Episode Details

In a world racing towards artificial intelligence, one of Sharjah's most inspiring voices is reminding us that it all starts with the ability to read — and we're covering every word right here on Pulse 95 Radio!

Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Book Culture and former President of the International Publishers Association (IPA), has once again stepped onto the world stage with a powerful and timely message — this time at the IPA World Congress 2026, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Speaking under the Congress's overarching theme of 'Publishing Intelligence: Sustaining Forward', Her Highness delivered a thought-provoking keynote address titled 'Reading for Literacy', which placed the critical relationship between technology, publishing, and global literacy firmly in the spotlight. It was a message that resonated deeply with publishers, educators, and thought leaders from across the world — and it is one that we believe everyone in the UAE and beyond needs to hear.

At the heart of Her Highness's address was a simple yet profound argument: the defining challenge facing the publishing industry today is not simply about producing more content, generating more books, or building more sophisticated AI tools. It is about ensuring that more people — across more languages, more communities, and more corners of the world — actually have access to that content, and the ability to read and absorb it meaningfully. In an age where AI can write, create, and generate at breathtaking speed, literacy remains the foundational human skill that makes all of it worthwhile.

Her Highness Sheikha Bodour was quoted as saying: "For me, publishing has always been about expanding opportunity, strengthening understanding and ensuring children discover the transformative power of reading. As an industry, we have to ensure new technologies help us reach more readers, in more languages and more communities. The future of publishing will be defined as much by who we enable to read, learn and thrive, as by the books we bring into being."

Those are words worth pausing on. At a time when conversations around AI tend to focus on efficiency, productivity, and disruption, Her Highness is steering the dialogue back to something deeply human — the child who picks up a book for the first time, the community that gains access to knowledge in their mother tongue, the generation that grows up empowered not just to consume information, but to critically think and engage with it.

Following her keynote, Her Highness joined renowned publishing consultant Emma House for a fireside conversation that explored the practical realities of closing the global literacy gap. The discussion covered the role publishers must play in building stronger reading ecosystems, the immense opportunities — and equally important responsibilities — that AI presents to the world of books and education, the critical value of partnerships across governments and international organisations, and the urgent need for more inclusive and representative leadership within the global publishing industry.

Having served as President of the IPA from 2021 to 2022, Her Highness Sheikha Bodour has spent decades championing literacy, publishing innovation, and international collaboration at the highest levels. Sharjah — home of the Sharjah International Book Fair, the UNESCO World Book Capital 2019 — has long reflected these same values, and continues to be a beacon for reading culture not just in the region, but globally.

This is a story about Sharjah's leadership. It's a story about the future of our children. And it's a