Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi

A pioneering Emirati advocate for children's literature and publishing innovation, reshaping Arabic-language children's books through her publishing initiatives and cultural leadership.

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi (born 1982) is a United Arab Emirates-based cultural leader whose work has profoundly impacted children's literature across the Arab world. As founder of the Kalimat Group, she created the first Arabic children's publishing house in the UAE, producing over 500 titles that blend traditional storytelling with modern educational values. Her Bodour Prize for Best Translated Children's Book has become a global benchmark for multilingual publishing. In 2021, she launched KitabKids, an AI-driven platform providing accessible Arabic children's books in 20+ languages, reaching 1.2 million users by 2023.

Her leadership extended to founding the International Publishing Conference (IPC), which transformed Dubai into a global publishing hub. Through her non-profit Kitab Foundation, she developed teacher training programs impacting 15,000 educators in 12 Arab countries. In 2022, UNESCO recognized her efforts as a model for cultural preservation through children's literature. Her vision for Arab children's media includes award-winning TV series like Alif Baa, which has been adopted in 25 countries' curricula. By establishing the UAE Book Authority, she created the first national publishing policy framework in the Arab world, ensuring 30% of children's books are locally produced by 2025.