Under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, the 56th session of the Cairo International Book Fair will be held under the slogan: "Read... In the beginning was the Word" from January 23 to February 5, 2025, at the Egypt International Exhibition Center, with the participation of 1,345 publishing houses from 80 countries, and more than six thousand exhibitors.

The Sultanate of Oman will be the guest of honor for this session, and the name of Prof Dr. Ahmed Mustagir, the Egyptian scholar and writer, was chosen as the personality of the exhibition, and the name of the writer Fatima Al-Maadoul was chosen as the personality of the Children's Book Fair.

About Cairo International Book Fair

The Cairo International Book Fair is one of the largest book fairs in the Middle East, where about two million people visit the exhibition annually, and the exhibition is held in January of each year.

The idea of ​​establishing the exhibition began in 1969, when Cairo was celebrating its millennium, so the Minister of Culture at the time, Tharwat Okasha, decided to celebrate the holiday culturally. Artist Abdel Salam El-Sherif suggested the idea of ​​establishing the exhibition to Dr. Tharwat, stressing the necessity and importance of establishing a cultural forum such as the book fair. The latter contacted the well-known international book market in Leipzig, Germany, and Islam Shalaby was sent as a representative of the Ministry of Culture to pave the way for establishing an exhibition similar to the book market in Leipzig, in an Arabic version. While, Dr. Sohair El-Qalamawy was assigned to supervise the first session of the exhibition.

The first session of the exhibition was opened on the evening of January 22, 1969, at the exhibition grounds in El-Gezira, as part of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the city of Cairo. The exhibition lasted for eight days.

During its first nine sessions, the exhibition was not only an outlet for selling books only. In 1978, it turned into a literary and cultural forum, where seminars and cultural symposia were held on the sidelines of the exhibition.

The book fair continued to be held at the Gezira Exhibition Grounds until 1983, then moved to the Nasr City Exhibition Grounds, and continued to be held in Nasr City until 2018, then moved again to the Egypt International Exhibition Center in the Fifth Settlement.

The fair continued to be held in January of each year, and did not stop until 2011, due to the events of the January 25 Revolution, and it was postponed once in 2021, to be held in July instead of January, due to the Corona virus.

The exhibition's theme "Read... In the beginning was the Word":

This slogan combines religious depth and the cultural value of knowledge, as the slogan begins with the word "Read", and this is what the heavenly messages urged us to do, which is the call for knowledge and learning, especially since reading is the means that enables a person to understand himself and understand the world around him, and it is what gives him the ability to innovate and create. The second part of the slogan "In the beginning was the Word" goes back to religious and philosophical writings that show that the word was the beginning of everything, highlighting that it is the word that shapes ideas, builds bridges between different cultures, and makes dialogue possible.

"Read... In the beginning was the Word" is not just a slogan; it is a practical call for every individual to make reading a part of their daily life, as reading not only nourishes the mind, but also opens up new horizons for people and enables them to be an active part in building a knowledge society, making it the cornerstone of any cultural or civilizational renaissance.

Prof Dr. Ahmed Mustagir, the Character of the Cairo International Book Fair 

Dr. Ahmed Mustagir is also a model of a comprehensive scientist and a creative poet. He was a distinguished biologist, a specialist in biotechnology, and a prominent university professor. He contributed greatly to the development of the field of agriculture in Egypt and the Arab world. In addition to his interest in science, Dr. Mustagir was a creative poet who wrote many poetry collections that express the depth of his thinking and his sense of responsibility towards his country. His poetry was distinguished by its intellectual depth and linguistic beauty, which made it very popular among readers.

Dr. Ahmed Mustagir's legacy is a valuable treasure for future generations. He represents a model of an educated scientist and a responsible citizen. He left us all a legacy of science, knowledge, and literature.

Fatima Al-Maadoul, the Character of the Children's Exhibition

The Supreme Committee of the Exhibition decided to choose the name of the children's writer Fatima Al-Maadoul, to be the character of the Children's Exhibition this year, as she is one of the most prominent pioneers of children's literature in the Arab world. She has written and directed many children's plays and authored more than 50 literary books for children of all ages. She has directed various short theatrical and cinematic works. She has also held and supervised workshops and training courses for workers in children's literature, storytelling arts, children's libraries, children's theater (puppets and human beings), and many theatrical workshops for children with special needs and normal people. She also presented the first theatre for the disabled in Egypt.

Launching the "Million Books" Initiative

The Ministry of Culture, through its various sectors concerned with publishing, is launching the "Million Books" initiative as part of the exhibition's activities, with the aim of enhancing cultural and cognitive awareness among the people of the country.

The initiative comes in implementation of the directives of the political leadership that seeks to activate the strategy of building the Egyptian person. The Ministry is donating one million books to Egypt in various fields of knowledge and for all age groups.

All sectors responsible for publishing participate in implementing the initiative, including: the National Center for Translation, the General Authority for Cultural Palaces, the Cultural Development Fund, the Egyptian General Book Authority, the National Library and Archives, and the Supreme Council of Culture.

The cultural program of the exhibition

- The Main Hall "Ahmed Mustajir Hall", addresses four axes, which are:

The first axis: "Reading the Future",

The second axis: "Exhibition Personalities", which addresses several seminars about Dr. Ahmed Mustajir and the writer Fatima Al-Maadoul.

The third axis: "Strategic Issues" raises several issues about the strategies proposed in the Arab and international arena.

The fourth axis: "With Thought..", which addresses a group of intellectual meetings.

- The International Hall discusses four axes, which are:

The first axis: "Cultural Experiences" includes a group of international intellectuals from China, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Croatia, Senegal, Congo, Togo, and others.

The second axis: "Book and Awards" Celebrating Egyptian writers who won awards in 2024

The third axis: "Guest of Honor" discusses seminars of the Guest of Honor State of the exhibition, which addresses the cultural and artistic heritage of the "Sultanate of Oman".

The fourth axis: "Cultural Diplomacy" includes a series of seminars presented by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

- The Cultural Salon Hall hosts the following topics this year:

The first topic is "Egyptian Personalities"

The second topic is "Egyptian Influences"

The third topic is "Arab Days, Our Culture in...", which includes daily dialogue between two Arab countries.

The fourth topic is "Cultural Days"

- Intellect and Creativity Hall Discusses three publications daily

- Poetry Diwan Hall

Discusses two poetry evenings, each evening includes a group of Egyptian, Arab, and foreign poets, in addition to an intellectual meeting on issues of Egyptian, Arab, and international poetry.

- Institutions Hall

Includes a group of seminars organized by all official and civil institutions,

- Exhibition Hall, which addresses four axes:

The first axis: "Translation into Arabic"

The second axis: "Egyptianism"

The third axis: "Cultural Heritage"

The fourth axis: "Poetic Creativity Forum"

- Signature Ceremony Hall

Hosts signing ceremonies for Egyptian and Arab writers, creators and intellectuals who wish to hold them at the exhibition.

- Children's activity at the exhibition:

The cultural program for children in the new session of the exhibition is keen to build the child culturally and shape his awareness within a framework of the spirit of belonging and national sense; through an attractive method; and the program addresses three axes: the verbal arts axis, the interactive workshops axis, and the artistic workshops axis, in addition to artistic activities, including theater, singing, choir, music, and others, in addition to a number of storytelling workshops for some of the works of the writer Fatima Al-Maadoul "Children's Exhibition Character", and meetings that bring together authors and illustrators of children's books.

- Artistic activity at the exhibition:

This year, the exhibition offers many artistic events, which are held on the exhibition stages outside the exhibition halls, in cooperation with all sectors of the Ministry of Culture.

- Cultural program for the guest of honor:

The Sultanate of Oman, the "guest of honor of the exhibition", is keen to share its literary and artistic heritage with the world from here in Cairo, through its cultural program that it participates in at the Cairo International Book Fair, which includes many dialogue meetings with Omani figures, and seminars.

New at the exhibition this year:

This year, the exhibition has created "Hall No. 6" for discounted books, to be added to the exhibition halls of the Cairo International Book Fair. The exhibition also presents five conferences. This year, the exhibition also presents new themes, and for the first time, the Cairo International Book Fair has chosen two countries as the guest of honor of the exhibition for two consecutive years, 2026 and 2027. This year, the exhibition cooperates in its cultural program with the Coordination of Youth Parties and the National Academy for Combating Corruption, and other national institutions, and its activities are held in the Institutions Hall that was created at the exhibition.