RIYADH: Organizers of the Riyadh International Book Fair which was opened Tuesday by Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, have required publishers and book sellers to set their prices for certification by the publishers' federation or publishing supervisors in the country of origin. The list of publication prices is also required to be displayed at each publisher's wing at the fair. Abdul Aziz Al-Aqil, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information and Director of the Riyadh Book Fair, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that organizers have attempted, “like other book fairs in Arab countries”, to have set prices for books and that meetings of book fair officials in Kuwait, Damascus and Cairo sought to produce procedures to look at book prices with publishers. “We only found one way and that was for the publisher to set the price, display it, and then commit to it,” Al-Aqil said. “We at the book fair ask that publishers set the price and then give a discount for the fair. Anyone found selling at above the set price will be questioned.” The King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue has its own wing at the book fair and is holding this year a new program to promote “electronic culture of dialogue” among the public. The center is holding 12 training programs as part of its various activities at the event focusing on “family culture of dialogue”, the first taking place Thursday, with some 800 male and female trainees expected to be involved. The King Abdul Aziz Center is hoping to promote its cultural activities at the fair, such as its specialist books on the culture and ways of dialogue, and its work in general in encouraging the values of dialogue in society. Fahd Al-Sultan, Deputy Secretary General of the center, said he hoped the book fair would, through its various actvities, reach out to a wide variety of sections of the Saudi public. “Visitors to our wing will be able to learn about our publications and the national meetings held across the country,” he said. 15 tasks for Internet publishing body The Ministry of Culture, meanwhile, has set 15 tasks for the Electronic Publishing Administration. The remit covers areas of support for “constructive electronic media” and “promoting professional values”, regulating the pursuit of electronic publishing activity in the Kingdom, protecting the public from erroneous practices in electronic publishing, and issuing licenses and registration certificates for all forms of electronic publishing. The ministry has also instructed the Electronic Publishing Administration to “support the culture of dialogue and diversity” and promote “the culture of human rights as represented in the freedom of expression ensured for the public according to the rulings of the law”. It has also instructed it to promote “the new media” in society, issue licenses for the pursuit of news activity on the mobile telephone network, oversee the issuing of journalist cards to persons working in the electronic press, coordinate with the relevant government bodies, monitor what is published in the Saudi electronic press on the Internet and provide reports on it, and issue registration certificates as per the electronic press bylaw and produce reports on the issue. Other tasks given to the Electronic Publishing Administration include: hearing complaints from the public, the government, and foreign political organizations in the Kingdom on any content of electronic publishing; hearing complaints from the public concerning broadcasts by Saudi satellite television channels and foreign ones with offices that produce programs in the Kingdom; looking into complaints and passing on the ones that are governed by Ministry of Culture and Information laws to the Publishing Law Violations Review Committee, and working with Saudi Telecom Company and the various relevant government departments to block or unblock access to websites.
