The 2nd edition of the International Children’s and Youth Book Fair kicked off on Saturday at “Parc Anfa” in Casablanca.
Placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the fair, organized by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, in partnership with the wilaya of the Casablanca-Settat Region and the Municipality Council of Casablanca, offers a space for meetings between writers and young people, and for promoting reading among children.
This event, in which Wallonia-Brussels (Belgium) participates as a special guest, also aims to promote the city of Casablanca as an economic hub and international cultural destination, as well as to establish an annual tradition establishing the metropolis among the few cities around the world host an international book fair aimed at young people.
The fair thus aims to be a lever for promoting the book industry, particularly that of children and youth, while offering young Moroccans diversified literary resources, according to a rich program which includes workshops, seminars and shows, among others.
The 2024 edition sees the participation of 340 publishing houses from 29 different countries, who come to present a wide range of books and publications covering different areas of knowledge.
The opening ceremony was chaired by the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, in the presence of the governor of the Hay Hassani district prefecture, Khadija Benchouikh, the vice-president of the municipality of Casablanca, in charge of cultural and sports affairs, Abdellatif Naciri and the director responsible for the management of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Acharif Agency, Mohamed Salem Cherkaoui.
In a statement to the press on this occasion, Mr. Bensaid indicated that “this international fair, very popular with Casablancans, plays an important role in supporting the growing interest of children and young people in reading”.
“Against the backdrop of an unprecedented enthusiasm among children and young people for new technologies, the ministry is working to promote the culture of reading and the book industry, given its important role in the development and progress of society,” he explained.
The ministry, argued Mr. Bensaid, is examining ways to help publishers publish Moroccan books and tales with Moroccan heroes, which evoke the history of the Kingdom and its tangible and intangible heritage, and which are accessible to all. citizens.
For her part, the General Delegate of Wallonia-Brussels in Morocco, Chiraz El Fassi, declared that “the participation of Wallonia-Brussels as guest of honor in this fair constitutes an opportunity to celebrate the historical relations and cultural cooperation which unite us with Morocco.”
And to add that “our participation in this cultural event allows us to present to visitors to the show the cultural heritage of the Federation, as well as authors from Wallonia-Brussels”.
The 2nd edition plans an intense and diversified cultural program with 7 activity spaces housing 405 workshops with an average of 45 workshops per day and four other spaces organizing 66 cultural activities for the benefit of young painters and writers with a view to integrating them into the book industry for children and young people.
The program also offers workshops and training sessions and a program dedicated to executives of the Ministry of National Education in the field of school library management, in addition to a series of awareness programs initiated within the pavilions of the institutions participating in this edition.
LNT with Map
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