The joint efforts between the Ministry of Culture, represented by the Qatari Publishers and Distributors Forum and “Iqraa w Ertaq” club, which began on September 25, resulted in the inauguration of the first community library for reading cafés as part of the “Let’s Read Together” initiative.
Reading cafés are a unique combination of a modernity which we live and an antiquity that reflect our Arab identity, culture, and civilization based on learning, knowledge, and perusal. The idea of reading cafés comes within the objectives of the forum that are entrusted with reading and its encouragement in addition to the demand for books and the intensification of programs to introduce it.
Riyad Ahmed Yassin, Director of the Qatari Publishers and Distributors Forum, said: “The initiative aims to launch 100 bookshops for reading cafés, through which the most important publications of Qatari publishing houses related to identity and specialized in defining the State of Qatar will be highlighted, as well as highlighting the intellectual and cultural product of Qatari authors through these “versions”.
He pointed out that reading cafés provide an atmosphere of comfort, relaxation and focus to reach the desired goals of the initiative, stressing that the forum aims to unify efforts through partnerships with various authorities in the State to activate the cultural movement through those efforts aimed at involving society in this movement.
Asmaa Al-Kuwari, Director of Dar Nabja for Publishing, noted the importance of the initiative, which combines simplicity of presentation and depth of impact by facilitating access to the book and creating an appropriate atmosphere for the reader .. to promote reading for all.
She emphasized the role of the initiative in introducing the Qatari author and Qatari publishing houses, by publishing the Qatari cultural product, which makes us all proud and makes us compete in enriching the cultural arena with new publications under the umbrella and support of the Qatari Publishers and Distributors Forum.
Mohammed Rashid Al-Mannai, from the management of “Iqraa w Ertaq” club, praised the role of the Ministry of Culture, which is not hidden from anyone in supporting reading and writing, and enriching the cultural scene with intellectual product.