WritersÂ’ and Literary TranslatorsÂ’ International Congress
”I am glad to participate in the WALTIC congress because
it is devoted to democracy, and the act of reading is a very
good example of pure democracy in action.”
                                              Â
Philip Pullman
Welcome to WALTIC – the Value of Words!
A global arena for collaboration, creating opinion and achieving change
In June 2008, the Swedish WritersÂ’
first literary world congress of its kind. Between 29 June and
The key philosophy of WALTIC is to consider literature as a source of knowledge with political strength. The written word and the inherent power of the narrative is the basis for global society as a whole. That is why, in the words of Philip Pullman, “dictators and tyrants hate literature: the secret democracy of reading is too strong for them to withstand.” It is our conviction that the writers and translators of the world play an important role as mediators of knowledge, creators of opinion and as achievers of public change.
WALTIC will focus on three urgent global issues: Literacy, Intercultural dialogue and Digitalisation. The program offers a wealth of seminars, lectures and best practices. Among the speakers you will find leading writers and scholars as well as translators and innovative poets – with even numbers of women and men represented.
WALTIC will take a stand to: Increase literacy, safeguard freedom of expression, and strengthen authorsÂ’ rights.
We hope to see you in
Call for Best Practice & Call for Stories now open!
Call for Best Practice
The Best Practice program will include a number of topics that concern writers and literary translators, as well as practical work related to the main themes of WALTIC. The program will hold everything from WritersÂ’ and TranslatorsÂ’ Issues and Creative Writing to Literacy and Intercultural Exchange.
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Call for Stories
WALTIC is a unique literary congress insofar as it also engages high-profile academics from around the world. Alongside independent writers and translators, we therefore particularly encourage researchers and academics to share their work within WALTICÂ’s exclusive Stories program.
The oral presentations are 15 or 30 minutes for both programs and submitters are welcome to indicate their preference. For more information and topics, see www.waltic.com
Deadline for on-line submission
Resident of a low-income country? Please look into the WALTIC scholarship program.
Please forward this email to your friends and contacts
WALTIC 2008 is arranged in close co-operation with
SIDA, The Swedish National Commission for UNESCO and SI (Svenska Institutet)
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The Swedish WritersÂ’