Bigger Venue For Next Brunei Book Fair In 2008

Bandar Seri Begawan - Due to an overwhelming response to the 2007 Brunei Book Fair, which was held at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex, the Language and Literature Bureau, has decided that the venue for the next Brunei Book Fair will be the International Convention Centre in Berakas.

This was revealed by the Director of Language and Literature Bureau, Dr Mataim bin Bakar, during a press conference on the 2008 Brunei Book Fair at the Language and Literature Bureau yesterday.

Next year‘s book fair themed "Buku Adalah Masa Depan" (Books Are The Future) will run from February 27 to March 7 in. conjunction with Brunei Darussalam‘s 24th Independence Day.

The 2008 Brunei Book Fair, which is being organised by the Language and Literature Bureau, will be officiated by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Dato Major General (Rtd) Hj Awang Mohamad bin Hj Daud.

According to Dr Mataim, more people in the country are going to bookstores these days.

This is encouraging as the Ministry of Education and the Language and Literature Bureau have made efforts to enhance the reading culture among the communities in the Sultanate, he added.

In conjunction with the 200l Brunei Book Fair, a number of books published by the Language and Literature Bureau will also be launched during the opening ceremony.

There will also be talent shows, quizzes, cultural performances and workshops to enliven the book fair. It will be organised by the Language and Literature Bureau, Asean Book Publishers Association and the private sector.

Brunei Darussalam, which is a member of Asean Book Publishers Association (ABPA), will also be holding a forum.

It is hoped that these side events would attract more people to the book fair, said Dr Mataim. Representatives of member countries will also be attending a meeting on training and development in the book industry.

Dr Mataim said that there are no boundaries for booksellers in terms of languages. However, he pointed out that it is very important to upgrade the reading culture in the country.

The Language and Literature Bureau began to hand out application forms for the 2008 Brunei Book Fair yesterday.

Dr Mataim said that booksellers have been very keen to participate in the upcoming book fair. Some have been requesting for application forms since the past few months.

Participation is open to all government departments, IT vendors, as well as foreign and local publishers.

Source: www.brudirect.com (1 November 2007)
-

Arsip Blog

Recent Posts