The International Union of Publishers (UIE) awarded the 2024 Voltaire Prize to the Palestinian publisher Samir Mansour and the Voltaire Special Prize to the Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina. This Wednesday, December 4, only Samir Mansour was able to speak (by video) during the award ceremony, organized on the occasion of the World Expression Forum (WEXFO) in Guadalajara, Mexico. Ukrainian novelist and essayist Victoria Amelina died in July 2023 following a Russian bombing in the Donetsk region.
Samir Mansour, winner of the 2024 Voltaire Prize, is a major player in the development of cultural life in Gaza. In its bookstore, destroyed in 2021 by Israeli forces and then rebuilt, the publisher publishes and preserves works by Palestinian authors. A recognized cultural center in the region, the publisher distributes books to young people through its establishment, particularly in evacuation centers. “ Before, during and after conflicts, the role of publishers is monumental. Peace is only possible in a society that embraces education, values the exchange of diverse ideas, and promotes innovation, conversation, and compromise », says Kristen Einarssonpresident of the UIE Committee for Freedom to Publish.
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During the ceremony, the winner sent a video message to the assembly: “ I would like to thank everyone who supported the UIE Voltaire Prize and the International Association of Publishers. In 2021, my bookstore was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt in 2022. I still publish, despite my location in the Gaza Strip. God willing, we will continue to publish and print no matter how difficult the circumstances we live in today. We will continue ».
-A ceremony punctuated by numerous tributes
Novelist and essayist Victoria Amelina put her writing work aside to document Russian war crimes in the occupied territories. In tribute to the Ukrainian author, images of her speech during the 2023 UIE Voltaire Prize ceremony were broadcast during the evening: “ I am a Ukrainian writer speaking on behalf of my colleague Volodymyr Vakulenko who, unlike me, did not survive another attempt by the Russian Empire to erase Ukrainian identity “. Victoria Amelina notably found, during one of her investigations, the war diaries of the murdered author, playing a key role in their recent publication. In May 2023, Volodymyr Vakulenko received the Voltaire Prize with the Iraqi publisher Mazen Lateef Ali.
The ceremony also paid tribute to the first winner of the IPA (International Publishers Association) Freedom to Publish Prize, Shahla Lahiji (Iran), died in February 2024, as well as Sihem Bensedrine (Tunisia), winner in 2009, arrested this year and still in detention.
Created in 2015, the Voltaire Prize recognizes each year a book player committed to the defense of freedom to publish and expression. The winner also receives a prize of 10,000 Swiss francs.
