faheem, Tokyo’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, speaks at the program in Japan. Image: ADALC
Bin Tamim, discussing the program, said, “The Sheikh Zayed Book Award strives to enrich the cultural landscape and foster dialogue and cooperation among diverse cultures and peoples around the world.
“Organizing this second installment of the Arabian Nights conference in Japan, coupled with the series of high-profile meetings that followed, offered a platform to engage and inspire authors, thinkers, researchers, translators, and students to explore Arab culture more deeply. It also set the stage for stronger cultural communication with Japan, building bridges of understanding and connection between our peoples.
“Japan, with its rich heritage and unique culture, has enjoyed historical relations with the UAE that extend back half-a-century and span various fields, especially cultural ones. These strong relations have paved the way for the close collaboration we have today, with more than 4,000 Japanese citizens living in the UAE and an array of constructive partnerships established.”
And Al Faheem, speaking for Japan, said, “Organizing the Arabian Nights conference and accompanying cultural program reflects Abu Dhabi’s commitment to creating platforms that unite diverse communities and cultures from around the world.
“This series of conferences is designed to build dialogue across borders, promote tolerance, understanding, and respect. These conferences strive to promote the Arabic language, highlighting its rich literature, heritage, and cultural legacy to new audiences.”
Participants in the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center’s ‘Arabian Nights’ program in Tokyo. Image: ADALC
A Programming Note
At this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 16 to 20), Publishing Perspectives and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award are hosting a networking reception for Arabic literature. Join us to meet a growing community of publishers, agents, translators, and others interested in Arabic books. That event is set for:
Frankfurt Thursday, October 17
2 to 2:45 p.m. CEST
Frankfurt Studio Pop-Up
Please RSVP here.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is here, more on the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center is here, more on Arabic literature is here, and more on translation is here. More from us on publishing and book awards in the international industry is here, more on the Japanese market is here, and more on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here.
Publishing Perspectives is the world media partner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
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