THE USED BOOK FAIR WILL LAST FROM FEBRUARY 26 TO 29, 2020 AS PART OF THE ACTIVITIES
In correspondence to the cultural approach that His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah established, Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) has been organizing the Used Book Fair since 2006. It aims by organizing the fair to enhance the value and importance of books and encourage reading. It also aims to enhance the value of voluntary work and provide innovative financial revenues that contribute to SCHS programs and services. It has a moral and cultural payoff while at the same time caring for the creativity of persons with disabilities and other groups of children and youth, as well as establishing an entertaining and cultural activity that attracts all nationalities and age groups.
As part of the activities marking Sharjah as World Book Capital and with more than one million books, Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services is going to organize, the Seventh Used Book Fair (Buy a book, enlighten a path) from February 26 to 29, 2020, at Al Nakheel Park on the shores of Khalid Lake, Sharjah.
Despite being an institution specialized in working with persons with disabilities, SCHS organizes many activities targeting all members of society. SCHS believes in the integration of society’s institutions and its active role in the process of raising awareness of society’s issues, especially the issues of persons with disabilities, through collaborative work to enhance cooperation with these institutions and other local, regional, and international bodies in order to achieve the best results.
Mr. Jihad Abdel Qader, the General Coordinator of the Fair, spoke about volunteers’ contribution from the first moments of preparation to the closing day of the fair’s activities. There are persons with disabilities among volunteers who would work to make the event succeeds because they believe in the importance of knowledge and the spread of culture among members of society.
He mentioned that the first edition of the Used Book Fair began in April 2006. The number of books displayed in that year was 80 thousand books. Then, the number of books increased in 2007 to become (100 thousand). The number became (150 thousand) in 2009. In the fourth edition, which was in 2011, the number of books was (500,000 thousand). The number of books increased more and more in the years 2013 and 2016 to reach in 2020 more than one million books as indicated by supervisors who have been working in sorting and pricing books since months.
Mr. Jihad Abdel Qader has confirmed that the preparations for this year event started since last May, when the Director General of SCHS conducted a meeting to form committees, assign their heads, and tasks. He said, “A while ago, volunteers started sorting, classifying, and pricing books. Before this, people from around the country started donating books to the fair, which indicates the success of this event year after year”.
“The work is continuing to implement the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi to develop the Used Book Fair through perfect organization, innovative ideas, and the increase in the number of displayed books and revenues that serves the public interest of persons with disabilities and the society. In the same time maintaining the pricing of books in the fair between one dirham and twenty dirhams, thus allowing everyone to acquire valuable books at reasonable prices” added Abdel Qader.
The General Coordinator explained that a group of cultural, social and recreational events would accompany the fair. He confirmed that this fair deserves all support especially as it is the first of its kind at the state level since its inception in 2006 in terms of the idea and organization. The fair reflects a bright image of Sharjah, which has interest in everything that promotes human culture.
No doubt, the General Coordinator points out that the main goal of the fair is not financial gain, although it will be devoted to support the programs that SCHS offers to its students with disabilities, but rather includes the cognitive, cultural and social impact that it has on volunteers and visitors. The fair provides an opportunity for them to participate voluntarily in all its stages, from collecting and sorting books operations, forming committees for rotations, supervising sales and interacting with the public. In addition, it offers a valuable opportunity to its visitors from different age and population groups to acquire books and gain knowledge.
Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services strives to enhance the value of (volunteering) in the minds of the children of society. Therefore, SCHS, in its various activities and events, cares to emphasize this social value and its benefits for everyone.
Abdel Nasser Darwish, Chairman of the Sorting, Classification, Pricing, Display and Sales Committee, praised the community's participation in the volunteering process. For example, and not limited to, since the screening committee started its work, many schools, centers, voluntary groups, and entities persist in participating in this work seriously and sincerely around the clock. Many mothers of students with disabilities and their children volunteered to assist in sorting and classifying books to display it in the fair in the best way.
Darwish said, “Among volunteers, there are students from Sharjah College of Technology, the University of Sharjah, and public and private schools as well as Emirates Volunteers Platform and Emirates National Bank Dubai. The number of volunteers has reached 150 from different bodies”.
It was noticeable during the work done by the volunteers in the place provided by Al-Shahba School for Basic Education for sorting and pricing books their interaction with each other and their ability to conduct the work with a controlled rhythm. This had a great role in determining the milestones of success that can only be done with the active participation of the public and their desire to buy used books and benefit from their deep content and value.
In conclusion, the head of the committee pointed out that the books that will be available in the festival are valuable and in various fields of general knowledge. The topics include Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Social Sciences, Languages, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Applied Sciences, Fine and Decorative Arts, Arabic and Foreign Literature, Geography, Journeys, Biographies, and History. He invited all people from all nationalities to visit the fair and buy books at optimal prices that start from two dirhams and up to twenty dirhams. Books available in English are abundant in many subjects.