The Ministry of Culture and Sports, represented by the QFPD, is set to launch the first edition of the Doha Publishing Fellowship Programme (DPFP) on Sunday January 12, in co-operation with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Press.
This year’s inaugural DPFP will host 42 Qatari, Arab and foreign publishers from 22 countries around the world in a two-day forum boasting seminars from leading publishing industry experts, at the Doha International Book Fair.
General Manager of the QFPD Ibrahim Abdulrahim al-Buhashim said, in a press conference yesterday, that the DPFP is a specialised professional programme that provides an opportunity for Qatari publishers to meet Arab and foreign counterparts. He pointed out that the programme aims at establishing professional relations between publishers and enhancing the concept of intellectual property in addition to bringing publishers from around the world to trade rights for books and further promoting cultural exchange.
He added that the programme works to exchange publishing among the participants in a way that serves the publishing industry in Qatar, which is still in its infancy and helps the Qatari writers to access other cultures, as publishing experts are hosted from countries that have a lot of experience in this field such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Arab Maghreb countries, as well as the participation of publishers from Turkey, US, France, South Africa, Italy and Argentina.
For his part, Executive Director of HBKU Press Bachar Chebaro said: There is a partnership between the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the to produce this programme. The QFPD and the HBKU Press have been mandated to follow this work.
The Doha Publishers Fellowship Programme will include an opening speech by HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, and representative of the QFPD and the HBKU Press, in addition to representatives of Arab and foreign publishers.
The Doha Publishing Fellowship Programme provides publishers with a sophisticated electronic system that allows them to register their accounts, organise meeting times with publishers, exchange ideas, explore opportunities to acquire, and sell copyright. The programme will also provide participants with the opportunity to attend seminars and partake in dialogues managed by leading specialists in the field of publishing.
Seminars will offer experiences of copyright, and universal copyright market, and will make room for the efforts made to develop this industry.
It is worth noting that the Qatari Forum for Publishing and Distributors was established last year by the Minister of Culture and Sports Decision No (51) of 2019, with the aim of raising the professional level of the publishing and distribution industry;  promoting co-operation between publishers and distributors; distributing the production of Qatari authors locally, regionally and internationally; and participating in local and foreign publishing and distribution exhibitions in co-operation with the ministry and other competent authorities; as well as documenting and strengthening the relationship between the forum and cultural and scientific bodies.
The forum also aims to develop the publishing and distribution industry by setting up and participating in specialised professional courses, revitalising the cultural movement, co-ordinating efforts and positions with Qatari associations, forums and cultural centres in regional and international forums in co-operation with the competent authorities in the state, and making a contribution to strengthening the legal framework to provide legal protection of rights Intellectual property and related rights for Qatari authors, regionally and internationally, in co-ordination with the competent authorities.

Related Story