World's largest floating book fair to dock in UAE

Dubai: The UAE's literature stock is due to increase by more than 7,000 titles, on what is slated as the world's largest floating book fair, when the Logos Hope ship docks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi next week.

The Logos Hope is run by GBA Ships (previously Good Books for All), which was established almost 40 years ago, with the aim of providing good quality literature to countries that don't readily have access to books. Since that time, the organisation has expanded its remit to include cultural exchange and practical assistance.

Full-time volunteers run the ship entirely, even including the captain, usually for two years (volunteers do not receive any remuneration for their time on board). "The 400 volunteers from 50 different nations working onboard Logos Hope all serve for one purpose: to bring knowledge, help and hope to the peoples of the world," Norma Hernandez, Project Co-ordinator, told Gulf News.

"This purpose is achieved through the sale and donation of quality literature, a wide range of aid and relief projects and by striving to be a unique example of a diverse group of volunteers living in and striving for unity," she said.

GBA ships have been visiting the UAE since 1971. The last visit was paid by the Logos Hope's sister ship the Doulos, which docked in Sharjah in 2006 and was decommissioned in December 2009.

"As with past ship's visits, the crew of the Logos Hope endeavour to engage with the local communities of the UAE and would particularly like to support education and cultural exchange," Hernandez said.

Past visits

In the past 40 years, the organisations' four vessels has visited 162 countries and territories, welcoming 40 million visitors on board in 1,400 ports. In 2010, the Logos Hope visited the Caribbean, West and North Africa, Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Titles on sale at a discounted prices include categories such as science, sports, hobbies, cookery, arts, economics, medicine, dictionaries, languages and philosophy. "Anyone and everyone is welcome to visit Logos Hope, not only to peruse through our 7,000 different titles, but also to take part in various cultural and educational onboard programmes, relax in our international caf?nd meet our friendly crew," Hernandez said.

"Logos Hope has hosted all members of society starting from heads of state and royalty to hundreds and thousands of school children," she said.