Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre

HE Dr Abdul Rahman Al Maeeni is the Assistant Undersecretary for the Intellectual Property Sector at the Ministry of Economy in the UAE, the Secretary General of the Emirates Intellectual Property Association, an intellectual property expert accredited by the UAE Ministry of Justice and the Dubai Courts, and a member of the negotiating team for intellectual property-related free trade agreements.

Dr Al Maeeni has previously held several positions, including Director of the Innovation Centre at the Dubai Police General Headquarters and Secretary-General of the Emirates Copyright Management Association. He also delivered a number of lectures and seminars on intellectual property rights protection and contributed to the development of intellectual property legislation and laws in the UAE. He also wrote several articles about combating intellectual property crimes.

HE Dr Abdul Rahman Al Maeeni earned a doctorate in copyright law enforcement from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Mohamed Rashad graduated from the Faculty of Commerce at Cairo University and started working in the publishing profession with one of the major publishing houses in Lebanon in 1970.

He founded Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah, El Dar El Arabeya For Books in Egypt, and the Oriental Papers House in Beirut, contributing to the publication of more than 3000 titles.

He contributed to the revival of the Egyptian Publishers Union, was elected Secretary General of the Union for more than one term and became President of the Union in 2010.

One of the founders of the Arab Publishers Union, he was elected Secretary General of the Union for four consecutive sessions and was elected President of the Union in 2016.

In 2013, he was selected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the Arabic Booker).

He has won many Arab and international awards, most notably the Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s Publishing and Distribution Branch in 2009.

Karine Pansa, a talented professional with nearly 30 years of experience in the publishing industry, has made a significant contribution to the field.

She has been elected President-elect of the International Publishers Association (IPA), the world's largest federation of national, regional, and specialist publisher associations, effective January 2023.

She is also the owner and Publishing Director of Girassol Brasil, a children's book publisher based in São Paulo, Brazil. 

Karine's publishing experience includes serving as President of the Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL) for 2 terms, during which she played an important role in propelling the Brazilian publishing industry forward, and her visionary leadership was critical to the organization's success. Currently, she is a valued member of CBL's Board of Directors for International Projects, where she is working to establish a strong international presence for the Brazilian book industry. She hopes that this role will help to promote Brazilian authors and literature on a global scale, as well as foster cultural exchange and understanding.

Programmes Section Head at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre