From the Riyadh Book Fair, Hafedh Boujmil presents his vision of the publishing sector in Tunisia
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Loading... - John Fraser
- 10 Oct 2022
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Speaking from the Tunisian pavilion – as guest of honor at this 2022 edition of the Riyadh fair – he returned to the reasons for his resignation from the Union of Tunisian Publishers (UET) to join at the National Trade Union Chamber of Publishers under UTICA.
Tunisian participation in the Riyadh Fair comes against a backdrop of crisis between publishers and the Tunisian Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The differences have multiplied recently until the boycott of the Union of all the demonstrations under the tutelage of the ministry.
However, the voice of dialogue remains open since at the end of a recent meeting between the two parties, it was decided to postpone the Tunisian National Book Fair in order to broaden the consultation. The goal is to establish better coordination between the various stakeholders in anticipation of the holding of this major meeting next December.
Hafedh Boujmil says he ignores the real reasons for the disagreement between the ministry and the publishers who are members of the Union. "No valid explanation is advanced on the part of the publishers who are completely free in their position", he believes.
The UET does not have major publishing houses
According to him, the Union of Tunisian Publishers (UET) is a major professional structure in the sector. However, despite the largest number of member publishers, it does not have any major publishing houses among its members, he said, citing the case of Arabesque, Nirvana and Sud Editions which are not part of the Union, which he says poses "a big question mark" and is "a telltale sign of a big problem".
The publishers' union, for its part, is participating for the first time in an international event, as part of the official delegation. Since its creation ten years ago, the Chambre Syndicale had not really been involved in events such as fairs and book fairs. “Things have changed since I joined,” says Boujmil. Read More...
