As part of the agenda of TRENDS Research & Advisory, the research partner of the Sharjah International Book Fair 2025, the TRENDS Youth Council held a panel discussion titled “Generation without Borders: How Globalization is Creating New Versions of Ourselves in the Era of Global Reading.” The panel took place in the First Forum Hall at Expo Center Sharjah. It was moderated by Rashid Al-Hosani, researcher and member of the TRENDS Youth Council, with the participation of a group of creative young people and representatives from youth councils.
Digital World
Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Khaja, a researcher and member of the TRENDS Youth Council, opened the discussion by saying that the world is becoming increasingly digital by the day, as people shift from paper books to digital platforms, audio, and podcasts. This shift, he explained, has transformed the way individuals engage with content, leading many to favor short, fast-paced material shared on social media. He pointed out that globalization has made the world more interconnected than ever before. Yet it has also redefined what we read amid the massive, rapid flow of information online.
Al-Khaja added that while the Internet has made books and ideas more accessible, it has also blurred the line between focused reading and endless browsing, making it harder to concentrate on a single text for an extended period. He emphasized that the real challenge lies in preserving a culture of meaningful reading in an age that celebrates brevity. He stressed the importance of finding innovative ways to inspire deep reading and foster thoughtful discussions across society, enabling people to engage with complex ideas and develop a deep understanding of the world around them.
Advantages of Globalization
Dr. Faisal Al-Suwaidi, an Emirati writer and traveler, explained that in the era of globalization, people live in an interconnected world where cultures intersect and values are exchanged. He noted that Emirati youth today benefit from the positive aspects of globalization through their openness to the world and their human communications, while at the same time preserving their authentic identity and deeply rooted values. When they travel, he said, they carry their homeland with them, embodying its morals, culture, and spirit of tolerance.
He emphasized that the UAE’s soft power is reflected in its ability to create positive influence without imposition or conflict, relying instead on culture, education, and humanity. He added that travel literature plays a vital role in bringing people together, as it conveys experiences with a human spirit that learns from and recognizes others. As for the Emirati novel, he described it as a literary space that gathers the world within its pages, encompassing its six continents and four directions, telling stories that speak to people everywhere and reaffirming that culture is a universal language that unites rather than divides.
Reader’s Identity
Yaqoub Al-Balushi, a member of the Sharjah Youth Council, emphasized that globalization is not just an economic or cultural phenomenon, but one that profoundly influences the identity of the reader and the individual. In an era where languages intersect, cultures intertwine, and reading becomes a bridge connecting East and West, thought and future, the act of reading takes on a transformative role.
He noted that as screens become the new windows for reading, translation a bridge for communication, and openness a defining trait of modern humanity, globalization has begun to shape within each of us a renewed version of ourselves; a version that is more open, conscious, and responsible. Within this equation, he said, emerges the image of the global reader who does not dissolve into the other but engages in dialogue, enriching others with his own spirit and culture. In the age of global reading, we are not replicas of anyone; we are evolved versions of ourselves, blending authenticity with openness, and roots with branches.
Digital Reading Era
Majid Al-Hassani, a member of the Shorooq Youth Council, believes that globalization does not remake young people; instead, they are the ones who reshape themselves through it. He explained that globalization not only transforms lifestyles but also reshapes ways of thinking and interaction, especially as today’s generation lives amid a continuous flow of knowledge and reads the world through a screen before experiencing it in reality.
He added that in the age of digital reading, young people no longer read only books but also engage with tweets, articles, symbols, and images. This new generation, he said, is shaped by a mix of information — knowing a little about many things — and so needs to go beyond browsing toward a more profound understanding. Globalization, he concluded, creates opportunities for new versions of people, but it does not impose them; the world influences some, and those who influence it.
