Yemeni finalist wins IYPE 2008 award

(L-R) Elizabeth White, Dr. Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, Nashwan al-Maghafi, Mohammed Abu Bakr al-Maflahi, and Dr. Faris al-Saqqaf

The Public Authority of Books, in collaboration with the British Council in Sana’a and Yemeni Publishers Union, held an honoring party for Nashwan al-Maghafi, the winner of the International Young Publishing Entrepreneur Award 2008 (IYPE) in London.

The party that held in Bait al-Thaqafa (Culture House) was attended by Dr. Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Mohammad Abu Bakr al-Maflahi, Minister of Culture; Dr. Faris al-Saqqaf, Chairman of Public Authority of Books; Elizabeth White, Director of the British Council in Sana’a, and a number of journalists and distinguished guests.

Al-Saqqaf highlighted the effective participation of Yemen in the London Book Fair this year since the exhibition hosted the Arab States as its guest of honor. He also highlighted the participation in the international prize awarded to al-Maghafi.

“There was a large competition in the International Young Publishing Entrepreneur award 2008, and Yemen won the first prize through Nashwan al-Maghafi,” said al-Saqqaf. 

Yemen participated in the London Book Fair 2008 through the identification of publishing houses and the London experience in organizing these exhibitions, as we know it is a pioneer in this area, he said. “We also participated by the Arabic translation edition of the novel, Salmon fishing in Yemen, written by Paul Torday and translated by Dr. Abdul-Wahab al-Maqqaleh, and printed by the Culture Ministry and the British Council.”

Al-Saqqaf stated that this novel is moral, political, creative, and has been translated into twenty languages. The Arabic translation was completed a month ago and will be accessible to everyone in the near future.

This allowed Yemen to participate in international exhibitions, in addition to participating in the Arab exhibitions, he added. “We will focus on the next stage in participating in international fairs such as Frankfurt and Paris. The British Council has a major contribution to the care of this creativity with the Yemeni Ministry of Culture.”

White talked about the role of the British Council in promoting cultural relations between Yemen and the United Kingdom through events, artistic and cultural activities carried out by the council, including the program of international awards for young pioneers in the field of creativity. Such a program is an opportunity for creative Yemeni young in various sectors to demonstrate their creative talent to the world.

Cherie Booth, wife of Tony Blair, awards al-Maghafi his prize in London.

“I would like to congratulate Nashwan for his winning by the international award and Yemen, and I am very glad that the British Council has been able to play a part in giving him the opportunity to win the award of IYPE,” said White. White said that the British Council has been in Yemen for over 50 years now. “In these years, we have been working in education, arts, literature, sciences and English language teaching,” she stated. “We work with individuals and organizations in Yemen to develop long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.”

The award awards the pioneers of creative young people throughout the world, which is one of the awards, which the British Council works on it, according to White.

Al-Maghafi highlights his experience in the participation of the international award and his visit to Britain, which culminated in the announcement of his win in the international award. 

He spoke about his aspirations and dreams after the prize and his new initiatives in the area of publication, where he will focus on working with the creators of the book and young Yemenis in order to highlight the writing on Yemeni Arab contemporary on international arena.

“When I won the award, I felt joy because I will become involved in new experiment that will open new horizons in my career and enable me to represent my country in international competitions, dreamt by all whom work in the field of publishing and distribution,” said al-Maghafi. “I also felt scared because I will carry the hopes and dreams of everybody in that field.”

“I spent two weeks in the United Kingdom, identifying movements  of the publishing industry and the integrated institutional sector, as well as identified the process of publishing in all its details,” he said. “I also saw many wonderful and cultural projects designed to promote reading and strengthen ties between the citizen and books.” 

Al-Maghafi added that he met with many important figures in the field of publishing and distribution and gained new ideas. “We will work to apply these ideas in Yemen and benefit from the experiences of our friends in the United Kingdom,” he said.

He also says that the experiment he passed was distinct experience and benefited from a lot of things and gives Yemenis a chance to communicate. “God willing, I will move forward in achieving the rest of my dreams and the dreams of everybody in my field.”

A panel of five judges chaired by John Makinson, Chairman of Penguin Group, chose the winner from a shortlist of finalists.  Among the finalists were young publishers representing small-to-medium publishing companies from Argentina, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, UAE and Yemen. The finalists came together in the UK for a two-week tour in which they were introduced to fellow entrepreneurs and publishing initiatives to give them an overview of the creative sector in the UK. The award ceremony came within the London Book Fair, where this year the Arab World was guest of honor.

Nashwan al-Maghafi was awarded prizes including significant funding for new publishing initiatives, and a free stand at the London Book Fair 2009. The award was presented by Cherie Booth QC, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and longstanding supporter of the awards program. The ceremony, held during the London Book Fair, was attended by UK and international publishing figures, as well as a number of ambassadors and cultural attachés from the finalists’ participating countries including Yemeni Ambassador Mohammed Taha Mustafa and Dr. Fares al-Saqqaf, Chairman of the General Authority for Books.  

Nashwan al-Maghafi set up the Yemen Bookshop in 1995 when he was just 19, aspiring to provide books of world class standards to Yemeni students at all levels of their education system. The company is now the sole agent and distributor for several international publishers around the country.

After the presentation of the award al-Maghafi said, “Since I opened my first bookshop, I wanted to introduce the English language to the people of Yemen, but I did not expect there would be so much interest in English books of all subjects. This award is a recognition for all that hard work. I have had an amazing two weeks in the UK with the IYPE program and have met so many people from the UK publishing industry. I look forward to sharing all that I have learned with my friends and colleagues back in Yemen.”

He dreamed to win the award locally, but he won it internationally. “I am very proud to achieve one of my dreams that is raise the name of my country to the top in international forum like London Book Fair 2008 and I’m very proud because I will join my company name in next year’s Fair of London Book.”

Related Content

•  US Embassy announces Fulbright Program
•  Freedom of Press worldwide and the Yemen case
•  Price hikes of food impact Yemeni living standards
•  Yemeni finalist wins IYPE 2008 award
•  Women’s development organization launches in Marib
•  Orphan rate increases, conference modernizes care methods
•  Ceremony for signing production sharing Agreements shows Yemen’s strong oil future
•  Seedy hotels in Sana’a lure guests with pornography
•  Intellectuals’ crisis continues to face women
•  Ibn al-Amir school honors distinguished students