DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai launched the first activities of its new weekly “16 Windows” cultural program with a debate session on the literature, publishing and translation sectors. The session, titled “Books and Publishing in Saudi Arabia,” shed light on the capabilities of the Kingdom in the publishing industry. It was held with the participation of the founder of Arwa Publishing House, Arwa Khomayyis, the author and founding partner of Tashkeel Publishing House, Mujib Al-Shamri, and the founder and general manager of Al-Athar Publishing House, Abdullah Fahd Al-Ghubein. Tariq Khawaji, a cultural adviser and Ithra’s chief librarian, moderated the session. The participants highlighted the reality of the Kingdom’s publishing and printing industries, which, over the past few years, have been able to achieve great progress. They stressed that the need to provide exposure to Saudi creativity and the richness contained within the Saudi environment was one of the main reasons that encouraged them to establish its publishing houses. The session also discussed the role of book covers and their impact on the shopping process. On the sidelines of “16 Windows,” the Kingdom’s pavilion hosted, in its Palm Garden, a storytelling session, attended by a large number of children, and which featured some of the works of Khomayyis, while attendees were given the opportunity to write their own stories as well. The event aimed at teaching children writing techniques to express their emotions, ideas and visions, to enable them to construct stories worth reading and have others learn from them. The inauguration of the “16 Windows” cultural program aims to support and promote Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector, showing the true essence of the Kingdom by bringing together the best Saudi minds in various intellectual, cultural and creative fields. The activities were designed to be held over a period of 16 weeks, and will constitute a unique cultural experience that take guests on a communicative and interactive journey, in line with the strategic axes of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 of building a vibrant, ambitious society and a thriving economy.