The 2022 Ibn Khaldoun-Senghor Prize has been awarded to University Professor Jean-Baptiste Brenet (France) for his translation from medieval Arabic into French of the work of the philosopher Averroès (Ibn Rochd) “L’intellect-Compendium du book De l’âme”, published by Vrin editions (France, 2022).
Born in 1972 in Marseille, Jean-Baptiste Brenet is a professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne where he teaches Arab philosophy. A translator from Arabic and Latin, he is — in addition to his academic work — the author of several essays which combine medieval thought and modern philosophy. He co-directs the collection “Translatio. Medieval Philosophies” by Vrin. He is a member of the Scientific Council of the French Institute of Islamology. His latest book: What does thinking mean? Arabs and Latins, (France, Payot, 2022.
For the jury, this work: “is the subject of a great mastery of the work – a text that is moreover very little known to the public, even philosophical ones. It brings together philosophical knowledge, philological erudition, the refined art of translation and allows the French-speaking reader to be transmitted an important page in the history of Arab philosophy. Jean-Baptiste Brenet inscribes this work in the forgotten heritage of Europe and thus allows Arab thought to become better known to new audiences”.
For 15 years, the Ibn Khaldoun-Senghor Prize has promoted cultural and linguistic diversity and encouraged all forms of cultural exchange between the Arab and French-speaking worlds. It rewards the translation of an Arabic-French literary or humanities work. It is intended for translators, universities, higher education institutes and study and research centres, associations and publishing houses in the Arab world and the French-speaking world. The Prize, endowed with €10,000, will be awarded to the winner on December 12, 2022 at the OIF headquarters in Paris.
The announcement of the winner’s name was made on the occasion of the XVIII Francophonie Summit (in Tunisia) and at the invitation of the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science (Alesco) and the International Organization of La Francophonie (Oif).
