Sweida-SANA

The Syrian Book Month Fair in Sweida, held by the Syrian General Book Authority in cooperation with the Sweida Directorate of Culture, opened today at the Arab Cultural Center in Sweida in celebration of the Syrian Book Day.

The exhibition, which will continue until the fifteenth of next June, includes about 15,800 books within <> diverse titles in the fields of literature, thought, studies, politics, history, theater and others, children's stories, publications and publications of the Ministry of Culture.

Advisor to the Minister of Culture, Dr. Thaer Zain al-Din, indicated in a statement to SANA correspondent that the Book Month Fair is a tradition started by the Ministry of Culture about fifteen years ago, as it opens in cultural centers in Syria and displays the publications of the Ministry of Culture.

He pointed out that these exhibitions are distinguished by the fact that they offer books in various aspects of human activity, literature, thought and politics, cinema, theater and others at a low price, especially children's books, where we find special attention to this book in terms of content and the low price that allows different families to acquire the book for their children.

Lawyer Bassem Hatoum, a member of the Executive Office of the Provincial Council for the Culture Sector, pointed to the importance of the book fair in encouraging reading for various segments of society, especially the young generation, through direct purchase and the availability of the acquisition of quality books in the age of technology.

The Director of Culture in As-Suwayda, Laila Abu Fakhr, indicated that the book fair is an annual cultural event that emphasizes the importance of the book, pointing to the diversity and richness of the titles, with a 2018% discount on the publications of the Ministry of Culture from 2023 to 50.

The exhibition's official Suha Hamed pointed to the demand for buying and acquiring books by citizens due to the symbolic prices, especially children's books and stories.

Among the visitors to the exhibition, Hana Hamza pointed out that the prices are appropriate, especially children's stories, and this encourages reading, while Kamal Ghanem believed that holding exhibitions such as these helps develop reading talents and encourages the young generation and children to read and represents an opportunity for a large segment to acquire books at nominal prices.

Mazen Hassoun pointed out that the exhibition is rich in various titles from the publications of the Ministry of Culture regarding children's literature.

In the same context, the branch of the Arab Writers Union in Suwayda, in cooperation with the Directorate of Education, opened a book exhibition that includes about 2000,<> titles ranging from studies, literature, poetry, arts, children's stories and other fields of knowledge, as it lasts for a week in the Education Theater Hall.

The head of the branch of the Arab Writers Union in Suwaida, the writer Wijdan Abu Mahmoud, explained that the aim of these exhibitions is to enhance the role of books and the culture of reading to develop thought, awareness and culture among people, especially young people and children, as the exhibition provides books at a symbolic price that encourages in light of difficult circumstances through reduced selling prices at a price of 500 liras for each poetry collection issued before 2020 and 1000 liras for each narrative book issued before that date, as well as a 40 percent discount for publications after 2020 with the pursuit of the union branch To have the exhibition roaming in the most area to be closer to those interested, in addition to the permanent exhibition located in the Union branch.

In turn, the Director of Education in Sweida, Bassam Abu Mahmoud, pointed out that the exhibition, with its various titles, is an opportunity for readers, interested people and children to obtain the book at reasonable and low prices, noting the partnership with the Writers Union branch to distribute valuable stories and books to school libraries, which contributes to reaching the book into the hands of students and enhancing their reading and reading aspects in a way that contributes to building their personality.

The official of the Youth Cultural Club in the branch of the Young Writers Union, Majd Al-Aws, pointed to the importance of young people's interest in books and reading, especially in light of the age of the Internet and the tyranny of social media and the preoccupation of many with it, as the paper book remains its privacy and aesthetics, which was also pointed out by both Munib Abu Turaba and Arabic language professor Ayham Al-Arbeed from the visitors to the exhibition, who pointed out that there is privacy to be present in such exhibitions with a group of those interested in books and reading, allowing the selection and acquisition of a number of Books at nominal prices.

Suhail Hatoum

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