On November 3rd – 13th, the 40th edition of Sharjah International Book Fair will be held in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. This year the event will occur exceptionally during the 2020 Dubai Expo.

For this occasion, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), in collaboration with the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) will arrange the Italian companies’ participation at the fair, which is gaining international prominence. Therefore, the Agency has planned meetings between Italian and foreign publishing houses to take part in the discussion about the publishing industry and its future.

For these reasons, ITA has organized a one-day seminar on November 4th, a “Literay Day on Expo themes”, and has invited numerous professionals of the Italian publishing ecosystem to present their views about the Expo key topics. The event will be held in the Italy Pavilion at the Dubai Expo in the context of the Innovation Talks, thematic seminars that collect cases of Italian excellence in various sectors. This Innovation Talk is especially designed for international professionals in the publishing sector, but also for institutions and organizations working in the digital ecosystem.

Among the cases of excellence in publishing that were invited to participate in the Literary Day, there will be Fondazione LIA: Cristina Mussinelli, LIA Secretary General, will talk about accessibility as the theme is more and more relevant for the whole book industry.

The relevance of the accessibility for the publishing to come

Expo 2020 Dubai’s theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, is based on the belief that bringing the world together can catalyse an exchange of new perspectives and inspire action to deliver real-life solutions to real-world challenges.

In this perspective, accessibility is a central theme for the future of the publishing industry: European companies and all the operators willing to sell their products and services in Europe  will be called to comply with the European Accessibility Act in four years. The publishing industry is thus looking with increasing interest at the digital innovation and the creation of born accessible e-books. The Directive will push a change that will bring real benefits in terms of inclusion and participation for everyone in the world of culture, study and work.

Here the Business Programme at the Italy Pavilion: www.italyexpo2020.it/expofiles/2021/09/309-ITALY-FOR-EXPO-2020-DUBAI-BUSINESS-PROGRAMME