The Gulf Today, excerpt

UAE haven for kids’ literature, ‘envoys’ tell world at Bologna Book Fair
By a staff reporter March 21, 2012
SHARJAH: The UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) “Ambassadors” are on a visit to the Bologna Book Fair 2012. The event, which began on Monday and will go on until March 22, is one of the most important international events dedicated to the children’s publishing and multimedia industry. The three ambassadors are artist Naser Naserallah, illustrator Maitha Al Khayat and children’s author and general co-ordinator of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, Marwa Al Aqroubi. It will be their first visit to the fair. The ambassadors were appointed during the Sharjah Book Fair 2011 by Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, president of UAEBBY, who in her role is very keen to convey UAEBBY’s vision and positions in relevant cultural scenes — both locally and internationally. After the announcement of the visit, Sheikha Bodour said, “These three people are exceptional artists and fantastic representatives of our organisation. Our mission is to ensure that quality literature reaches young people, and that we can both learn from what happens in other countries, and show them what we are doing as well.”