The first edition of Festival international de littérature de Dakar (Filid) was hosted in Dakar, Senegal from June 29-July 2, 2022. The festival theme was “Literature and conflict.”
The Festival international de littérature de Dakar (Filid) (Dakar International Literature Festival) made its debut in venues in Senegal with writers, literary critics, publishers, men and women of culture, students, and journalists among others attending last weekend. The event delegates from across Senegal, West Africa, and further afield tool part in discussions around the theme “Literature and conflicts”. It hoped to be a cultural crossroads that opened its doors and offers appropriate spaces to facilitate the mixing and transfer of the fundamental values of creative writing.
As you would expect at a festival there were panels that discussed topics like “Literature and conflict” as well as “Literature and exile, what writing of resilience? Also discussed were Strategies for the promotion works and authors; Writing, a bridge between cultures; Literature and African Unity; Literary creation in the conflict environment; Does the new writing speak to African societies? among others. Apart from panels there were poetry readings and other events.
Some of the featured guests Boubacar Boris Diop (Sénégal), Sami Tchak (Togo /France), Chab Touré (Mali), Ken Bugul (Sénégal), Jean-Marc Turenne (Belgique), Cheikhou Mbarek Ould Beyrouck (Mauritanie), Gauz (France), Seydi Sow (Sénégal), Seydou Gougna (Côte d’ivoire), Muriel Diallo (Côte d’Ivoire/France) Janis Otsiemi (Gabon) Moussa Diallo (Bios) (Mauritanie), panélistes Michel Alexandre Kipré (Côte d’Ivoire), Alioune Diaw (Sénégal), Serigne Sèye (Sénégal), Papa Sarr (Sénégal), Isabelle Djaïli Amadou Amal (Cameroun), Sokhna Benga (Sénégal), Cheikhou Mbarek Ould Beyrouck (Mauritanie), Mme Kamora Constance Mariam (Côte d’ivoire), Ameth Guissé (Sénégal) Anna Ly (Sénégal) Mamadou Samb (Sénégal), Kouassi Kangonou (Côte d’Ivoire), M. Koffi Kouassi Perre (Côte d’Ivoire), Djaïli Amadou Amal (Cameroun), Hino Angélé Blini Mathurine Epse Yoboué Auteur Eburnie (Côte d’ivoire), Muriel Diallo (France), Omar El Foutiyou Ba (Sénégal), Jean Marc Turenne (Belgique), Gauz (france), Khalil Diallo (Sénégal), Moustapha Ndéné Ndiaye (Sénégal) Fatoumata Diallo (Sénégal) Seydou Gougna (Côte d’Ivoire) Christian Jacob Yankee (Côte d’Ivoire), Saliou Diop (Sénégal), Seyba Lamine Traoré (Sénégal), Laurent Malanda (Congo), and Marouba Fall (Sénégal).
One of the festival highlights was the awarding of two prizes in honour of Annette Mbaye d’Erneville and Cheikh Hamidou Kane, considered the pride of Senegal not just in writing but as a nation. The nominees for the awards announced on June 29 were;
Prix International De littéraire Cheikh Hamidou Kane
An award for a novel that has won several distinctions in honour of Senegalese writer Cheikh Hamidou Kane.
- A la lisière du rêve, Max Renaud Lubin, Éditions Milot
- L’odyssée des oubliés, Khalil Diallo, L’Harmattan
- Dans le ventre du Congo, Blaise Ndala, Éditions Vallesse
Le Prix international de poésie Annette Mbaye d’Erneville
This award is designated for a female poet and is in honour of pioneering Senegalese writer Annette Mbaye d’Erneville.
- Éclats, Laurent Chaudouet, Pierre Turcot Éditions
- Prendre son pays pour un cheval, Nadège Broustau, Pierre Turcot Éditions
- La Révolte Des Pierres, Nora Atalla, Écrits des forges
At a ceremony at the Henriette Bathily Women’s Museum in Place du Souvenir on Friday, the winners in their category were declared to be Blaise Ndala and Nora Atalla. They took home the one million five hundred thousand CFA francs cash prize.
Blaise Ndala tweeted, “In the belly of the Congo (Vallesse) Cheikh Hamidou Kane Prize 2022 at the Dakar International Literature Festival. Many thanks to the jury.”
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