​The Community College of Qatar (CCQ), in cooperation with Dar Lusail, organized the first virtual book fair at the level of educational institutions in the country for five days from November 15 to 19, 2020.

The idea of organizing the fair during this period comes as part of the organizers' efforts to support education and spread culture among the community members by all available means, and to emphasize the importance of spreading knowledge and learning despite the challenges imposed by the Corona pandemic.

Ms. Reem Al-Ansari, the Head of Library Department at CCQ, emphasized this point by saying that “the idea of the virtual fair emerged from CCQ’s belief in the importance of reading to the individual and society.” She added, “This idea came in line with the prevailing circumstances related to the Corona pandemic which pushed us in one way or another to think of alternative solutions to the traditional means. The fair is a live example of the technological and digital development that the world has reached which facilitates access to information and resources in an innovative way.”
Mr. Khalid Mubarak al-Delaimi, Managing Director of Dar Lusail Publishing and Distribution, stated, “Based on its societal role, Dar Lusail provides full support for anything that would promote education and spread culture regardless of circumstances and challenges. Within this context comes the organization of the first virtual fair at the level of educational institutions in the country in cooperation with CCQ.” He added, “The world is experiencing a modern technological boom in the field of preserving, circulating and disseminating information. With readers turning to smart devices, it is necessary to keep pace with development and to adopt technology to serve culture and knowledge.”

The fair was open around the clock. It featured 2D and 3D designs to display and sell the books that suit all age groups and interests. The modern display technology allowed the visitors to have access to book summaries by visiting the publishing houses that are available on the virtual platform, the number of which reached three hundred publishing houses from inside and outside Qatar. The virtual visitors were able to search and select books according to their categories, publishing houses, languages, and other sorting and selection criteria. The fair also witnessed presenting more than 20,000 free digital books.

A series of lectures was held at the sidelines of the fair, which were presented online by CCQ’s professors. The series began with a lecture about "the originality of the prophetic discourse and its motives (uniqueness and extension)" that was presented by Dr. Oraib Eid. She touched on several topics, including the definition of the term “prophetic discourse” and its originality in terms of creativity, innovation, wit, and the power of expression and influence.

Dr. Omar El Ajly also presented a lecture on the tools of the monetary system in the Islamic civilization (sukuk and remittances as an example). He talked about the monetary system, money and its functions in the different Islamic eras. The series concluded with a lecture about political theater in the contemporary world that was presented by Dr. Hisham Al Qareh. He tackled several topics, such as the concept of political theater and its theories, presenting an example from the contemporary Arab theater.

It is noteworthy that Dar Lusail broadcasted all the fair activities live via social media. It will also deliver the printed books to the college’s members, whether these books are available in Qatar or outside the country. It has previously organized international and virtual book fairs in Europe as part of its plan to face the challenges posed by the Coronavirus.