INFORMATION REQUESTED FOR THE NS BIENNIAL REPORTS Reporting period:

Transcription

1 INFORMATION REQUESTED FOR THE NS BIENNIAL REPORTS Reporting period: GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 Country: The United Arab Emirates 1.2 Name of the National Section (NS): The UAE Board on Books for Young People Address, telephone, fax, , website, Facebook: Al-Qasba-Bloc D-Entrance 1-First Floor P.O. Box 5424 Sharjah United Arab Emirates Tel: Fax: Representatives President of the National Section (NS): Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al-Qasimi Secretary or main executive officer of the NS: Susanne Abou Ghaida IBBY main Liaison Officer or contact person: Eman Mohamed 1.4 Organization Structure How is your NS organized? Describe the structure of the NS in general. The UAEBBY has a secretariat with paid staff members. The secretariat is under the coordination of Ms. Marwa Al-Aqroubi, the Business Development Manager in the Executive Office of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al-Qasimi who is the UAEBBY President. Marwa Al-Aqroubi is the IBBY main liaison officer Is your NS affiliated to, or a branch of another organization or institution? If so, which one? The UAEBBY is officially registered as the National Section of IBBY in the UAE. It is is affiliated with the Executive Office of Sheikha Bodour bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, as Sheikha Bodour is UAEBBY President Do you have an office and paid staff? Yes, the UAEBBY has an office located in Sharjah. There are three paid members of staff namely the Planning and Development Manager, Programs and Award Coordinator, and the Project and Communication Officer How often do you have business meetings?

2 We meet regularly whenever necessary. Governance Describe your national sections governance structure. Our President is Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al-Qasimi, and Ms. Marwa Al-Aqroubi, is the main liaison between the UAEBBY and the Executive Office of Sheikha Bodour. The plans for UAEBBY activities are developed jointly between the Office and the UAEBBY based on instruction from Sheikha Bodour. They are implemented by the UAEBBY staff members List your officers and their term of office. Planning and Development Manager: Susanne Abou Ghaida Contract valid until 19 March 2013, renewable Programs and Award Coordinator: Eman Mohamed Contract valid until 31 July 2013, renewable Project and Communication Officer: Shaikha Al-Jasmi Contract valid until How are your officers selected? Are they elected by your members? By ballot? At a General Assembly? They were hired through an employee recruitment process. Membership Does your NS have organizations as members? How many? What kind of organizations? The UAEBBY has no membership system, so there are no organisations that are members of the UAEBBY Does your NS have individual members? How many? How do they contribute to the NS activities? The UAEBBY has no membership system, so there are no individual members of the UAEBBY. However, the UAEBBY has recently chosen 12 people active in the field of children's literature, whether as writers, illustrators, publishers, academics, bookstore owners and librarians to act as UAEBBY ambassadors. The main responsibilities of the UAEBBY s ambassadors are to represent the UAEBBY at local or international public cultural events, including workshops, conferences, book fairs, reading sessions organized by the UAEBBY and in the media. In addition, the ambassadors will regularly contribute articles to the UAEBBY newsletter and are consulted on certain UAEBBY activities. The ambassadors come from different parts of the Emirates Describe the make up of your membership? More specifically: who are your members? What percentage are: teachers? authors? illustrators? publishers? students? etc.

3 Our ambassadors include authors of children's books, an illustrator, founders of several two publishing houses, academics, a head of library services, educationalist and the owner of the only bookstore in the UAE specialized in Arabic children's books. In addition, we have on-going partnerships with several organisations active in the same sphere of work as UAEBBY, namely: Ministries (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development) Departments of Cultures (Sharjah & Abu Dhabi, which both organize international book fairs yearly) Publishing houses (Page flip, Dar Al-Aalam Al-Arabi and Kalimat Publishing House ) Emirates Publishers Association Knowledge without Borders Project Mohammad Bin Rashid Foundation Sharjah Children s Centers What categories of membership, if any, does your NS have? ne How inclusive is your membership of persons connected to the children s book world in your country? t applicable. In terms of our partners, we are totally inclusive and welcome partnership with all organisations and individuals that share the objectives of IBBY. We participate in all the local book fairs in order to build a strong local contact base, get to know individuals and organisations active in the fields of reading promotion and children's literature and identify potential partners, trainers, trainees, etc. When we search for participants in our workshops, we depend on open calls to enable all talented individuals to apply in a transparent manner, and we make sure that as many as possible relevant organisations (universities, associations, etc.) are aware of our activities so that their members, students, alumni may participate or inform others of our calls and activities If not inclusive, describe your plans to make it more inclusive? We are on the constant lookout for potential partners, experts, and participants. We also seek to expand the geographical scope of our activities so that they cover all seven Emirates in the UAE Do you make any special effort to attract young people? We organize book reading events at local bookstores and local children's book fairs. We organise workshops that target young people active in different fields (writers, illustrators, reading promotion experts, etc.) and make special effort to make sure that young people know about and are involved in our activities or workshops.

4 How often do you keep in touch with your members? How? We regularly communicate with our ambassadors and have regular meetings with them, especially before the major book fairs. We do our best to disseminate calls for entries and news, both through direct contact and through social media platforms such as facebook and twitter. 2. FUNDING 2.1 Annual Budget What is your average annual budget in US$? Is it increasing or decreasing? On average, it is 115,000 USD in addition to 165,000 USD for costs related specifically to the management of the Etisalat Award. The budget has increased due to the fact that we have received a fund from the Emirates Foundation (grant contract expires at the end of 2013). 2.2 Sources of income Is there a membership fee? How much is it? What percentage of your budget does this account for? ne Do you receive financial support from individual sponsors and/or donors? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for? Private Sponsors (companies): Over the past two years, we received an annual average amount of 150,000 AED or 40,000 USD. Donors: We have received a first payment from the Emirates Foundation, a grantgiving organising in the framework of a grant contract of 75,000 AED or 20,000 USD Do you receive grants from your government? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for? Last year, we received for the first time funds from Sharjah Government to the amount of 600,000 AED or 165,000 USD. From other government sources, we received an average of 75,000 AED or 20,000 US in addition to contributions in kind Do you receive grants from national institutions or other organizations? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for? Have other NS contributed any financial support? If so, how much? Do you generate income through publications? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for?

5 2.2.7 Do you have other sources of income not mentioned above? What are they? What percentage of your budget does this account for? ne Are the sources of income listed in points to regular contributions? Do you receive support specifically for your IBBY dues? If so, from whom? Describe successful fundraising strategies your NS has developed. After we finalise the annual budget of the UAEBBY, we begin immediately to look for potential sponsors who are then contacted directly in order to cover operational costs or specific activities 3. THE NATIONAL SECTION S ACTIVITIES 3.1 Main activities Has your NS organized national, regional or international meetings and conferences? Which ones?, but we are in the process of planning a regional meeting for all national sections in the Central Asia and rth Africa region to take place in 2013 in the framework of the Sharjah IBBY Fund Have members of your NS represented IBBY at other national, regional or international meetings and/or conferences? Yes Bologna Book Fair 2012 was attended by our NS president, UAEBBY Liaision Officer and two of the UAEBBY ambassadors. IBBY Congress 2012 will be attended by members of the NS (UAEBBY President, UAEBBY Coordinator, Planning and Development Officer, and two UAEBBY ambassadors Does your NS organize courses or seminars at a local level? Who are these aimed at? Yes. Our training seminars target writers, illustrators and librarians. Previous training workshops include: two workshops, one for writers and another for illustrators with Ute Krause in the framework of the Made in the UAE project (a cooperation with Goethe Institut Gulf Region); a workshop for illustrators with trainers David Habchy and Joan Baz; and a workshop for public school librarians with Gaby Hohm (cooperation with Goethe Institut Gulf Region). Future workshops in 2012 include a workshop for private school librarians and another for illustrators to take place in Beirut with Iranian illustrator, Ali Reza. Workshops will be organised in 2013 and 2014, but the topics are still not decided Does your NS organize or host exhibitions and/or fairs?

6 3.1.5 Does your NS administer awards or prizes? Does it organize contests? The UAEBBY has been managing the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children s Literature since The award is worth 1 million dhs, or roughly $ 272,257. It is the richest and one of the most prestigious awards for children's literature in the Arab World Does your NS run a library or bookstore? Has your NS organized other activities? Which ones have been especially successful in your country? Please specify. We also organise readings and related activities for children. We are planning to launch a major reading campaign, which will run annually. The UAEBBY has launched in cooperation with IBBY, the Sharjah IBBY Fund. 3.2 Communication Does your NS have a website? What is its URL? Yes, it is There is also a special website for the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature managed by the UAEBBY: Does your NS publish a regular newsletter? Who receives this? Is it available online? We are in process of preparing the first edition of our newsletter, which will be published regularly. It will be disseminated to our ambassadors, Arab IBBY national sections, IBBY secretariat, funders, partners, participants as well as during public events. The newsletter will be made available online Does your NS have a Facebook page? What is its name? Yes For the UAEBBY: (االمجلسس االا ماررااتي لكتبب االيیافعيینن) Facebook account: Uaebby Emirate section Facebook Page: UAEBBY For the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature Facebook account: EtisalatAward Children Literature Does your NS develop lists of book selections? Which ones?, but we promote the books longlisted for Etisalat Award What, if any, are your other regular publications? Please give names (original and translation into English) and a description of their content and purpose.

7 t applicable Does your NS work with national media to promote your own activities or the work of IBBY? All the UAEBBY s activities and events are covered by newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 3.3 Cooperation at a national level Is your NS consulted about children s books in your country? By whom? We have also been asked by Outside In concerning Emirati books that should be can be recommended for translation Are there NGOs or established institutions in your country for which the development of a children s reading and publishing culture is an objective? Which ones? Are you informed of their projects and needs? Sharjah Children s Centers Emirates Publishers Association Mohammad Bin Rashid Foundation Kalimat Publishing House Ministry of Culture Untitled Chapter Book Shelter Does your NS collaborate with these agencies? Yes, we cooperate them to the greatest extent possible. 4. COOPERATION WITH IBBY 4.1 International activities in cooperation with IBBY Congresses and General Assemblies How many of your members participated in the last two IBBY Congresses and General Assemblies? 2010 IBBY Congress: The planning and development manager at the time, Tamer Said participated in the congress Congress: Members of the NS (UAEBBY President, UAEBBY Coordinator, Planning and Development Officer, and two UAEBBY ambassadors) will be taking part in the UK IBBY Congress. UAEBBY President will participate in the General Assembly meeting Does your NS participate in IBBY regional conferences? If so, which ones? If not, what are the barriers to your participation?

8 We are in the process of planning a regional meeting for all national sections in the Central Asia and rth Africa region to take place in 2013 in the framework of the Sharjah IBBY Fund International Children s Book Day (ICBD) What activities, if any, does your NS organize to celebrate the ICBD? In 2012, we translated into Arabic the ICBD message and poster and made them available to all the Arab national sections. We organised activities for children during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. We also organised many activities during the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival held in April, such as the launch of the Sharjah IBBY Fund, readings for children, a workshop for illustrators and another for public school librarians. In 2011, we cooperated with the Sharjah Dept. of Culture and Media to produce an Arabic version of the Book Fiesta book which was distributed in public schools by the Dept of Culture. We also hosted a special workshop for children with Mexican illustrator Rafae Lopez. We coordinated with different agencies which organised many activities in different parts of the UAE throughout April Did you design your own poster? If not, did you use the message and poster of the sponsoring NS?, we did not design our own poster. In 2011, we used artwork from Book Fiesta, and in 2012, we used an Arabic version of the poster of the sponsoring NS How do you disseminate information about the ICBD? Via press releases, newspaper articles, newspaper, radio and television, newspaper advertisements and posters/bookmarks inside all local booksellers, schools and children s cultural centres. IBBY Awards and projects Did your NS present any nominations for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards? If so, who were the nominees? If not, why not? Did your NS present any nominations for the IBBY Honour List? If so, who were the nominees? If not, why not? Yes, the nominees for the Honour List 2012 were: 1- Writing: Abir Ballan for the book Wazifat Mama 2- Illustration: Intelaq Mohammed Ali for the book Ibn Battouta 3- Translation: Fatima Sharafeddine for the book Ameerat Min Al Alam translated from the French Princesses du Monde by Katell Goyer Did your NS nominate a project for the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award? If so, which one?

9 4.1.9 Did your section submit an application for funds from the IBBY-Yamada programme? If not, why not? If yes, what was it and was the application successful?, but we are preparing a project to be submitted next year Did you submit any titles for the Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities selection? Did you donate or recommend any books for the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Disabled Young People? If so, how many? Did you host any IBBY travelling exhibitions (Honour List, HCA, Books for Disabled, etc.)? If so, where and when were they exhibited? Bookbird and other projects How many members of your NS have individual subscriptions to Bookbird? ne Does your NS have a Bookbird associate editor? Have you contributed any articles to, or cooperated with Bookbird?, but we are planning to Have you participated in any other IBBY international activities not listed above? If so, which ones? 4.2 Cooperation with other National Sections Are you involved in regional cooperation with other NS? What is the nature of this cooperation? We have arranged two meeting for the Arab NS, the first during the Sharjah International Book Fair 2010 and the second during the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival in We are in the process of planning a regional meeting for 2013 for the national sections in our region Do you cooperate bilaterally with other NS? What is the nature of this cooperation? We are cooperating with IBBY Palestine concerning a donation of books from the Mohamed bin Rashed Foundation Do you exchange newsletters or information with other NS? If so, how often? We will ensure that our newsletters will reach all the NS's in our region. Some of our future workshops will be open to participation from interested people from other countries What, in your opinion, have been the major obstacles to greater cooperation between NS? Limited financial resources 5. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS