The Embassy participated for the second year with a well visited stand, displaying Norwegian and Swedish literature and culture. New this year was the fortunate participation of Professor of Media Studies from the University of Oslo Mr. Helge Rønning and Executive Director of the Norwegian Publishing Association Mr. Per Christian Opsahl in a workshop on the development of the national book industry. Speaking in the same event was Mr. Adhana Mengisteab from the Eritrean Ministry of Education, amongst others.
The Book Fair is organised by the Eritrean Publishers’ Association in co-operation with the Ministry of Education, who invited the Norwegian participants. Based on own experiences, the experts spoke on publishing industry development, the benefits of accession to the Bern Convention, and the virtue of organising writers in order to safeguard their rights. Freedom of speech was a central topic of their lectures as well as the following discussions. Furthermore, the invited speakers had the honour to be received by the Minister of Education and a high-level representative of the PFDJ party. The workshop received wide media coverage on television, in the national newspaper and by online news providers.
In a separate event, visiting teachers Linn Gjerde and Christiane Johannessen from St. Svithun Upper Secondary School held a workshop on Norwegian fairy tales for students from local schools. The workshop was well-received.
The Embassy wishes to thank all parties who contributed to making the 9th Eritrean Book Fair an important milestone in the Norwegian-Eritrean cultural co-operation.