'IDENTITY AND LITERATURE' PANEL DISCUSSION AT FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR 2023 (VIDEO)

ARI Literature Foundation and Konrad Adenauer Foundation South Caucasus with the support of The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia organized a panel discussion entitled Identity and Literature at Frankfurt Studio stage in the frames of the fair.

The speakers of the panel were Armenian writers Armen Ohanyan, Anahit Ghazaryan and German writer and journalist of Armenian origin Laura Cwiertnia, German translator Susanna Yeghoyan from Graz, Austria. The event was moderated by the Director of Konrad Adenauer Foundation South Caucasus Stephan Malerius. The opening speech was delivered by Arevik Ashkharoyan, the founding director of ARI Literature Foundation followed by a welcoming speech by Zaruhi Hakobyan on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia.

Different issues and viewpoints concerning reflection of identity in literature were discussed. Also, the effectiveness of usage of literature and culture as a tool in raising political awareness among societies was a key issue put on the agenda of the panel.

At the Q&A session a discussion started with the audience opposing some of the ideas expressed by the speakers. There were also questions about how much European Armenian literature is and what books are being read in Armenia and what the bestsellers are. The panel presented Armenia as a democratic state with variety of opinions and freedom of speech, as well as a need for revising the narratives in literature to better integrate into the European book market.