Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi has been conferred the Officer rank of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the country’s highest national honour, in a ceremony held at Al Bait Al Westi in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. The distinction, presented on July 13 by His Excellency Lorenzo Fanara, Ambassador of Italy to the UAE, on behalf of the President of the Italian Republic, recognises more than two decades of Sheikha Bodour’s efforts to strengthen cultural relations between Italy and the UAE through education, publishing and international dialogue.
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The honour was awarded on the recommendation of Ambassador Fanara, who noted in his official communication that it reflects Sheikha Bodour’s contribution to advancing the relationship between the two countries. Following the ceremony, she accompanied the ambassador and attending guests on a tour of Al Bait Al Westi, a historic home restored by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) into a cultural and events venue in the Heart of Sharjah.
Speaking after the presentation, Sheikha Bodour reflected on the role books have played in her own understanding of cross-cultural connection, tracing it back to her father, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, whose conviction that cultural dialogue paves the way to understanding shaped the founding of Sharjah itself. She described the recognition from Italy, a country whose literature and creative traditions have influenced the world for centuries, as an encouragement to continue bringing Italian literature to Arab readers and Arab voices to Italian ones, so that younger generations might build on a friendship she hopes will outlast this generation.
Among the initiatives cited in Sheikha Bodour’s ongoing engagement with Italy is the Italian translation of her children’s book The House of Wisdom, which introduces readers aged nine and above to Arab and Islamic civilisations through narrative aimed at a young audience. Ambassador Fanara also pointed to her contribution toward rebuilding the historic children’s bookshop Giannino Stoppani in Bologna, alongside her long-standing participation in the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, one of the world’s foremost platforms for children’s publishing.
Established in 1951 by Luigi Einaudi, the second President of the Italian Republic, the Order of Merit honours individuals whose work has made an exceptional contribution to Italy across fields spanning literature, the arts, education, public service, the economy, philanthropy and humanitarian action. Sheikha Bodour’s own record across these areas is extensive. As President of the American University of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Sharjah Book Authority, she has positioned education and publishing as connected drivers of the emirate’s development, helping Sharjah grow into one of the world’s leading centres for literary dialogue. In 2020, she became the first Arab woman elected President of the International Publishers Association since its founding in 1896, a term during which she led international discussion on freedom to publish and equitable access to knowledge.
Her founding of Kalimat Group, a UAE-based children’s publishing house, has shaped the modern Arabic children’s book landscape, while institutions she has helped establish, among them the Emirates Publishers Association, the UAE Board on Books for Young People, Knowledge Without Borders and PublisHer, have become fixtures of the region’s cultural and publishing infrastructure. Her leadership of Sharjah’s UNESCO World Book Capital programme in 2019 laid groundwork for the House of Wisdom, the emirate’s library and cultural centre, and through Kalimat Foundation’s Pledge a Library initiative she has extended access to Arabic and bilingual Arabic-Italian books to schools and libraries serving Arab immigrant and refugee children. Her role within the International Publishers Association also extended to advancing the Marrakesh Treaty, which expands access to books for people with visual impairments, and she supported efforts by Sharjah and the UAE to restore Beirut’s public libraries following the 2020 port explosion.
Ambassador Fanara, addressing the strength of UAE-Italian relations more broadly, said the two countries’ investment in culture gives meaning to a bilateral relationship that would otherwise fall short for future generations, pointing to books, university exchanges, exhibitions and the arts as the shared ground on which that investment rests.
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