Qatar hosts world's largest book signing ceremony

Qatar has hosted the world's single largest book signing ceremony that featured the 86 co-authors of the anthology My Father. The participation of 102 authors from various parts of the world to contribute to the book ensured the record of the largest co-authored anthology in the world. It also established a record as the only book in Qatar and anywhere in the world to be co-authored by 86 persons based in a single country, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Saturday. The book was brought out by My Father initiative, a non-profit project that was commissioned in 2010 to conduct a series of programmes and events to celebrate the role of fathers in the lives of their children across the world. The project led to various activities that boosted the father-child relationship, including a Creative Writing Workshop in partnership with Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publications, Creative Writing Contest for all schools and colleges across Qatar, All Qatar Photography Contest, Arabic Debate in partnership with QatarDebate and the Pearl Qatar, and the publishing of the book My Father. The book includes 86 stories from Qatar-based authors, and four stories by Palestinian children facing war and oppression on a daily basis at the Gaza Strip, collected in partnership with the Al Fakhoora Project. Noor Al Malki, Secretary General of Supreme Council for Family Affairs, released the first copy of the book in Qatar, handing it over to Romanian Ambassador Adrian Macalaru, who distributed certificates to the participants of various contests. Expressing her appreciation for the initiative, Al Malki said that in spite of the changing dynamics of the world, fathers would always continue to hold a special place in everyone's heart. The fact that over 102 co-authors participated in the creation of the book, and the scores more who participated in various related events is a testimony to the fathers' role, she said. "Like the mother the father is equally important to the family's stability, cohesion, harmony and emotional wealth," she said. "The father deserves greater appreciation as he is an indispensable figure in the family. He plays other crucial roles: a role model for his children, a socialising agent and an educator. "The image of a despotic authoritarian father is fading away. A new image is rising, one of a democratic father, a father who listens to his children and understands their aspirations. As a nation, we have to foster this image of the father. The role of the father in the family is more important today than before." Rajeev Mathew Thomas, founder of My Father initiative, stressed the role fathers play in the lives of each individual. "I am extremely satisfied that I could do this as a tribute to all the fathers in the world, including my father," he said. "In this busy world, we very often take for granted the role of our parents in our lives, without realising that they would not be with us forever," he said. Last year, he was involved in a similar book project about mothers, which eventually led to this project. My Father is available for purchase online from www.my-father.net with all proceeds from sale of the book being given to charity. From / Gulf News