The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) has launched a campaign to promote digital books, to encourage reading during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
This initiative is being rolled out in partnership with OverDrive, a platform that specialises in lending e-books and audiobooks. The platform has a vast collection of over 30,000 digital libraries from all around the world, providing book lovers with access to a wide range of titles in various fields.
The ALC is launching this campaign to reach new audiences and promote its collection of books during the Holy Month. The collection covers a diverse range of topics including philosophy, history, health, sports, biology, children's books, and many more.
H.E. Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Executive Director of Abu Dhabi Language Centre said: “Today, digital books are integral not only to the publishing industry, but also the cultural and creative sectors. E-books, audiobooks, and other formats are now significant choices for readers globally.”
He added, “The ALC recognises the significant technological transformation underway and is committed to making its extensive collection of paper publications more easily accessible online. This includes the Kalima Translation Project and a ‘Publications’ project for Arabic works, available in a variety of formats that cater to modern-day requirements. The centre collaborates with different sectors of society to provide these publications, ensuring they are
easily accessible and beneficial to everyone. The aim is to promote sustainable development plans in cultural and creative sectors to foster development in economic, social, tourism, and other sectors.”
His Excellency also stated that the promotional campaign for digital books on the OverDrive platform is designed to align with the centre's objectives of bolstering the Arabic language. The campaign aims to elevate the reading rates of Arabic content by expanding its reach, enhancing the share of Arabic books on the platform, and developing Arabic content.
The list publications on the platform includes 25 books for the “Kalima” and “Publications” projects. These include:
- “25 Days to Aden” written by Dr. Michael Knights and translated by Samer Abu Hawwash
- “Children of Prometheus: A History of Humankind before the Invention of Writing” written by the Hermann Parzinger and translated by Dr. Elias Hajoj
- “Discover Your True North” written by Bill George and translated by Tareq Rashed Alyan
- “Eating Disorders What Everyone Needs to Know” written by Bernard Timothy Walsh, Evelyn Attia and Deborah Glasofer and translated by Amira Ali Dghaim
- “Seafaring in the Arabian Gulf and Oman: The People of the Dhow” written by Dionysius Albertus Agios and translated by Sultan Nasser Almujaiwel
- “Plastic on the Table: When and How We Started Eating Plastic” written by Silvio Greco and translated by Naser Ismail
- “Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain” written by Matthew Carr and translated by Mustafa Qassem
- “Sport: A Very Short Introduction” written by Mike Cronin and translated by Hazim Ali
- “Healing with Nutrition: Better Eating... Easy Fasting... Longer Life” written by Andreas Michalsen Friedrich Karl Sandmann and translated by Dr. Elias Hajoj
- “Psychiatry: A Very Short Introduction” written by Tom Burns and translated by Dr. Hussein Al Abri
- “Arabs and Portugal in History” written by Faleh Handal
- “Philosophy in the Islamic World” written by Peter Adamson and translated by Ahmed Salem Darweesh
- “A History of Reading” written by Steven Roger Fischer and translated by Mohammed Fathi Khadir,
- “A History of Language” written by Steven Roger Fischer and translated by Faiez Al Joulani
- “The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block and the Creative Brain” written by Alice Weaver Flaherty and translated by Haitham Rasheed Farht.
The list also includes:
- “Children's drawings” written by Marilyn JS Goodman and translated by Najlaa Hasan
- "The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family behind the Jewelry Empire”, written by Francesca Cartier Brickell and translated by Tareq Rashed and Omar Saeed Al Ayoubi
- “Where Corals Lie: A Natural and Cultural History” written by J. Malcolm Shick and translated by Rashah Salah Al-Dakhakhni
- “Astrobiology” written by David C. Catling and translated by Fatima Ghunaim
- “In the Restaurant” written by Christoph Ribbat and translated by Mohammad Abu Zaid
- “The Book of Disquiet - The Complete Edition” written by Fernando Pessoa and translated by Tahseen Al-Khateeb
- “Future Cities – Architecture and the Imagination” written by Paul Dobraszczyk and translated by Tahseen Al-Khateeb
- “The Philosopher Queens: The lives and legacies of philosophy's unsung women” written by Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting and translated by Nasser Mustafa Abu Al-Haija
- “Hedonistic Theories: From Aristippus to Spencer” written by John Waston and translated by Khaled Al Ghnami
- “Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher” written by Edward J and translated by Saber Al Habasheh.
