NEW YORK, May 26, 2010 — The Center for Publishing at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies and KITAB—a joint venture company between the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and the Frankfurt Book Fair—today announced their intention to collaborate on a new executive training program, to be hosted at the newly opened temporary NYU Abu Dhabi campus, beginning in fall 2010.
The seminars are conceived as a public service effort to help educate publishers and, in turn, promote literacy and foster the development of an expanded reading public in the Gulf, the Middle East, and North Africa. Faculty of the NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing, all leading practitioners from the New York and global publishing industry, will conduct a series of intensive, four-day seminars for the growing community of publishing professionals in the 22-nation Arab region. The courses will begin in November 2010, with additional sessions planned for spring 2011.
The initial participating faculty members will include Peter Balis (John Wiley & Sons), Philip Patrick (Random House), and Mario Pulice (Little, Brown and Company). The first seminars will focus on the challenges of developing a targeted publishing strategy; best practices for marketing, sales, distribution, and graphic design; and digital publishing, including social media, mobile, and the use of digital media in libraries and academia in the Arab region.
“The character of NYU-SCPS academic programs—reflective, practice-based education that supports innovation in key global sectors—extends naturally to Abu Dhabi,” said NYU-SCPS Dean Robert Lapiner. “The government of Abu Dhabi and its people are committed to the Emirate’s role as an international hub for knowledge creation, cultural, and technological innovation, and the exchange of ideas. We are delighted to partner with KITAB and our university colleagues at NYU Abu Dhabi in this promising venture.”
Monika Krauss, general manager of KITAB, explained: “We have been pleased by the response and feedback to the Publishers Training program we held in 2009. In order to meet the demand, and to ensure that a broader range of publishing professionals can take advantage of the program, we are proud to be entering into this partnership with the Center for Publishing of NYU to take the program forward in 2010.”
“Enabling the region’s emerging publishing industry to compete and communicate at an international level relies on building confidence and competency,” Krauss added.
“Success in publishing today, regardless of geography, requires learning new ways of doing business in an exciting, constantly evolving industry,” says Andrea Chambers, director of the Center for Publishing. “The approach of NYU-SCPS to professional education—with curricula developed and taught by leading figures in the field—is an excellent fit for the growing community of Arab publishers. We look forward to a rich exchange of knowledge and learning in our collaboration with KITAB."
The NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing has earned a reputation as perhaps the premier locus of university-based educational resources for the American publishing industry, rapidly adapting its graduate and continuing education programs to reflect the dynamic trends affecting the sector, including digitalization, media convergence, and globalization. The Center offers a Master of Science in Publishing, professional certificates in publishing and editing, and has organized the well-regarded NYU Summer Publishing Institute, which since 1978 has helped prepare recent college graduates for entrée to their first jobs in the business.
The Center for Publishing views this partnership with KITAB as a natural extension of the global character of the publishing industry itself and is pleased as well to be sharing an important vector of the School’s academic and professional expertise through the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute. The NYU Abu Dhabi Institute—the first operational manifestation of NYU in the U.A.E.—serves as a bridge for intellectual, academic, and professional exchanges between cultures and as a sponsor of original research initiatives.
KITAB (which means “book” in Arabic) aims to develop and professionalize the book publishing industry in Abu Dhabi and the neighboring Arab countries. KITAB focuses on providing the industry with a truly international platform and developing long-term networking opportunities between the Arab and international publishing communities.
A part of its mission is to encourage the establishment of international publishing houses in Abu Dhabi. KITAB has been instrumental in helping to develop a strategy for a quality distribution system in the Arab world. Keeping this in mind, the ADACH announced the establishment of Abu Dhabi Distribution at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in March 2010.