Emirati publisher, author, and women\u2019s advocate Bodour Al Qasimi has made history by becoming the first woman from an Arab Gulf state to receive a prestigious BolognaRagazzi Award for Fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi received the prize for her groundbreaking children’s book \u2018House of Wisdom\u2019 at a ceremony in the impressive Farnese Chapel, at Palazzo d’Accursio, in Bologna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reflecting on the honour, Sheikha Bodour said: \u201cFor me, this award signals a shift towards a more inclusive children’s publishing sector. Amid heightened global tensions, stories like \u2018House of Wisdom\u2019 carry a message that books can occasion unity, progress, and a deeper understanding between cultures. It\u2019s a timely statement about literature\u2019s power to build bridges and keep the bigger human picture in view.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added: \u201cThe House of Wisdom was a library that symbolised how knowledge and collaboration across cultures can build sturdy bridges. Its loss in 1258 is a tragic allegory for the fragility of intellectual freedom \u2013 a lesson of undiminished relevance today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feted for its engaging approach to encouraging critical thought, scientific curiosity, and compassion, the success of \u2018House of Wisdom\u2019 marks progress in international recognition of the value of Middle Eastern children’s literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book is illustrated by Majid Zakeri Younesi, whose evocative art provides a breathtaking complement to the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although unable to be in Bologna to collect the award with Sheikha Bodour, he said: \u201cWorking on \u2018House of Wisdom\u2019 was a unique opportunity to visually capture the spirit of curiosity and innovation that drives humanity\u2019s infinite quest for learning and dialogue, something Sheikha Bodour has so deftly portrayed in her narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The day after the prizegiving, Sheikha Bodour spoke on a thought-provoking panel with other BolognaRagazzi Award winners and joined a celebration reception at the Kalimat Group stand. On both occasions, she shared her inspiration behind \u2018House of Wisdom\u2019, emphasising the importance of preserving cultural and intellectual legacies, the role of storytelling in bridging cultural divides, and Sharjah\u2019s commitment to promoting knowledge, including through the creation of its own House of Wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before receiving the award, Sheikha Bodour signed copies of her book at the Giannino Stoppani Children\u2019s Bookshop, which she helped restore after it was destroyed by fire in 2022. To support the renovation, Sheikha Bodour allocated significant funds from the Sharjah World Book Capital Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Emirati publisher, author, and women\u2019s advocate Bodour Al Qasimi has made history by becoming the first woman from an Arab Gulf state to receive a prestigious BolognaRagazzi Award for Fiction. Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi received the prize for her groundbreaking children’s book \u2018House of Wisdom\u2019 at a ceremony in the impressive Farnese Chapel, at Palazzo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19608,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19604\/revisions\/19608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}