SHARJAH: Maraya Art Centre, an initiative of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), launched on Monday a new cultural project called the “Book Shelter,” under the sponsorship of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du).The project is dedicated to reviving the culture of used books and fostering a love for reading in the UAE. Its aim is to embrace old and used books donated by their owners to The Book Shelter where they will be showcased at the project’s library.
The launch ceremony was attended by Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority “Shurooq,” Noura Al Noman, director of the Executive Office of Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ahmed Al Qaseer, Shurooq COO, Hazim Sawaf, Shurooq’s director of Marketing and Communications, representatives from du, and a number of intellectuals and book lovers.
Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi praised the idea of the project and the efforts to make it a reality. She highly appreciated the eagerness of young women of the UAE to contribute to the development and support of the cultural growth in the country.
Sheikha Bodour expressed her full support to this leading cultural project and donated a collection of her personal books for the “Book Shelter” project. She urged corporates and individuals to support the project and co-operate with the organisers to achieve the desired results.
On this occasion, Giuseppe Moscatello, Maraya Art Centre curator, said, “The Book Shelter is a pioneering cultural project launched by Maraya Art Centre with the aim of saving unwanted and old books. The project aims to encourage the love of reading and by asking the community to donate books. We are hoping to create awareness and wider community participation.”
Moscatello explained the overall project aims to promote a reading culture among the Emirati community and raise awareness about the importance of books and at the same time create a sustainable culture of reading through recycling of used books.
He explained that the idea was introduced by two Emirati women who share a love for books and sought to recycle used books and encourage reading among community members.
“Maryam Al Khayat and Sheikha Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi founded the project with the aim of redistributing the books among members of society and spreading the love of reading. We have adopted the idea and turned it into reality in collaboration with du,” he said.
Moscatello pointed out that the project will offer a variety of books written in various languages for free to everyone and that each person will be entitled to four books a month only. The project’s management will receive book donations at Maraya Art Centre, but will not receive magazines and books that violate the teachings of true Islam.
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