The cultural program of the exhibition includes about 60 activities, varying between intellectual, critical and philosophical seminars, poetry and story evenings, dialogue sessions, workshops, and documentary shows. The program includes about 40 guests from Syria, Palestine, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Oman, and China, in addition to about 200 Jordanian and Arab creators.
The activities are distributed between the event hall at the Jordan International Exhibition Center - Mecca Mall, the Royal Cultural Center, and the National Library Department, while the exhibition includes a special program for children supervised by the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, in addition to artistic, folklore, and art and photography exhibitions.
In a speech during the opening ceremony, Rawashdeh congratulated the Jordanian Publishers Association on the inauguration of the 25th cycle of the exhibition, which enjoys royal patronage, describing the association as the'strategic partner of the ministry' and pointing to the expertise accumulated by the exhibition in organization and management, and its achievement of development in the publishing industry linked to sustainable development, awareness, creativity, and knowledge.
Rawashdeh stressed that cultural development and the publishing industry represent an authentic path to raise human awareness, build conscience, and consolidate knowledge, pointing to the challenges facing the publishing industry and paper books in light of the knowledge revolution and the rapid technological development.
He stressed the need to innovate modern publishing mechanisms and employ advanced technologies, primarily artificial intelligence and big data analysis, to develop Arab cultural content, enhance the presence of books in the digital space, and respond to contemporary reading patterns, without compromising their quality and cognitive value.
He explained that the real criterion for the success of the exhibition is not only measured by the marketing aspect, but also by the new titles it presents, and its highlighting of young energies and new researchers, stressing the strategic attention to the future generation of children by providing content that suits technical changes.
Rawashdeh pointed to the national and historical dimension of the exhibition by celebrating the Syrian Arab Republic as the guest of honor, and choosing the 'Jordanian narrative... the story of the land and the human' as a moral figure that embodies the national heritage, affirming the Arab cohesion and celebration of crafts and thought.
For his part, Syrian Minister of Culture Muhammad Yasin Saleh expressed his pride in returning to Amman, confirming that the renewal of the meeting around the book and Syria's guest of honor in this cycle forms a civilizational bridge linking Damascus and Amman.
He pointed out that the Syrian participation comes loaded with literary and intellectual achievements, the voices of creators, and their new research, stressing the importance of the Syrian presence in this cultural forum.
For his part, the President of the Jordanian Publishers Association and Director of the Exhibition, Jbr Abu Fares, said that the royal patronage of the exhibition constitutes the basic supporter and umbrella that gave the exhibition its intellectual weight and Arab and regional weight, pointing to its transformation into an annual cultural date and an intellectual conference that brings together thinkers, writers, researchers, students, children, and the public of readers.
Abu Fares expressed his pride in choosing the Syrian Arab Republic as the guest of honor for the 25th cycle, and the 'Jordanian narrative... the land and the human' that tops the cultural program of the exhibition through intellectual seminars that document the historical and social transformations that formed the unifying national identity.
He revealed the Jordanian Publishers Association's endeavor to adopt a strategic national and cultural project represented by preparing to submit a file for nominating the capital Amman to be named the 'World Book Capital' within the network and program of UNESCO, with the aim of supporting the book industry and the Jordanian publishing sector and enhancing Amman's presence as a center for intellectual radiation and civilized dialogue.
At the end of the ceremony, Syrian poets Anas Al-Dagheem and Jordanian Ali Al-Faouri read poems that highlighted the images of cohesion and proximity between the two brotherly peoples, and a short film documenting the journey of the Amman International Book Fair over the past years was shown.
This was followed by a tour of the exhibition by Rawashdeh, his Syrian counterpart, and the President of the Jordanian Publishers Association, which included the guest of honor pavilion, participating countries, the children's pavilion, and participating publishing houses, accompanied by guests of the exhibition from Arab brothers.
The Amman International Book Fair opens its doors to visitors and school and university trips daily from 10 am to 10 pm, except on Fridays, when visitors are received from 4 pm to 10 pm.
