The 40th Session of the Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) will be inaugurated on January 23rd, 2008 and will last till February 4th, as visitors will be allowed to the fair as of January 25th.

The CIBF, as a matter of fact, is deemed to be a model of positive interaction with all intellectual trends in presence. The fair this year is to witness the honoring of Dr. Soheir Al-Kalamawi considering her the first chairperson of the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO) since its establishment in 1969, and also the first to chair the CIBF.

On the other hand, the CIBF this year is celebrating the Cairo University centennial and the Cairo University Fine Arts Faculty centennial as well.

Over the past 40 years the Cairo International Book Fair has been remarkably developed, as number of participants has augmented and the cultural activities improved. Thanks to the success of the experience of holding local fairs for Arabic books, that was first launched in Egypt, the idea of holding both local and international fairs flourished, mapping bout joint Arab publishing schemes.

The target of involving high-level Arab cultural delegations was to exchange books in the Middle East region together with concluding agreements on book publishing and distributing, removing obstacles that hinder marketing books.

However, the Cairo International Book Fair over the past years has become a great cultural event, and a spacious scene for conducting dialogue among intellects, men of letter and artists. The CIBF, which rates second in importance after the Frankfurt International Book Fair, was first held in 1969 as part of the celebrations marking the Cairo millennium. Since then it has become a yearly event providing an opportunity for displaying books, concluding publication and distribution contracts and exchanging copyrights.

It is worthy mentioning that the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO), the fair's organizer, is a big cultural edifice, as it has been established in stages, taking a variety of forms. GEBO today is the official State Publishing House. Its life started in 1961, pursuant to a number of presidential decrees.

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