– Indeed, this “Book Fair, called “72 Hours of the Book of Conakry”, was in its 14th edition and Morocco was the guest of honor for this year 2022. The Kingdom made a remarkable participation on two levels : the Ministry of Culture, Communication and Youth, through a strong delegation, to participate in dedications, conferences. For this part, “The beautiful letters of Morocco” were in the spotlight.
Then there was “Morocco Day” as well as “Morocco Night” to show Guinea and Guineans the beauty of Moroccan culture. The second level was the involvement of the Kingdom Academy. The Permanent Secretary of this great institution was the guest of honour. He received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University General Lansana Conté de Sonfonia.
He also took part in conferences and other cultural activities without forgetting the meeting with the rectors of Guinean universities to strengthen cooperation between the Academy and the Republic of Guinea. The Fair was a success since we had more than 80,000 visitors and the theme was “Protection of heritage and social peace”. Finally, it must be said that cultural cooperation in the field of publishing and books is doing well.
– Currently, you are carrying out a project called “Conakry, African Book Capital”. What are its founding elements?
– We must remember, first, that Guinea is a country of culture and great writers. It is the country of Laye Camara, Djibril Thamsir Niane and William Sassine. It is also the country of Keita Fodeba and Tierno Monénembo. If you take Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa today, all the capitals have a cultural reference. This is the case of Ouagadougou in Burkina with FESPACO, Dakar in Senegal with the Biennial of Contemporary Art, Bamako in Mali with the Biennial of Photography, Niamey in Niger with Aphadi for Fashion, Abidjan in Ivory Coast with MASA. In this concert, Guinea would like to have its cultural reference. Hence the birth of “Conakry, Book Capital”.
This is a project that has been going on for 14 years. And we said to ourselves that we might make Conakry the African book capital. To do this, it was necessary to have the basics by federating all the African synergies. In 2015, we submitted an application to UNESCO to make Conakry the world book capital. At the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016, we were elected. So from April 23, 2017 to April 22, 2018, Conakry welcomed the whole world to celebrate the book. It was World Book Year in Guinea.
We took the opportunity to forge links with most of the institutions, players and book professionals in the world. At the end of this great event, we therefore launched the “Conakry, Book Capital” project. Because we are not yet African Book Capital. It is this battle that we are currently waging to say that the book deserves to be celebrated on the continent like football, music, cinema and art. We are fighting to organize the African Book Biennial in Conakry to celebrate the actors and publishers of the continent’s book.
– Precisely, and under these conditions, what do you expect from Morocco in this project if not what can the Kingdom do in this project?
– It should be remembered that Morocco and Guinea maintain historical relations. The late HM King Hassan II and the late President Ahmed Sékou Touré, peace to their souls, have woven and consolidated this relationship. The creation of the OUA, now AU, with the Casablanca group is the perfect illustration of this.
The same fraternal and historic flame is maintained between HM King Mohammed VI and the various Heads of State who have succeeded at the head of our country. This cooperation has also expanded in all fields, scientific, economic, diplomatic and cultural.
Moreover, on the sidelines of our show, Morocco gave us its full support in this project. This is what justifies, moreover, our presence here at SIEL 2022 but also at the Academy of the Kingdom during the launch of the Chair of African Literature and the Arts. So Morocco promotes our project through various academic and cultural events so that Conakry makes room for books.
– What regarding SIEL 2022?
– It is obvious that this SIEL, which is in its 27th edition and which is being held this year in Rabat, constitutes a platform and a space for the promotion of our project. Especially since it consecrates African literature but also and above all since Rabat is the capital of African culture. A beautiful coincidence and one that is huge in terms of symbols.
It is also a great opportunity to get our messages across. We are going to take advantage of this Fair to praise all the merit of celebrating the book in Africa and by Africans. Whether it is French-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, Hispanic or Arabic-speaking Africa.
– Finally, what is the state of play regarding the reading and production of books in Guinea?
– The book is doing well in Guinea. According to the statistics, when I created my publishing house, Harmattan Guinea, there were three or four books that came out per year. Today, more than a hundred are published annually. This means that things are on the move, as evidenced by our Salon, the “72 Hours of the Book” whose number of visitors only increases from year to year.
Better, today, there are cultural events and dedications every week without forgetting the debates around and on the book so that it is the food of the spirit. And we are convinced that the book will save Guinea and the African continent.
– On another level, the Harmattan Guinea has just launched a major project to republish the complete works of President Ahmed Sékou Touré. What is it regarding ?
– This is a major project that is close to our hearts because Guineans need their history, therefore their past in its plurality and diversity. To carry out this project, we met President Mamadi Doumbouya as soon as the army, the CNRD took power [Comité national du rassemblement pour le développement].
We had his confidence and he expressed to us the will of his institution to republish all the old works on Guinea. Naturally, the works of President Ahmed Sékou Touré are part of it. This republication will allow Guinean youth to have access to the literary heritage of their country.
