Lire à Douala 2024 is set to be hosted in the Cameroonian city of Douala from January 29 – February 1, 2024. The festival theme is “Because books tell us who we are.”
“Lire à Douala” (English: reading in Doula) is an association whose objective is to promote reading, written expression, and the development of literary culture, in particular for young people in Douala, Cameroon. The aim of the association, founded in 2015, is to create a dialogue between knowledge, that which stems from discoveries, of history, but especially those endogenous often marginalized people who are more autonomous, intuitive, and pragmatic.
The festival this year is set to return for the eighth edition for readings, poetry recitals, panels, school visits, workshops, youth activities, and loads more. Some of the guests this year are Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Wilfried N’Sondé, and Nathalie Etoké. Here are some events at the festival;
January 29: Talk with Nii Ayikwei Parkes at 📍 IFC Douala from 6:30 p.m.
𝑻𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅 is a story of the mystical heart of Africa, of the clash and clasp between old and new worlds. Lyrically beautiful, at once uncanny and heart-warmingly human, this is a story that tells us that at the heart of modern man, there remains the capacity to know the unknowable. Don’t miss our Talk with Nii Ayikwei.
January 30: Talk with Wilfried N’Sondé at the 📍 Galerie MAM (Bonanjo) from 6:30 p.m.
Adventure novel and training story, 𝑼𝒏 𝒐𝒄𝒆́𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒆𝒖𝒙 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 plunges this little-known character from History, a true African Candide armed with inexhaustible compassion, into a series of adventures which will undermine his faith in God and in man. With all poetic ardor and generous sincerity, Wilfried N’Sondé signs a breathtaking plea for tolerance which exalts the necessary virtues of equality, fraternity, and hope.
January 31: Pop-up bookstore at 📍 Collège Émilie Saker from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The pop-up bookstore is a day of shopping during which you will find second-hand books at 1000f per kilo and books exhibited by publishing houses.
February 1: Talk with Nathalie Etoké at 📍 IFC Douala from 6:30 p.m.
The history of slavery, colonization, subjugation, gratuitous violence, and denial of basic human rights to people of African descent has led Afro-pessimists to view the existence of black people through the prism of white supremacy and anti-blackness. Countering this trend, 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑬𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎 asserts that blackness is not inherently synonymous with victimization. On the contrary, it is inextricable from existential freedom and the struggle for political liberation… Don’t miss the meeting with Nathalie Etokés for a discussion around 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑬𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎.
The festival this year is supported by Boissons du Cameroun , Fondation Orange Cameroun , Banque Atlantique Cameroun , PMUC , Les Plantations du Haut Penja , Institut français du Cameroun , Sanlam assurance vie , Direction Générale Totalenergies Cameroun , OLEA, Media plus, ONOMO Hôtel Douala , CRTVweb, and Toyota Cameroon.
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