Top journal launches Arabic edition

▶ Gathering in Cairo marks online version of Scientific American

An Arabic edition of Scientific American magazine was launched online in Egypt on Friday.

Juma Al Junaibi, the UAE Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, attended a ceremony in Cairo hosted by the Egyptian Knowledge Bank and the publishing house Springer Nature, which is the world’s largest publisher of academic books.

In 2015, Springer Nature and the Egyptian government announced a five-year agreement paving the way for the online Arabic version of Scientific American, the longest continuously published magazine in the US.

“This freely accessible online Arabic edition of Scientific American will bridge the gap between academia and the general public in Egypt and the Arabic-speaking world, and will help to disseminate the voices of its most influential thinkers,” said Springer Nature.

Those at the launch included Dr Mariam Matar, founding chairwoman of the UAE Genetic Diseases Association, who was the event’s guest of honour, and Dr Tariq Shawgi, Egyptian minister of technical education and training.

Dr Matar praised Egypt’s contribution to science and knowledge in the Arab world and spoke of her experiences since 2001, focusing on community medicine and an initiative to rid the UAE of thalassaemia in 2012.

Launched in 1845, Scientific American is one of Springer Nature’s key publications and a renowned authority for pioneering science and technology for a general audience. It features Nobel Prize-winning contributors and is available in 14 languages.

When the partnership was launched, Derk Haank, chief executive of Springer Nature, said it was “intended to substantially raise awareness of scientific research across Egypt”.

He said it marked “a significant investment in Egypt’s scientific research capability, helping to ensure the widest possible access to the highest quality of research and educational content, which will further drive high-quality scientific output in the country”.

The magazine is available at scientificamerican.com/ arabic.