Africa-Press – Angola. The first edition of the International Book Biennial, Africa-Angola 2024, which took place in the city of Huambo, in digital format, from the 11th to the 18th of this month, registered one million views.According to data presented by the organization, 79 percent of people were connected to the platform via cell phone. The literary event attracted participants from 80 countries over a period of eight days and with more than 190 hours of programming.
According to information provided by the organization, one hundred exhibitors, 258 national and international writers and 78 business meetings participated in the Biennial, with a large movement of buyers of works in digital bookstores from various parts of the world, an achievement of the State University of Brazil.
The writer, promoter and spokesperson for the event, Nituecheni Africano, explained that the Virtual Biennial attracted participants from several countries, such as the United States, Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, Argentina, Bolivia and almost all countries on the African continent.
The writer revealed that the event’s motto was: “A united Africa without war, connecting people through books”. The spokesperson considered the Virtual Biennial a true success and recorded many book sales through the website www.bienalvirtualdolivroafricano.org.ao and had a record number of participants. “This was an unprecedented event, for the first time, we brought together cultural creators from different countries around the world”, he highlighted.
The person responsible for the Biennial’s Technical Area, Victor Tavares, said, from Brazil, that in eight days there was a large movement of people accessing the website, to be able to follow the schedule of activities.
According to Victor Tavares, the event also made the content more accessible, ensuring a more inclusive and participatory Biennial. All activities, he said, were free of charge and the lectures were simultaneously translated into several languages.
Writer Iris Chevecheko, who lives in Kiev, Ukraine, praised the Virtual Africa Biennial, during this difficult time that her country is experiencing. She revealed that it was great to have a space to talk about books and to see the Biennial breaking down cultural boundaries. “Readers had the opportunity to watch the debates. This Biennial was very important for me, because it helped me gain a different perspective on other realities in the world of literature,” she highlighted.
The first Virtual Book Biennial Africa-Angola 2024 took place as part of the celebration of National Independence, paying tribute to the first President of Angola, António Agostinho Neto, and the centenary of the writer António Jacinto.
The second edition of the International Book Biennial is scheduled to take place on November 11, 2025, in the country’s capital, in person, as part of the 50th anniversary of Angola’s Independence.
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