Oxford University partners with Shaikh Zayed Book Award to support Arabic literature

Abu Dhabi: A strategic partnership between the Middle East Centre at Oxford University and Shaikh Zayed Book Award was announced by the Award's Secretary General Rashid Al Oraimi, who revealed that the partnership came as part of the Award's worldwide initiative to revive Arab culture and support the creative literary works of Arabic authors, publishers and translators.

Al Oraimi explained that the partnership would constitute the sponsoring of lectures at Oxford University, that would see them joining renowned speakers and famous figures from the region's cultural arena. The first seminar will be held next November with details to be announced at a later stage. The Middle East Centre will also exhibit the winning works of the Shaikh Zayed Book Award in a special arena in their new premises, which are currently under construction.

The Middle East Centre of St Antony's College is the centre for the interdisciplinary study of the modern Middle East at the University of Oxford. The Centre Fellows teach and conduct research in the humanities and social sciences with direct reference to the Arab world, Iran, Israel and Turkey, with particular emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Award announced in previous months several partnerships with renowned universities and cultural centres, such as the Indian Arab Cultural Centre in New Delhi, PEN international, the Nobel Prize and the Swedish Academy.