World Congress of Writers
From September 29 to October 2, Bishkek will host the 80th anniversary Congress of International PEN, or simply put – the World Congress of Writers.
This decision was officially confirmed at a recent meeting between the President of International PEN, John Ralston Saul, the President of Central Asian PEN, Dalmyra Tilepbergenova, and the President of Kazakh PEN, Bigeldy Gabdullin. The leaders of the PEN centers discussed key issues regarding the organization of the Congress in Bishkek.
This will be the first Congress held in Central Asia, and for Kyrgyzstan, hosting such a large-scale event is a significant step forward. In the fall, delegates from over 100 PEN centers will gather in Bishkek, representing writers from five continents! According to John Saul, “Bishkek will turn into the literary capital of the whole world during the Congress.”
The initiative to hold the International PEN Congress in Kyrgyzstan came from the Central Asian PEN center, which is officially registered in Bishkek. The writers of Kyrgyzstan, as the host country, invite writers from around the world.
The leadership of International PEN agreed to hold the anniversary 80th Congress in Bishkek because such events have never been held here before. Additional reasons that contributed to the decision to hold the Congress in Bishkek include the beautiful nature, ancient traditions of oral folk creativity, unique epics, a strong contemporary literature of Central Asia, and of course, the works of Chinghiz Aitmatov. The PEN Congress in Kyrgyzstan will take place in memory of our outstanding writer.
The main theme of the upcoming Congress is “My Language, My Destiny, My Freedom.” This means the Congress will focus on issues of linguistic rights and language diversity in a multi-ethnic environment. A significant problem is also the translation of literature from small languages. One of the goals of the Congress is to support small, endangered languages and to raise the importance of literary translators. This issue exists everywhere. People talk about international culture, but if there are no translators in publishing houses, it is meaningless. Topics such as freedom of expression and the rights of writers around the world will also be discussed.
The meeting of International PEN in any country is primarily a major cultural event and a huge country promotion opportunity. Every writer and journalist who comes to us will write about our republic, its culture, and traditions. So let them write well about us, as a good reputation for the country is also a form of capital.
Thanks to the Congress, our writers will have the opportunity to enter the global literary community, and during the event, they will have the chance to find Western publishers for publishing books abroad and to expand their readership.
In general, the Congress involves writers, including emerging ones, as well as readers. After all, the future of literature is unimaginable without young, emerging writers. And what is contemporary literature without readers? For emerging writers, the Congress serves as a kind of environment, a platform for communication and the affirmation of their talents.
