Bodour Al Qasimi is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kalimat Publishing Group, a publisher of children’s books and educational content based in the United Arab Emirates. Al Qasimi is also involved in a number of regional and international initiatives to promote youth and children's empowerment, economic development, creative industry development, and cross-cultural exchange. Since founding Kalimat Publishing Group in 2007, Al Qasimi has led its growth into a global, multi-imprint publishing and educational technology company with licensing and distribution in 54 countries across five continents. The publisher of over 175 titles, Kalimat is recognized as an industry pioneer for books highlighting traditional Arabic culture alongside the modern challenges faced by children as well as Arabic translations of titles which deal with themes that occasionally push socio-cultural boundaries. Kalimat has international partnerships with prominent international publishers, such as Editions Gallimard Jeunesse, and has received several international awards for its titles, including the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Best Children’s Publisher of the Year award. Kalimat Foundation, a corporate philanthropy initiative of Kalimat Group, is involved in promoting literacy, reading culture, and book accessibility. Kalimat Foundation’s Pledge a Library Initiative has provided books and cooperated on literacy programs with over 100 libraries globally in Sweden, France, Tunisia, Jordan, India, and Morocco. The Foundation’s Ara Initiative is working to establish accessible book standards for the visually impaired in the Middle East and North Africa and contributed to the UAE’s accession to the Marrakesh Treaty. Al Qasimi founded the Emirates Publishers Association in 2009 which became a full International Publishers Association member in 2012. As President of the EPA, she plays a key role in national efforts to transform the publishing industry, which is valued at $281 million, and advocating for sensible industry regulations such as exempting books from valued added tax. Al Qasimi also chairs the SharjahWorld Book Capital 2019 Committee. Al Qasimi was the Founding president of the United Arab Emirates chapter of the International Board on Books for Young People, which promotes literacy, and administers the Sharjah IBBY Children in Crisis Fund. She has called for redefining the principle of freedom to publish in the Arab World and globally in several international conferences and forums such as the Arab Publishers Conference in the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia. To support publishers, authors, and content creators in having their work recognized and protected, Al Qasimi has led discussions with the Ministry of Economy, Emirates Writers Union, and the Emirates Intellectual Property Association on the need to establish a reproduction rights organization and enhance copyright enforcement in the United Arab Emirates.
