Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA) and Founder and CEO of the UAE-based Kalimat Group (KG), has announced that the sales proceeds of her latest work in children’s literature titled “World Book Capital” will be furthered to libraries and cultural and educational institutions in Gaza, Palestine.

The announcement was made by Bodour Al Qasimi via a post on @bodour, and is a new milestone in her inspiring efforts to enable children and youth unrestricted access to books and knowledge despite their socioeconomic circumstances. This is the latest step the IPA President has taken to advance her global march to boost support for libraries and educational institutions worldwide. The support is vital to the Gaza strip where several libraries and cultural entities have suffered severe damage following recent events.

Bodour Al Qasimi launched “World Book Capital” at the ongoing 12^th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), during an interactive session where she performed a reading of the book for SCRF’s young visitors. Characterised by a thrilling narrative with an engaging literary style in addition to beautiful illustrations by Denise Damanti, the creative work introduces young generations to UNESCO’s World Book Capital, a global initiative that grants this prestigious title to a different city each year. Consequently, the book offers children the opportunity to explore the cities that won the title since the initiative’s inception in 2001.

The book has been published in both Arabic and English by Kalimat Publishing, the Kalimat Group imprint that specialises in Arabic books for children and the youth.