Special envoys.
Marrakech – The third edition of the Marrakech African Book Festival (FLAM) closed its activities, Sunday evening, at the "Les Etoiles Jamaa El Fna" Cultural Centre, with the participation of a parterre of Moroccan and foreign writers and intellectuals.
This cultural event, organised from January 30 to February 02 in the Ochre City, was the occasion to highlight the cultural and artistic influence of Africa through rich discussions and varied events.
This year's edition particularly focused on the voices of women in Africa and the many ways they are reflected within world literature, with the participation of the great writer and literary icon Ananda Devi, alongside the former French Minister of Justice and human rights activist, Christiane Taubira, who shared her social and political commitment as well as her passion for literature.
The varied programme of this edition included a series of panels and round tables on a variety of subjects, notably "memory, African identity and cultural transmission", "women's literature as a mechanism for social transformation", "the stakes and challenges of the African feminist movement", as well as book signing sessions for several new publications.
The festival also presented an exhibition by the Haitian artist Marie-Denise Douyon, as well as literary cafés, masterclasses, and evenings, with a particular focus on youth.
The 3rd edition of the FLAM was "a new successful edition on several levels, notably by the quality of the speakers and the themes addressed", indicated the general delegate of the festival, Younès Ajarraï, in a statement to MAP, noting that the festival has been able to impose itself on the national, continental, and international scale.
He affirmed that the festival experienced a large international participation, with participants from different countries and continents, which reinforced the international dimension of the festival and provided a space for discussion on questions of literature and culture on the continent.
The festival's programme granted this year particular attention to youth, through the organisation of writing workshops, training, and literary meetings in partner schools and universities, in order to involve young people in the cultural dynamism that the festival seeks to consolidate, he added.
The closing of the event was marked by the presentation of the Marrakech High School Students' Literary Prize, which aims to encourage reading and writing among young people and to promote the role of literature in the development of their cultural consciousness.
The prize aims to highlight the social commitment of the FLAM to share its knowledge and transmit it to young generations, within the framework of a global vision that aims to promote cultural and intellectual activity among young people.
In this regard, the writer and journalist Myriam Jebbor, winner of the Marrakech High School Students' Literary Prize for her novel "Trahison", expressed her joy at winning this prize, considering that it represents for her a great encouragement and motivation to continue writing, all the more so as it emanates from young people who have shown a passion for reading and interaction with literature.
In a statement to MAP, she praised the meetings held during the festival with her young readers, where she felt their great cultural curiosity, their intellectual openness, and their deep questions, which made the festival a "very rich and reciprocal" experience.
A true meeting place bringing together writers, thinkers, and intellectuals from Africa and its diasporas, the FLAM was founded by Mahi Binebine (writer and visual artist), Fatimata Wane-Sagna (journalist), Hanane Essaydi (academic), and Younès Ajarraï (cultural entrepreneur).
Supported by the "WE ART AFRICA//NS" association, the FLAM aims to be an eloquent celebration of African literature and culture, which aims to contribute to the cultural and artistic influence of the continent while highlighting the richness of its literatures and arts.
This article Marrakech: Curtain falls on the 3rd edition of the FLAM appeared first on MAP Express.
