Katara General Manager, Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti receiving a token of appreciation from the Union of Jordanian Publishers.
Doha, Qatar: The Union of Jordanian Publishers honoured the Cultural Village Foundaton, Katara, represented by its General Manager, Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, at the conclusion of a symposium held at the Royal Cultural Center in the Jordanian capital, Amman, recently, under the title: “Katara’s Role in Stimulating the Arabic Novel.”
Prof. Dr. Al Sulaiti, outlined Katara’s launching of the Katara Award for Arabic Novel in 2014, going through the goals and vision of the award, pointing out that the translation of the novels and critical studies that won the Katara Award for Arabic Novel into English and French. He explained that the programme is considered one of the most important outcomes of the award, stressing that the Katara Award for Arabic Novel is not just an award, but rather an integrated cultural project that includes transforming distinguished novels into drama, through the (Novel and Theater) project. He also discussed the launching of the Katara International Novel Magazine “Narratives,” and establishing the Katara Library for Arabic Novel, the first of its kind in the region.
Moreover, he touched on the achievements of the Katara Award for the Arabic Novel, most notably the push towards devoting a week to the novel, which was achieved in the year 2021 with the accreditation of UNESCO.
It is an initiative launched by Katara in 2016 when it adopted the proposals of Arab intellectuals and novelists, until it culminated in the official adoption of the Novel Week to become a tangible reality. Katara celebrated its first edition in October 2022 at the international organiSation’s headquarters in Paris.
For his part, Dr. Nidal Al Ayasra, representing the Jordanian Minister of Culture, and Haifa Al Najjar, spoke about the importance of culture and its idea, explaining that choosing Qatar as a guest of honour for the Amman International Book Fair came as a culmination of the close relations between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Qatar.
“Dedicating a symposium to examine the stages of development of the Katara Award for Arabic Novel comes in recognition of the important pioneering role this award has achieved in making the Arabic novel take a global path, with the means the award has provided in terms of translating and publishing the winning novels into other languages besides Arabic, which deepens cognitive awareness of our heritage. The narrative and its cultural challenges, in addition to the award’s contribution to achieving cultural and intellectual diversity at the level of the Arab world,” he said.
