“Scambi culturali tra Italia e mondo arabo: la parola ai traduttori – التبادل الثقافي بين إيطاليا والعالم العربي: المترجمون يتحدثون”
The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF – https://www.sibf.com/en/home), a great opportunity for authors, publishers and readers to meet, is still on. Organized by the Sharjah Book Authority and sponsored by Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Emir of Sharjah, it represents the most important publishing event in the Arab world and one of the most relevant at a global level. The Emirate of Sharjah, with the presence of Sultan Al Qasimi himself, was the guest of honour at the 2019 edition of the Turin International Book Fair.
This 39th edition of the SIBF, entitled ‘The World Reads from Sharjah’, has a reduced physical attendance but is still offering a full schedule of virtual events. And it sees for the first time a collective presence of Italian publishers in the elegant pavilion curated by ICE-ITA. The pavilion is well placed and furnished with the aesthetic rigour and linearity of shapes and colours that characterise the Italian taste, and is largely dedicated to publishing for children and families.
The Italian participation was inaugurated last Thursday 5th by the visit of the Italian Ambassador Nicola Lener, and by the meeting of the Italian delegation with Ahmed Al Ameri, General Manager of the Fair. The pavilion subsequently hosted a webinar conducted by Ida Zilio-Grandi, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute Abu Dhabi, dedicated to literary translations from Arabic into Italian and vice versa. The guests, Isabella Camera d’Afflitto and Ezzeddine Anaya (both University of Rome “La Sapienza”), respectively outlined in Italian and Arabic an overview of the main works translated, the major areas of common interest between the two literatures and also the linguistic and cultural challanges for translators from and into the two languages involved.
With the assistance of our Institute, on November 8, the Fair will host a conversation between the well-known novelist, essayist and screenwriter Carlo Lucarelli, moderated by Layla El-Wafi. On 13 November at 4pm it will be Ernesto Franco‘s turn, writer, poet and Director of the Einaudi publishing house, moderated by Eman Al Yousuf. On the same 13th at 7:00 p.m., the Italian participation will be concluded by Elisabetta Dami, author of Geronimo Stilton‘s stories, the mouse investigator and journalist beloved also by the young people of the Arab world.