THE world’s largest floating book fair could be returning to Bahrain in June this year as part of a tour around the region.

The Logos Hope, which has more than 5,000 book titles on board, is currently docked in the waters around the UAE and is tentatively scheduled to be docked in Manama from June 6 to June 19, according to the charitable organisation which oversees its mission – Gute Bücher für Alle (translated from German as Good Books for All (GBA) Ships.

“Our goal is to share knowledge, help and hope in every port we visit,” the German charity said, in a statement, on its website.

“Our ships visit each port of call for several weeks at a time and open the gangways to hundreds and often thousands of visitors every day.

“The floating book fairs offer many diverse titles, providing visitors their first-ever opportunity to choose from the wide range of quality literature.”

The ship docked at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE on April 10, and will be there until tomorrow, after which it will be in Dubai until April 23 before ending its UAE stint with a nearly-month-long stop at Abu Dhabi from May 10 to June 5.

Before it arrived in the UAE, the ship was in Basra, Iraq, after visiting Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.

The Logos Hope last visited Bahrain in 2013 from October 22 to November 4.

The ports of call after Bahrain, according to the ship’s website and subject to change, include Qatar and Oman.

Since it was commissioned by GBA Ships in 2005, the 132.5m-long vessel has sailed 132,619 nautical miles and visited 77 countries and territories, docking at 141 different ports.

In total, more than 10 million books have been bought on board the Logos Hope by 9.34m visitors.

In Ras Al Khaimah, 528 people visited the ship within hours of it opening to the public and were catered to by the ship’s team of volunteers.

“An international crew and staff of volunteers from around 60 countries live and work on the ships, devoting one or more years of their lives to serving on board,” the not-for-profit organisation’s website explains.

“The ship people promote literacy and education, cross-cultural co-operation, and social awareness, and reflect God’s compassion for the world in the ports and countries they visit.

“Ship teams go into surrounding areas to provide aid and community care, partnering with local community groups to bring hope to people, whatever their circumstance, culture or background.”

All of the individuals on the ship, including the qualified crew of sailors, serve in a voluntary capacity, and each person, who serves on board for one or two years, is sponsored by a group of supporters, including friends and family.

“Half of the funding needed comes from the sponsorship of personnel on board given by friends, family and other supporters,” GBA Ships explains.

“Another quarter comes from the sale of books and non-book items (such as souvenirs) in the on-board book fair.

“The last quarter comes from gifts and donations given by individuals, trusts, foundations and community groups.

“GBA Ships is not a government or corporate funded enterprise. Some local corporate sponsorship in the ports of call helps to cover port and publicity expenses.”

naman@gdnmedia.bh

preprocess