By: Yunus S Saliu
Celebrating International Day of the African Writer, the Writers’ Association of The Gambia (WAG) joined the counterpart, Association of Writers of Senegal (AES) to celebrate the 27 edition of the day in Keur Birago, Dakar, Senegal.
Gambian writers celebrating the day with the Senegalese counterpart was based on invitation extended to the association as Guest of Honor at the weeklong event held between 7th and 11th November, 2019. The WAG been invited as guest of honor at the event has manifested the strong chord of relationship that binds the two countries writers together.
Among the VIPs at the event was the Congolese writer, Henri Djombo – President of the Union of Writers of the Democratic Republic of Congo who is also the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of DRC – he actually sponsored the weeklong event, Honorable Hamat NK Bah – Minister of Tourism and Culture, Gambia, Mamadou Tangara – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gambia.
The celebration was also used to award dozens of writers and eminent people from different countries in different categories. A pure product of the AES – Dr Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs received the Birago d’Or award, Dr Cherno Omar Barry received the Aminata Maiga Ka prize for African Literature.
WAG team to the event was fully support Ministries of Tourism and Culture and Foreign Affairs.
The celebration brought together large number of great writers from different African countries, among the countries namely, Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroun, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea.
Among other activities marking the celebration of the International Day of the African Writer were anthologies of poets famous for strengthening ties of fraternity among African Writers. The Anthologies included an Anthology of Senegalese-Congolese Poets whose preface and post face were respectively signed by Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and his Senegalese counterpart, President Macky Sall, and by Senegalese-Gambian Poetry Anthology, and as well an Anthology of Senegalese-Guinean Poetry.
The celebration also witnessed by poets, essayists and novelists of Africa (PEN Africa) – one of the oldest writers’ associations in the world founded in 1921.
The symposium theme: Literature, Citizenship and Environment was well attended while the Gambia Day at the event on Saturday, 9th November was used to celebrate the Gambian writers.
However, the highest award and prize as given by the Association of Writers of Senegal (AES) is the Yasser-Arafat Grand Prize for Peace and Liberty, it was awarded by the AES to the Egyptian Mohamed Salmawy in 2017 but won in this 2019 edition by the Guinean writer Djibril Tamsir Niane.
Other given awards by AES included The Sembene-Ousmane Novel Prize, the David-Diop Poetry Prize, the Cheikh-Anta-Diop Essay Prize and the New Aminata-Maiga-Ka Prize will also be awarded. And also, the Amadou-Cisse-Dia Theater Prize, Oumar Sankhare Literary Critic Award, Hamidou Dia Encouragement Award and the Bernard Dadie Recognition were all awarded to African writers.
Among other dignitaries at the opening ceremony included Honorables Aminata Toure…, Abdoulaye Diop – Minister of Culture and Communication, Alioune Badara Beye – President AES, Moumar Gueye – President the PEN Senegal and lines of Diplomats.
