EPA Opens Registrations For Emirates Publishers Emergency Fund

SHARJAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 04th Jul, 2020) The Emirates Publishers Association, EPA, has announced that it has begun accepting applications for the Emirates Publishers Emergency Fund launched by Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, Founder and Former President of EPA, to support and finance UAE publishers impacted by the coronavirus, COVID-19.

The AED1 million fund was launched by the EPA this June in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, MCKD, Sharjah Book Authority, SBA, and Sharjah Publishing City, SPC.

Publishers need to submit their applications in Arabic or English, available on the organisation’s website: https://www.epa.org.ae, to avail of the fund’s provisions.

All applicants must be active members of the EPA from 2018 to 1st June, 2020, and ought to be working in the publishing, printing or distribution sectors. They also have a valid commercial licence from either the Economic Development Departments or free zones across the UAE. Only publishing houses that have not received any form of financial support since the start of 2020 will be considered by the Fund, while only one publishing house will be funded in case the owner has multiple outfits.

To avail the monetary benefits, publishers must present proof of the amount of loss incurred as a result of the cancellation of contracts, book fairs or other cultural engagements between February and June 2020.

Publishers will also be evaluated based on their efforts to sustain their business and ensure continuity of work through the pandemic. Additionally, only those businesses which did not terminate the contracts of their employees since the beginning of 2020 will be considered.

Outlining the objectives of the "Emirates Publishers Emergency Fund", EPA President Ali Obaid Bin Hatem emphasised that the fund reflects Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi’s commitment to supporting the sector.

Extending his gratitude to Sheikha Bodour, he also noted that the EPA has chalked out key strategies to offer additional supporting to its membership.

Speaking on the subject, Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director of EPA, commented, "We are looking forward to having publishers come up with innovative solutions to maintain the growing status of an energetic Emirati publishing industry. Although the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak have been multilayered, they have signalled new opportunities. EPA thanks its partners, MCKD, SBA and SPC, for joining hands with us."

EPA was founded in 2009 by Sheikha Bodour to develop the publishing sector in the UAE, and provide support and training to Emirati publishers.