Turkish literature and culture will be highlighted at the upcoming edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF). The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in Dubai, which will participate at the book fair, will showcase its literary initiative TEDA a project aimed at translating Turkish literature and art into multiple languages for global dissemination. According to Salih Ozer, Attach of Culture and Information from Turkey to the UAE, this project will in particular enhance the UAEs initiative to make 2016 the Year of Reading.

The Translation and Publication Grant Programme of Turkey, or TEDA, is one of our proudest literary achievements, and we are looking forward to showcasing it here in the UAE, especially since it is in line with the governments initiative to make 2016 the Year of Reading in the nation, said Ozer. TEDA aims to share the cultural and literary knowledge of Turkey with a foreign audience, and do so in their native languages. We believe making Turkish literature available to the UAE will support the nations reading initiative.

Ozer further notes that during the last decade, intense efforts have been made to promote trade between Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in various industries, and now, with avenues such as ADIBF, Turkish literature can also be promoted to the region.

Turkey has always enjoyed strong historical, cultural and social ties with the Arab world. We therefore know that our literary works will appeal to the region as well, said Ozer. In fact, some of our top literary works have been translated to Arabic specifically for this region.

The TEDA initiative has so far translated Turkish literature into 56 different languages from 61 different countries.