Future Book Forum

Future Book Forum

On 29th April 2018, Abu Dhabi


In honour of the ‘Year of Zayed’, the Future Book Forum, hosted by this year’s 28th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, is enabled and organised by Canon which explores how publishers could grow in the future through innovative approaches in a rapidly-changing and demanding world.

The ‘Future Book Forum’ is the first ever Middle East event held as part of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair taking place today - April 28, 2018. This event is an extension of the European Future Book Forum which takes place in Germany every year, bringing the whole industry together from publishers, to printers, to retailers and readers.

The objective of this forum is to discuss and conclude:

  • The Middle East challenges in the publishing industry
  • Potential solutions to the challenges faced
  • Current technologies supporting the publishing industry

During the event, Canon also showcased a live demonstration of a digital book production workflow; helping publishers better understand the important role technology plays in creating opportunities and overcoming current industry challenges.

The workflow was demonstrated through Canon imagePRESS Color, Oce varioPRINT B&W, book binding, and Web-to-Print Technologies.

The five-year partnership agreement with Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi for holding the Future Book Forum is set to support the printing and publishing industry in the Middle East by developing insights on the latest trends that can help businesses by reducing costs, increasing sales and profitability.

By analysing the findings at the Forum, Canon is defining a better future for the book, making them even more personal, intelligent and useful – the “Smart Book”.



As part of this partnership, it is our aim to evolve and foster the emirate’s book heritage and culture. The world is changing and it is our duty to guide others and help them adapt to this change and succeed with it, We are proud to partner with Canon and lead the printing and publishing industry towards a bright digital future that is upon us.

-Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi.


In this digital era, organizations across all industries are embracing IT transformation solutions across their business processes, to streamline operations and increase efficiencies. Through this partnership with the Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism Department, we aim to provide printing and publishing industry experts with a futuristic vision into the industry; helping them create inspirational and profitable experiences, through understanding the customer needs and the technologies that will enable them. Furthermore, we are also aiming to expand our partnership to continuously enlighten and enable the industry through case studies, workshops and more

-Shadi Bakhour, Business Unit Director, B2B,
Canon Middle East.

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