For its 15th edition, the Rentrée Littéraire du Mali (Literary Return to Mali) hosted the first African Forum of Literary Events in Bamako, bringing together representatives of 20 book fairs and periodic literary meetings belonging to the different geographical, cultural and linguistic areas of the continent.
For two days, on 21 and 22 February 2023, the representatives of these events endeavoured to project in their field the theme of this literary return to Mali, namely “Decompartmentalising Africa” and this, with a view to a “greater circulation and visibility of published authors on the continent”.
The Forum made it possible to review the situation of these literary manifestations which present a great diversity, a proven dynamism, but also face many difficulties linked in particular to the difficult reality of the publishing sector on the continent.
*** The lifetime Achievement Award Morakabe Seakhoa was recognised with by the Acting South African Ambassador to Mali, Ambassador, H.E Dlakuva ***
At the end of their discussions, the participants in the African Forum decided to pool their efforts and federate all the wills and energies dedicated, in one way or another, to the development of books and literature in Africa. To this end, they have creating a network of exchanges and initiatives to link their activities and constitute a force of interconnectedness and collaborations across the continent.
The African Network of Literary Manifestations (abbreviated as RAMALI) has decided to set up a continental coordination for a period of one year at the end of which an evaluation meeting will be convened to assess the progress made by the network and to plan for the next steps.
The Network is open to all players in the literary and editorial worlds, as members or partners.
The Forum also decided to launch an appeal to the African Union (AU) and to all governments to create the best conditions for the development of books, literature, literacy on the continent, both from a cultural, legal, financial, fiscal and other point of views. In the era of new communication technologies, the production of content represents a strategic challenge to which the world of publishing and literary creation must contribute.
The participants in the Forum warmly thanked the organizers of the Rentrée littéraire (Literary Return) for an excellent event as well as the authorities of Mali for all the logistical support.
