This year’s edition of the National Book Festival opens today at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali, and continues until Sunday 22 October, with the theme #kotbatkitbauaktar.
The Book Festival is the most popular event related to books and aims to deliver a multisensory experience that goes beyond the written word to the world of illustration, music, theater, film, and more. During the official opening of the festival, the Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation Clifton Grima, said “The world of the book these days is no longer just the written one, but with the advancement of technology reading took other forms through digital means. Along with writing there is also the great work of illustration, while writing is also the basis of cinematography, theater and other fields that make this literary world an interesting and rich one.”
He emphasized that reading is one of the foundations of education and that is why part of the responsibility of the education sector is to encourage reading from an early age. “Literacy is a main pillar of education and that is why it is being given importance in the National Strategy for Education which will be launched for public consultation in a short time”, said Minister Grima.
In the festival there will be around 50 exhibitors and a varied program of activities, including working groups and masterclasses by international guests. Among them, bestselling detective writer Sam Blake will meet post-secondary students and talk to them about inspiration and the writing process. The Festival is expected to be attended by thousands of students who will have a program of activities that includes theatrical shows inspired by past winners of the Terramaxka Award for children and young people.
There will be a sensory room designed for people on the autism spectrum, concert VII/Fidwa which is a collaboration between the National Book Council and Teatru Malta with the participation of the duo The New Victorians.
The Minister for Inclusion, Volunteering and Consumer Rights Julia Farrugia Portelli praised the initiative of the National Book Council with the introduction of a sensory room as part of the fair. She emphasized how reading, fairs and similar activities should be accessible in every way, for everyone, both physically and sensorially.
“In this way we ensure that, as stated in the Convention and the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, culture, art and recreation, in all their forms, will really be able they include everyone,” concluded Minister Farrugia Portelli. The visual art will take the form of an exhibition From Illustration to Book which will be staged for the second time in a row, and the Interactive Mural which is being staged in collaboration with the Malta Community of Illustrators which will focus on the power of illustration to bring about social change.
The Festival gives importance to the Maltese language, as it will host the Heritage Malta exhibition “Malti: The Road to Official Knowledge” which will follow the history of the language with the help of documents and books intriguing. The Energy and Water Agency will offer an opportunity to children and students to participate in educational activities and scientific experiments on the supply, sustainability, access and dependence on the resources of -water and energy.
The National Book Festival opens its doors between Wednesday 18 and Sunday 22 October as follows: Wednesday and Thursday between 9am and 1pm, and between 5pm and 9pm; Friday between 9am and 1pm and between 5pm and 10pm; Saturday between 9:30am and 10pm; and Sunday between 9:30am and 8pm.
The full program of activities of the National Book Festival 2023 is available online at the site: https://ktieb.org.mt/il-festival-nacionali-tal-ktieb-2023/.
