A Word of Welcome

Welcome to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2012. We are proud to offer you, once again, the Professional Programme, a series of panels, matchmakings, talks, roundtables and presentations which touch on the most vital topics affecting the publishing industry today such as the digital movement and focus on better design. As always, we offer you several opportunities to network with those in the publishing industry from all parts of the world in our matchmaking session and tours. In its second year, the Illustrators Corner will once again bring to the forefront some wonderfully talented individuals and agencies who bring books to life with their artistic works. Be sure to visit to meet them and learn of all the options out there to enliven your content. Due to its popularity, the eZone & Service Providers area is ever larger and will include different presentations on the technical side of digital publishing; a not-to-be-missed selection of talks for those who want to learn about Apps, ePub and more. Come and meet service providers and enhance your content. The Education Chapter is now in its fourth edition and will offer access to market presentations from speakers in the Ministries of Education and Higher Education in the region. This is a great chance to learn how to penetrate these markets. In addition to all of the above, you can also connect with various institutions which support translation, professional dialogue and collaboration, including Kalima, the Spotlight on Rights, Literature Across Frontiers and others.

We are happy to welcome you to the 22nd annual Abu Dhabi International Book Fair and wish you a successful visit!

Jumaa Abdulla Al Qubaisi Director of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

Programme

Please note that all events are free of charge for our exhibitors and registered trade visitors. Unless otherwise indicated, Professional Programme sessions listed in this brochure will take place in Capital Suite 18 and 19, situated on the first floor of the exhibition centre. Some sessions may also take place at the eZone presentation area, Hall 10. During the first 2 days of the fair, a buffet lunch will be on offer in front of Capital Suite 18.

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

12:00 13:15 See Whats on Offer at the ADIBF
Guided Tour for International First-Timers The Kitab Sales team will introduce participants to the offerings and facilities at the fair. English Arabic Meeting point: Business & Rights Centre Business lunch after the event (Venue: at Capital Suite 19)

14:15 16:15 Meet New Business Partners

Matchmaking for all exhibitors and trade visitors In your registration, please specify your business line (e.g. childrens book publisher, literary agent, distributor, printer, etc.) We recommend that participants bring English versions of their promotional materials. English Arabic, simultaneous translation is available Venue: Capital Suite 19 Business lunch before the event (Venue: at Capital Suite 19)

16:30 17:30 Local developments in English language teaching and schools publishing
Brought to you by The Publishers Association (UK) Host: Mike Thompson, Group Business Development Director for Cengage Learning, EMEA Speakers: Mary James, Educational Publishing Consultant at Innoved Jancis McGrady . English for the Future Projects Manager at the British Council, UAE Julian Eynon, Regional Sales Manager (ELT) the Gulf, Egypt, Libya & Sudan at Cambridge University Press English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19

16:45 17:45 Effective Marketing and Expanding Markets

Brought to you by Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi(PSUAD) & the Bureau International de LEdition Franaise (BIEF) Host: Laurence Risson, Bureau International de LEdition Franaise (BIEF) Speakers : Jean-Louis Hocq, Director of Solar Jean-Michel Olle, Editorial Director of Hachette Livre International English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 18

18:00 19:00 Successful UK/Arab partnerships

Discover new business models for UK publishers in the region. Brought to you by The Publishers Association (UK) Host: Emma House, Trade and International Director, The Publishers Association Speakers: Dr Kathy Rooney, Managing Director of Bloomsbury Information Ltd Seif Salmawy, Managing Director of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing Amira Aboulmagd , Publisher at Dar el Shorouk, Cairo Adam Freudenheim, Publishing Director of Penguin Classics and Reference Matthew Cowdery, Middle East Sales Manager of Hachette UK Ltd, Dubai English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19

18:30 19:30 Opening Reception

Introducing the Arab Rights Showcase; come and see all the excellent titles the Arab region has to offer. English Arabic Venue: Business & Rights Centre, simultaneous translation is available

19:30 20:30 Reception

The official opening of the Illustrators Corner with a small introduction by ADIBF management. English Arabic Venue: Illustrators Corner

Thursday, 29 March 2012

9:30 10:30 Doing Business in the U.A.E.
The Dos and Donts to a successful business venture. Speaker: Ali Alsaloom, Cultural Consultant and Founder of Embrace Arabia, U.A.E. English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19

10:45 12:15 The Education Chapter Focus Group

A session for educational/academic publishers to meet with teachers/librarians to discuss the types of material they are seeking. English Venue: Capital Suite 18

10:45 11:45 Protecting eRights

A session introducing digital rights, technical efforts to protect content, and how collective management may help. Host: Salah Chebaro, CEO of Neelwafurat.com/nwf.com Speakers: Lynette Owen, Copyright Director at Pearson Education, UK Walid Abou Farhat, Partner, Abou Farhat Law Offices, Lebanon Dr. Martin Steinbach, Manager of Media Security & IT Forensics, Fraunhofer Institut English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19

12:00 13:00 Creating Edutaining Content in the Fields of Non-Fiction

How to make educational material that is entertaining and effective. Brought to you by Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD) & the Bureau International de LEdition Franaise (BIEF) Speakers: Sinan Sweis, Founder and Director of Jabal Amman Publishers, Jordan Sana Ghenima, CEO of Sanabil Med, Tunisia Hedwidge Pasquet, President of Gallimard Jeunesse, France Natalie Vock-Verley, Co-Founder of Les Editions du Ricochet, France English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19 Business lunch after the event (Venue: at Capital Suite 19)

12:30 13:30 The Education Chapter 4 Market Presentation

Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) Speaker: Valerie Gondek, Manager, Library Management Section, Student Services, School Operations at ADEC English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 18 Business lunch after the event (Venue: at Capital Suite 19)

14:30 15:45 Roundtable: Digital Publishing

What is the state of digital publishing in the Arab region? Where is it headed? Host: Shadi Hasan, Managing Director of Rufoof.com and Flagship.co Speakers: Mohamed Al Baghdadi, CEO of Al Manhal Publishers, Jordan Sana Ghenima, CEO of Sanabil Med, Tunisia Salah Chebaro, CEO of Neelwafurat.com/nwf.com Octavio Kulesz, Director of Teseo Alexander McNabb, Co-Founder of Spot On PR Dr. Panayiotis Paschalakis, President of Digibooks4all Patrick Beyrouti, Senior Business Development Manager for Middle-East at Arab Business Machine, Authorised distributor of Apple

English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19 Business lunch before the event (Venue: at Capital Suite 19)

14:45 15:45 The Education Chapter 4 Market Presentation

Ministry of Education, Kuwait Speaker: Abou Al Futooh Salman Mohamed, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Education, Kuwait English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 18

16:00 17:00 Making Arabic eBooks

A guide to creating ePubs and the technology behind it Speakers: Samer Al Sayyah, Senior Developer at Flagship Pro Dominique Roux, Presses Universitaires de Caen Emmanuelle Corne, Publisher at Les Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, France English Venue: eZone

16:15 17:45 Contemporary Arabic Book Design

Discussing the history of Arabic design and typography, current trends and movements. Brought to you in partnership with KHATT Foundation Host: Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares, Founding Director, Khatt Foundation
and Director, Khatt Books

Speakers: John Kortbawi, Chair of the School of Design, Notre Dame University, Beirut Lara Assouad-Khoury, Type & Book Designer, Dubai Yara Khoury-Nammour, Type Designer & Art Director, AlMohtaraf, Jeddah Nadine Chahine, Arabic specialist, Linotype, Germany English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19

16:30 17:30 The Education Chapter 4 Market Presentation

National Library Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage Speaker: Rashed Abdul Rahman Al Baeek, Acquisition Manager English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 18

18:00 19:00 Building New Audiences for Books, the Importance of Marketing and the Promotion of Literature in the Region
How trade and academic book publishers can promote their product to audiences in the Middle East. Brought to you by The Publishers Association, UK and the British Council Host: Bill Kennedy, Director of the Avicenna Partnership Speakers: Paul Davighi, Sales and Marketing Director of I B Tauris Publishers Mahmoud Fouda, Managing Owner of the Middle East Readers Information Center (MERIC ) Isobel Abulhoul, Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Literary Festival Susanna Nicklin, Director Literature, British Council English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 19

18:00 19:00 eBooks vs. Tablet Books

The key differences between them, where to start and what to expect Speaker: Shadi Hasan, Managing Director of Rufoof.com and Flagship.co English Arabic Venue: eZone

Friday, 30 March 2012

17:00 18:15 The Rise of the Image
Why comics and graphic novels are rising in popularity. Brought to you in collaboration with Pro Helvetia Host: Alexandra Buchler, Director of Literature Across Frontiers (LAF) Speakers: Khalil, Illustrator Daniel Bosshart, Illustrator and Author Christophe Badoux, Illustrator and Author English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 18

18:00 19:00 Childrens Apps

The technical ins and outs and shared experiences of publishers who have ventured into App production. Speakers: Sameer Shariff, Founder and CEO of Impelsys, India Salwa Shakhshir, General Manager of Al Salwa Publishing, Jordan Asif Bashir, Director of Asian-e and Founder and Creator of Aku & Kamu English Venue: eZone

18:30 19:30 Increase your Sales Through eCommerce

Introducing some online options to distributing books Host: Beatrice Stauffer, Sales Manager at Kitab Speakers: Salah Chebaro, CEO of Neel wa Furat Mostafa Abou El Nasr, President of Books.com.eg Ala Alsallal, Founder of Jamalon.com, Jordan English Arabic Venue: Capital Suite 18

New in 2012!

Arab Rights Showcase

Venue: Business & Rights Centre Visit the Business & Rights Centre at the fair for a look at our new Arab Rights Showcase. Come to discover a selection of the most exciting titles published in the Arab world! Foreign rights available For more information email rights@kitab.ae Telephone: +(971 2) 657-6180 Fax: +(971 2) 6433-017 www.adbookfair.com/cms/programme-en

Spotlight on Rights
Venue: Business & Rights Centre Up to US$10,000 in subsidies per exhibitor can be had by applying for this rights subsidy. Come by the Business & Rights Centre to learn more, fill out the applications and to benefit from our in-house specialist, Ms. Lynette Owen. Applications must be submitted during the book fair in order to be considered eligible. Only applications by registered exhibitors and trade visitors will be considered. Interpretation from Arabic-English and vice versa is available to help you seal business deals. Also, come and see our new Arab Rights Showcase for a glimpse into some of the best the Arab region has to offer. Need advice or want to learn more about rights and making rights deals? Visit with Lynette Owen at the Business & Rights Centre. You may come to our reception desk directly, or make an appointment.

Speakers

Abou Al Futooh Salman Mohamed Has been advisor to the Minister of Higher Education in Kuwait since 2000 and was responsible for Arabic curriculum between 1993 and 2000. Prior to this, he was a teacher and finally Head of the Arabic language section, Art teacher and first supervisor of teachers between the years of 1969 and 1993. He takes part in all committees and efforts related to Arabic language curriculum at all levels of schooling in Kuwait since 1976, including some writing of the content of the books used in teaching of the language. He has also participated in studies by the GASERC. Adam Freudenheim Is Publishing Director of Penguin Classics and Reference, based in London. He was born and raised in the United States but has lived in the UK since 1997. He has worked in publishing for fourteen years, including briefly at Granta Books, at Yale University Press (London) and since early 2004 at Penguin Books. Ala' Alsallal Received his Masters degree from Greece in IT, specializing in Business Intelligence. He has worked for a multinational for 2 years, before deciding to follow his passion for books and launching Jamalon.com in 2010 as a solution to the Arab publishing industrys challenges by offering more channels for book distribution, facilitating the publishing processes, and encouraging people to read. Alexandra Bchler Is director of Literature Across Frontiers (LAF), a European platform for literary exchange which runs initiatives and projects in partnership with a range of organisations across Europe and in the Arab world. Among the many of LAFs projects was a comics workshop in Cairo with Arab and European writers and illustrators organised in cooperation with the Goethe Institute. LAFs mission is to promote intercultural dialogue through literature and art, and its work in the Arab world has included presentations of European literature with live events, training of young literary translators, seminars for translators and publishers and poetry translation workshops. LAF has worked in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Book Fair for the past five years to promote translation grants offered to publishers by European institutions and to encourage translation between Arabic and European languages.

Ali Alsaloom Is an Emirati cultural expert, one of the fastest rising media personalities and charismatic public speakers in the Gulf. His internet portal ask-ali.com became one of the most comprehensive and authentic sources of information about culture and heritage for the UAE and the Gulf region. His themed Ask Ali shows, weekly columns in the M magazine and cultural guide books about Abu Dhabi and Dubai reach an international audience. Ali is the Environmental Ambassador of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and was honoured for his success as an entrepreneur with the Khalifa Fund Business Award 2010. Amira Aboulmagd Is Head of Publishing at Dar el Shorouk, Egypt. She has worked in the publishing business since 1998, when she joined Shorouk as Manager of the Children's Books Division. Under her supervision, Shorouks children's titles have received various international awards and recognition. She is currently a member of the board of Dar el Shorouk and of its sister company and distribution arm, Shorouk Bookstores. Asif Bashir Is the Director of Asian-e and founder and creator of Aku & Kamu. An IT consultant by profession, he has a strong appetite for enterprise and has been seeking a spark, with an underlying dream to give something back to society. He found that spark in children's education. His vision was to blend creativity with innovation, in order to create a new proposition for children, a global brand with one key goal: to make learning more fun, exciting and appealing to children. The result was the creation of two fun loving characters, Aku & Kamu. Bill Kennedy Is Director of the Avicenna Partnership, a UK-based company that acts as a marketing and sales representative for academic, reference and professional publishers selling into the Middle East and North Africa. Bill was born and brought up in Edinburgh, and has worked in a number of areas not only within the publishing industry but also, bookselling, library supply, and consultancy. His first business trip to the Middle East was as a

rep for an academic publisher in 1979 and he has, needless to say, experienced many changes in the scale, substance and nature of the market over those 30 years. Christophe Badoux Is a Swiss comic-artist and illustrator. He works at the studios of the Strapazin comic-art magazine. Since 1991 Badoux has published illustrations in various Swiss newspapers and magazines. He also regularly publishes comic books since 1999. One such book, published in 2006, is "Fatma's fantastic journey" (Edition Moderne) and deals with the rare brain disease Moya Moya, showing it as a trip through the human body. In 2008, he released the artist's biography "Klee" (Edition Moderne) in commission for the Paul Klee Zentrum in Bern. Together with the writer Angelika Waldis, he published, in 2011, the children's book "Der unheiliche Stein" (Atlantis). Daniel Bosshart Born in 1971 in Zurich, Switzerland, he learned the profession as a draftsman for architecture and comics from Cla Werro in Winterthur. He has always had a passion for drawing comics and has, to date, published two books (Edition Moderne, Zurich) "Geteilter Traum" (Divided Dream) and "Alberto". His first book was awarded the Max and Moritz-Award for the best German speaking album at the international Comic Salon in Erlangen, Germany. In 2005, he was honored by the city of Winterthur and in 2010 by the city of Zurich for his forthcoming third album in June of this year. Dominique Roux (PhD) A former "Secrtaire aux publications" in the Casa de Velazquez (Madrid) from 1991 till 1997, he now presently runs the technical direction of the University Press of Caen (Presses universitaires de Caen). This public, non-profit company, whose mission is to publish international research, mainly in humanities and social sciences, is involved in developments of methods and workflows for XML-TEI structured electronic publishing in the field of digital humanities. The publishing house releases about thirty books and around thirteen journal issues each year; it belongs to the French AEDRES (Association des diteurs de la recherche et de l'enseignement suprieur).

Emma House Is Trade & International Director, The Publishers Association and joined the PA after 7 years experience as Head of International Development at The London Book Fair and 6 years experience in international business-to-business magazine publishing. Emma heads up the international anti-piracy campaigns on behalf of PA members, and monitors and lobbies for secure market conditions in key export territories. She works closely with bodies such as UK Trade & Investment and the British Council to find export opportunities for UK publishers and promote the UK publishing industry in overseas markets. Emmanuelle Corne Runs the publishing house "Les Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme". This publishing company, whose mission is to publish international research in the humanities and in social sciences, has long been involved in thinking about the production methods of electronic publishing, its practices and customs, as well as its digital broadcasting. She participates in a broader movement called digital humanities, data semantization of research edited projects in the humanities. This publisher releases about thirty books per year and around fifteen journal issues. www.editions-msh.fr Hedwige Pasquet After obtaining masters degrees in law and economy, she joined Gallimards childrens department, but only after creating a nursery at the Alliance Franaise in Trinidad and Tobago. She worked with Pierre Marchand in different areas of childrens publishing and travel guides, assuming various responsibilities: editorial, administrative and in the international department. Appointed Executive Director of Editions Gallimard Jeunesse in1991, when it became a subsidiary company, she has been its President since 2009. Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares Is Founding Director of the Khatt Foundation, Center for Arabic Typography (www.khtt.net) and Director of Khatt Books (www.khattbooks.com). She has authored several books (Arabic Typography: a comprehensive sourcebook, Experimental Arabic Type, Typographic Matchmaking, Typographic Matchmaking in the City) and a number of articles on multilingual communication and contemporary design in the Middle East. She holds degrees in graphic design from Yale University School of Art and Rhode

Island School of Design, and specializes in bilingual typographic research and design. She has worked as a designer in the US, the Netherlands, France, Lebanon and the UAE and has taught at Middle Eastern universities. She is design curator, organizes collaborative design research projects, and is editor of the Khatt Foundation online network. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Leiden University on 20th century Arabic book design. Isobel Abulhoul Is Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature(EAFL). Born and educated in Cambridge, she first came to Dubai in 1968 and Dubai has been her home ever since. After teaching for a number of years, she co-founded Magrudys in 1975 and at the same time set about publishing childrens books in Arabic and English that have relevance to children from and living in the region. In 2008, Isobel founded the EAFL. This has grown to become a celebration of the written and spoken word, bringing people of all ages together with authors from across the world to promote education, debate and, above all else, reading. Jancis McGrady Is English for the Future Projects Manager at the British Council UAE. The project is designed to support and raise the standard of English Language learning and teaching in the MENA region. The ultimate goal of the project is to help young people, through better English language skills, achieve their education and career aspirations and participate in the global conversation on world issues. Jancis holds the Cambridge DELTA and an MA in TESOL and has worked as a teacher and teacher trainer in Europe, Asia and the MENA region. John Kortbaoui, FISTD A Fellow of the International Society of Typographic Designers (FISTD), he studied painting and sculpture in the late1960s. He completed the post graduate Advanced Typographic design course at the London College of Printing, London, England, 1977. From 1979 - 1995, he worked as Art Director for the Catholic Press in Beirut, where he designed and produced hundreds of books and printed items. Since then, he has been a lecturer, Assistant Professor and most recently Chair of the Design Department at the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design of Notre Dame University, Beirut, Lebanon.

Julian Eynon Is Regional Sales Manager (ELT), the Gulf and Egypt, at Cambridge University Press. Julian joined Cambridge University Press in 2007 as an Educational Consultant for ELT in the Gulf, before progressing to the post of ELT Sales Manager for Saudi Arabia and then ELT Regional Sales Manager for the Gulf and Egypt. In addition to the substantial experience Julian has acquired in ELT publishing, he also has extensive ELT teaching experience, having worked for the British Council for twelve years in Turkey, Thailand, Hong Kong, Egypt and the UAE. This year, he successfully completed an MBA with distinction from the University of Strathclyde. Dr. Kathy Rooney Is Managing Director of Bloomsbury Information Ltd, one of Bloomsbury Publishings four global Divisions. She is currently responsible for Bloomsburys partnership with the Qatar Foundation which includes Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, publisher of books for children and adults in Arabic and English, and QScience, the online, peer-reviewed, Open Access research journals publishing portal. From 2005 to 2008 she was joint Managing Director of Bloomsburys German operation, Berlin Verlag, having previously started and developed Bloomsburys Reference and Electronic Media Division. Before joining Bloomsbury she worked for Collins, Quarto and Longman (Pearson). In 2009 she won the prestigious Kim Scott-Walwyn Prize for professional achievement by women in publishing. Khalil, illustrator Born in Paris, he has been a political cartoonist and fine artist in California, U.S.A. since the age of 20. His work has been distributed in hundreds of newspapers in the USA, Canada and Australia and reprinted worldwide. Khalils work as a fine artist has been much praised. He sculpts and creates ceramics and has been cartooning since he was very young. Zahras Paradise is his first graphic novel. It has been translated into twelve languages before it was even published and is about the aftermath of a rigged presidential election in Iran in June 2009. Lara Assouad Khoury Born in Montreal, Canada, she graduated from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelor in Graphic Design (BGD) in 1998. She has worked as a designer at LeoBurnett, spent a year in Cairo, Egypt and then moved to Dubai, U.A.E. and worked as a

Senior Designer for Landor Associates, where she was involved in the design of extensive corporate identity projects for large Middle Eastern companies and institutions. She has an MA from the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique in Nancy, France, where she studied under renowned type designers such as Hans-Jurg Hunziker, Andr Baldinger and others. She is in the process of developing her own extensive Arabic Naskh font and has developed several corporate fonts and experimental Arabic lettering for Dar Onboz in Beirut. She took part in the Typographic Matchmaking project organized by "e Khatt Foundation. She has taught graphic design and Arabic typography courses, at the American University in Dubai. Lynette Owen Is Copyright Director at Pearson Education in the UK; she worked previously at Cambridge University Press and Pitman Publishing. She is responsible for licensing policy and has run many training courses on copyright and licensing in the UK and abroad. She is also the author of Selling Rights (6/e Routledge 2010) and the General Editor of Clark's Publishing Agreements (8/e Bloomsbury Professional 2010). She has also written many handbooks on licensing for specific countries, most recently for the UAE. Mahmoud Fouda Is Owner and Managing Director of the Middle East Readers Information Center (MERIC) and also Assistant General Director of the Middle East Observer (the oldest specialized economic newspaper in The Middle East). He is a member of the Egyptian Publishers Association Copyright Commission. MERIC is a specialized distributor & consolidator of academic books, journals & E-resources and has been agent and co-publisher for the United Nations & Agencies Publications in the MENA region since 1999. Dr. Martin Steinebach Is the Manager of the Media Security and IT Forensics division at Fraunhofer SIT (www.fraunhofer.de). He studied computer science at the Technical University of Darmstadt and completed his thesis on copyright protection for digital audio in 1999. In 2003, he received his PhD at the Technical University of Darmstadt for this work on digital audio watermarking. He is Principle Investigator at CASED on the issue of multimedia security and has published more than 140 works on that topic.

He is part of the Bitkom working group on electronic publishing and speaker of the GI media security group. Mary James Has more than 20 years' experience of publishing for the education market. She set up innoved in 2003 to provide research and consultancy services for publishers looking to develop learning resources their customers want to buy. As a Market Sleuth, she now works with many UK-based publishers to help them understand the needs of international schools and take advantage of growing markets in the Middle East. Matthew Cowdery Was recently appointed as Hachette UKs new Sales Manager, Middle East. He began his career at Waterstones where he was a buyer and manager in a number of stores including Piccadilly. In 2009 he moved to the UAE, working for Magrudys and helping to run the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature before joining Hachette. Mike Thompson Is Group Business Development Director for Cengage Learning, EMEA. He has worked in the publishing and education sector for over 25 years and prior to his current appointment held senior positions at Granada Learning and Pearson Education. He was the Sales and Marketing Director for Pearson for the Middle East and has a long association with the region. In addition, he has contributed a number of market surveys for the Publishers Associations Global Publishing Information (GPI) service, including surveys on Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Mike holds an MBA from Henley, the Management College and continues to travel widely. Mohamad Al Baghdadi Is CEO of Al Manhal, formerly the co-founder and VP International Sales for ebrary (an e-book industry pioneer). He is also the cofounder and CEO of TechKnowledge the regions leading provider of specialized electronic information solutions. Mr. Al Baghdadi has amassed extensive experience as an entrepreneur in several key global and regional markets, including the USA, UAE and Lebanon. With a background in engineering, business administration and publishing, he has founded and managed a number of successful ventures across a range of industries. Mr.

Al Baghdadi holds a BSc. in Systems and Control Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Clevelend, Ohio, USA, and an MBA in International Trade and Market Development from Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Mostafa Abou El Nasr As a serial entrepreneur, Mostafa started his first venture Bebasata.com (one of the first 5 e-commerce companies registered in Egypt) in late 2009 while studying Strategic Management at the German University in Cairo. Immediately after graduating in 2010, he co-founded, with Khaled Imam, Books.com.eg; Egypts first online bookstore, operating purely online. He also co-founded Connecto Networks, a company that provides Wireless MESH networks. Mostafa is an active member in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Egypt; acting as judge in several business plan competitions, speaker at entrepreneurship events and regularly attending the Global Arab Business Meeting. Natalie Vock-Verley In 1995, Natalie, together with her partner Marguerite Tiberti, created Les Editions du Ricochet. Keen to publish books that would give children a taste for language, freedom of imagination and the desire to learn and share, they developed six series, including Oh la science which was published in co-edition with three partners: one in Morocco, one in Quebec and one in Korea. Octavio Kulesz Is the Director of Teseo, one of the most dynamic digital publishing houses from Argentina and Latin America. He founded the Digital minds Network in 2010, along with partners from South Africa and Egypt, with the aim of promoting the emergence of digital publishing projects in the developing world. He authored the report entitled Digital Publishing in Developing Countries, commissioned by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers. Patrick Beyrouti Brings more than 15 years experience in teaching and administrative roles in universities like McGill Canada, Concordia and more recently in the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE. His entrepreneurial skills within education in curriculum development as well as his innovative style in teaching and interest in learners have been an asset to him. Currently working

for Arab Business Machine, the Apple Authorised distributor in the Middle-East, he holds the position of Senior Business Development Manager for the Middle-East and is responsible for implementing Apple's strategy in the education sector. Paul Davighi Is Sales and Marketing Director, worldwide, for both print and digital products at I.B.Tauris Publishers. Paul has worked for fourteen years in publishing, beginning his career at Pearson Education as a Sales and Marketing Representative in Central and Eastern Europe before joining I.B.Tauris firstly as Marketing Manager and then moving on to occupy different positions within the company before assuming his present role two years ago. Salah Chebaro Is CEO of Neel wa Furat (nwf.com), the Arabic online shop for books, music and DVDs. He is a pioneer in the field of digital publishing and is a great advocate for rights protection in the Middle East. Salwa Shakhshir Is the General Manager of Al Salwa Publishing, an independent publishing house established in 1996 in Amman, Jordan, by author Taghreed Najjar. It specializes in Arabic picture books for children. She has been running Al Salwa Publishing since April, 2010. and led the publishing house into digital publishing, producing their first interactive CD for A Home for Arnoub, a picture book which won the Anna Lindh Foundation Award for the top 10 Best Children Books in the region in 2010. She also produced an animated DVD of collected arabic rhymes for children. In its strategy to move into digital publishing, Al Salwa Publishing partnered with Media Plus to publish their first iPhone/iPad Application. Early 2012 saw the launch of their second App. Sameer Shariff Is the founder and CEO of Impelsys Inc. He drives Impelsys business vision, strategy, value and growth. Impelsys is his second start up and he has grown the company into a leader in online content delivery for the global publishing market. Its products and services help over 300 publishers with their online content delivery strategy. Customers include major publishers Reed Elsevier, McGraw Hill, Wolters Kluwer, Thomson, Springer,

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to smaller publishers Marshall Cavendish, Benchmark Education and Prufrock Press. Samer Al Sayah Is Research & Development Project Manager at Flagship Projects. His background evolves from various fields of computer science (Human-Computer Interaction, Smart Systems and Digital Media) as well as extensive experience in management, consultation and multi-cultural communication. His specialties include Sensor automated environments, Mobile App development, Web/Desktop applications and Risk management/analysis. Sana Fathallah Ghenima Is CEO of Sanabil Med a digital publishing house in Tunisia. With her background as an Industrial Engineer, she has extensive experience in leading IT companies, especially in innovative fields such as creative content and serious gaming. At the moment, edutaining digital programs and ebooks for the Arab region are her focus. She aims to raise awareness amongst decision-makers in the cultural and educational fields of the opportunities that IT offers in overcoming distribution problems and highlighting Arab content on the internet. She is an active participant in the community, in issues related to culture, education, gender or IT. She dreams of a real eKnowledge Arab Spring enabling the population to embrace all the opportunities of the information and knowledge society. Seif Salmawy Is the Managing Director at Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing. He was Director of Publishing at Dar Al Shorouk between 2004 and 2009 where he was responsible for publishing the works of Naguib Mahfouz and Alaa Al Aswany and other leading Arab authors. Previous lives includes: Film Library Manager at Rotana, the largest content producer and media company in the Arab World, and a consultant for the tangible heritage of Asia and the Pacific at UNESCO. Shadi Al Hasan Is Managing Director and Founder of Flagship Projects. With a background in strategic communications planning, he is renowned for creative alternative solutions and brand positioning. His unique ability lies in the conceptualization of localized communication strategies and developing messages

that are in line with the cultural setting of the Arab world. His areas of specialization include: Online creative solutions, branding, art, high-end copywriting, communications architectures, and most recently Mobile apps development. Sinan Sweis Is Founder and Director of Jabal Amman Publishers (www.JAPublishers.com), a company with 6 divisions that focuses on publishing and education enrichment solutions. Sinan believes that the key to progress and building human capital is education. He is presently developing WiLearn, a division specialized in developing creative online learning solutions. It is set to launch its first Arabic children's interactive encyclopedia this summer. Sinans passion for mentoring and developing new Arab writers has led to the launch and regional recognition of several new childrens book writers. He believes in corporate social responsibility as seen in such projects as the Amman in a Picture--a photography and writing contest, the entries for which were published in Amman in a Picture: The City through the Eyes of Jordanian Youth. Sinan holds a B.A. in Psychology and a graduate degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of London. Susanna Nicklin Joined the British Council as Director Literature from English PEN, the London branch of the International Writers Association, in 2005. Before that, she worked as an International Literary Agent, selling translation rights to publishers worldwide. Susanna manages a team of specialist advisors and directs the British Councils global literature programme. She sits on the committees of the Rossica translation prize, the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the London Book Fair Advisory Board. She has judged UK and international prizes, both literary and for literature entrepreneurs. The British Council is the UKs agency for cultural and educational opportunities. Operating at arms length from government, the Council creates and sustains relationships with people, organisations and countries. Valerie Gondek Is presently Manager, Library Management Section, Student Services, School Operations, Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). Valerie has been at ADEC for the last three years, working with her team to transform traditional public school libraries into 21st century Learning Resource Centers. From 2004

to 2009, Valerie worked as a private business and library consultant in both the UAE and USA. Valerie held the position of Head Librarian at the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, 2003-2004, and, Head Librarian at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, 19932003. She began her international career as Director of the National Medical Library, United Arab Emirates University, 19881993. Valerie worked in the USA from 1984 1988, on the library faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Illinois-Chicago, Urbana Campus. Walid Abou Farhat Is a Partner at Abou Farhat Law Offices Lebanon. For the past 10 years, he has been involved with various Copyright and Telecommunication deals: GSM business in Africa (for Hits Telecom). In 2003, he was one of the creators of the first music publishing company in Lebanon OMP. In 2007, he acted as senior Legal advisor to O-Media, Egypt. He legally assisted Melodys group of companies, Rotana Audiovisual & other key media players in the MENA region. He is presently retained by telecom aggregators such as ARPU+ (Egypt), an Orascom telecom subsidiary, Qanawat (U.A.E.) and Yala Music (France). He also acts on behalf of many authors right holders, artists and labels such as Alam El Pham (Egypt) and other important publishers in the fields of music and books. He has been an active participant in workshops with the Copyright Unit at the Arab League and WIPO and undertook several presentations related to collective management and copyright enforcement. He is also actively involved with SACEM and ADAMI to establish efficient collective management in the Arabic World. Yara Khoury Nammour Graduated from Notre Dame University in Lebanon with a BA in Graphic Design and later acquired an MA from Middlesex University in London, UK. She is the Design Director of Al Mohtaraf, a leading design house in the Middle East that produces corporate identities for the Arab world as well as publishes books, magazines and Arabic typefaces for newspapers and corporations. She has also served on the jury for the D&AD awards in the typography section and is a regular juror for ISTD's (International Society of Typographic Designers) annual student assessment scheme. Her works have been published in several international design books and she won the ISTD Premium award for the design of the Oum Kolthoum Compendium, two ISTD awards of excellence for two other books

and a D&AD In-Book award. www.mohtaraf.com , www.mohtarafbooks.com