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The Mohammed bin Rashid Library successfully concluded the second edition of the Dubai International Library and Publishing Summit 2025, held under the theme, The Future of the Publishing Industry. The three-day summit saw a wide participation and brought together over 80 speakers from 20 countries, including five keynote speakers, in a packed program featuring 48 panel discussions and sessions, and more than 20 workshops.
Compared to last year’s event, this year’s registration number grew by 27.3% while attendance and participation rate rose by 31.5%. The diversity of visitors’ nationalities also expanded by 33%. The summit registered a rise in number of international speakers of 50% compared to the first edition.
The organising committee noted that these figures reflect the continued success of the Dubai International Library and Publishing Summit in enriching the overall experience for participants, and attracting broader audience from the UAE and abroad, further reinforcing Dubai’s position as a regional hub for knowledge and culture.
In his closing speech, His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation, said: “The second edition of the Dubai International Library and Publishing Summit marked a new milestone in promoting the publishing industry. It discussed the future of this sector and how it is built on the integration of human creativity and advanced technologies. Digital transformation is no longer an option, but a necessity dictated by the nature of our era, which is based on open knowledge.”
Al Murr added: “Today’s cultural world is witnessing a rapid convergence between content, knowledge, and technology—calling for the establishment of new intellectual and institutional systems that balance human values with technological innovation. These systems must reinforce the role of culture as a bridge for dialogue and understanding among peoples, not as boundaries that divide them.”
Al Murr emphasised the urgent need to unify efforts and build sustainable partnerships among cultural, academic, and technological institutions to open broader horizons for the development of both Arab and global publishing.
Al Murr continued: “The desired future is one that depends on the exchange of expertise, openness to experiences, and the empowerment of knowledge to become the main driver of sustainable development. We leave today with a stronger belief that knowledge is the highest investment in humanity, and that the future of Arab publishing carries promising opportunities to shape a brighter and more globally connected cultural landscape.”
The summit covered key topics such as innovation, technology, transformation, the global publishing landscape, the craft of writing, the art of books, translation, and publishing with purpose. Furthermore, there was a strong emphasis on digital transformation in publishing, balancing traditional and digital media, and offering hands-on workshops that develop the skills of writers and publishers in translation, editing, and printing, while promoting sustainability and ethical practices in this vital sector.
Day one featured a rich lineup of sessions and workshops. This included Theory for Robots, The Impact of AI on Creativity and Publishing, Selling and Buying International Rights,, The Art of the Illustrated Book, among others. These discussions offered deep insights into the future of publishing, ways to stimulate Arab creativity, and how to align it with global standards and modern technologies.
Day two focused on aspects of the publishing industry and literary creativity, featuring sessions on translation and children's story writing, workshops on manuscript editing and bookbinding, and advanced discussions on academic publishing, cross-border publishing, and the role of literary agents. It also addressed diversity and inclusion in reading, building a successful publishing plan, the impact of book prizes, and building a personal brand for authors, as well as exploring innovation and transformation strategies for the publishing industry in the coming decade.
Day three included sessions on the literary awards industry and its role in shaping the publishing market, advanced workshops on writing and illustrating children's books, and sessions on copyright in the age of artificial intelligence, access to schools, and marketing children's books. It also focused on promoting reading and building a future generation of readers, exploring publishing market trends in the UAE, and empowering underrepresented voices in literary translation. The sessions further covered Excellence in Arabic Book Publishing, Safeguarding Creativity: Protecting Rights in Arab Publishing, and Building a Sustainable Publishing House.
On the sidelines of the summit, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library announced the launch of its publishing and translation arm, which will translate works from various languages into Arabic. This initiative marks a major step toward solidifying the library’s role as an active institution in knowledge production and dissemination, while bolstering its presence in the Arab and international cultural landscape and enriching Arabic content.
The summit also witnessed the announcement of the tenth edition of the Mohammed bin Rashid Arabic Language Award, which falls under the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, and is organised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Library Foundation
The success of the second edition of the Dubai International Library and Publishing Summit highlights the Library's pioneering role in shaping the future of culture and knowledge in the region, and in reinforcing Dubai’s position as a global hub for thought and creativity. It also reflects the Library’s commitment to its vision of supporting Arabic content, empowering knowledge publishing, and building cultural bridges between East and West, thereby enhancing the UAE’s global position in knowledge and sustainable publishing.
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