Words are sometimes unnecessary when comfort is what's needed. Such was the case in Lampedusa, the Italian island that once acted as the entryway to Europe for boats overflowing with refugees in 2012. Those on board were trying to escape conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.
At the time, wordless picture books were able to give comfort to the many traumatised children accompanying their families on the journey.
It was the way in which the books helped the refugees cope that prompted the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) to launch an international drive promoting the benefits among these vulnerable communities.
“The language of pictures is universal, and can be more powerful in their communicative abilities than spoken language or the written word,” says Marwa Al Aqroubi, president of the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY), the country’s arm of Ibby. “We have seen how wordless books in Ibby’s silent-book collection have been presenting young refugees with the most fascinating opportunities to share experiences with each other, get educated, have fun and alleviate the emotional and psychological stress they underwent during their trip.”
After a successful showing in Rome in 2015, Ibby’s Silent Book Exhibition has taken up residence in Sharjah for the next two months at the Flying Saucer building.
Scheduled to run until September 30, the exhibition features 54 wordless picture books hailing from 21 countries, three of which are from the Arab world.
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The need to increase the publication of silent books in the region is one of the reasons the organisers pushed to bring the exhibition to the emirate.
“We wanted to bring professional illustrators, designers and publishers together to spread awareness amongst the industry about silent books,” says Joshua Dunning, UAEBBY’s executive of international projects.
“Then there is the secondary target, which is the general public. We want them to know what silent books are.” This means breaking down some of the existing preconceptions in the community that picture books are just for children.
Dunning recalls reading his first silent book, 2007's award-winning The Arrival by Australian illustrator Shaun Tan, which follows the tale of a man who leaves his family behind to look for work in a futuristic land.
"I didn't feel like this book was for children," Dunning says. "While I was entertained by the book, the point of the story was a little unclear, and it took a fair bit of creative thinking to understand what this story is trying to say."
Not all silent books are challenging, he says. Where some are impressionistic and open to interpretation, most of the books in the Sharjah exhibition are more straightforward and easy to digest.
Take, for example, 2013's Puu by Finnish author and illustrator Emmi Jormalainen – the central character is a tree that hosts a community of birds.
Then there is the retro-graphic style of 12 hours with Oscar (2012) by Czech author Eva Maceková, which follows the friendship between a 5-year-old boy and his tomcat.
In 2014's award-winning La Chasse (The Hunt) by France's Margaux Othats, a young girl attempts to build a sculpture from rocks, only for it to be shot by a pair of hunters. The girl's eventual triumph serves as victory for perseverance and offers a rather subtle rebuke against the use of violence.
The three books on display in Sharjah that are from the region include the Jordanian-produced Beit Sitti (My Grandmother's House) by Rania Turk and Haya Halaw, published last year, and 2014's Ayn (Where) by authors Aya Khairy and Turk, once again, with illustrators Hala and Dima Tahboub. Rounding off the trio is 2005's Ma Haza (What's This?) by Lebanese illustrator Hryary Moskvian.
Dunning says that visitors will be fascinated at how the visual details of the books reflect the countries they originate from.
“There are lot of books here that do represent the cultures from where they come from,” he says.
“It also depends on your background. If you are from the United States, you may tell the book is from that country based on the illustration. For example, the image of the main character could look like a normal American. While some of the books from South Korea could have a different look because they represent their own people and culture.”
“Children need books and characters that allow them to relate. They need to see themselves in these books,” he says. “There is a benefit to books published here, because readers from the region can identify with characters and morals of the story.”
The Silent Book Exhibition by UAEBBY is on in the Flying Saucer building, Sharjah, until September 30, from 10am to 8pm Saturday to Thursday, and 4pm to 10pm on Fridays
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Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
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