The 25th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF 2015, organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, from 7th to 13th May 2015 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre, ADNEC, celebrates the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as this year's focus personality under the theme "Sheikh Zayed's light illuminates the future".

A series of panels and seminars will highlight the rich character of the man who founded the UAE, as part of ADIBF's Silver Jubilee event. Last year, ADIBF introduced a new tradition of selecting a key personality, around which part of the parallel cultural programme revolves, highlighting influential Arabic and international figures who have left a powerful impression on culture and human development. In 2014, ADIBF began this tradition by highlighting the cultural heritage of the renowned Arab poet, Abu at-Tayyeb Al Mutanabbi.

The lecture programme has been designed this year to reveal important aspects of Sheikh Zayed's intellectual legacy based on his belief in education and culture as fundamental pillars for building a strong, modern state and developing international relations, as well as his keen interest in the media as the key medium of communication for promoting development.

Several Sheikh Zayed contemporaries will be speaking at the sessions, Rashid Abdulla Al Nuaimi, former UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Zaki Nusseibeh, Advisor at the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs, will be discussing the ‘Beginnings and State Building'.

In addition to poetry evenings with poets Abdulkarim Matouq from the UAE, Raad Bandar from Iraq and Alaa Janeb from Egypt, ADIBF will feature a comprehensive, archival display of Sheikh Zayed's accomplishments over four decades through a dedicated, multi-section pavilion of specialised visual exhibitions showing newspaper clippings that highlight the major milestones in the life of the late Sheikh Zayed and UAE history in general. Documentaries and rare historical photographs will also be available and important monuments showcased including the Zayed National Museum, still under construction at the Cultural District on Saadiyat Island.
Source: WAM