Bookmarking Beirut
By Nathalie Bontems • Jul 21st, 2009“Since the official launch of the festival on April 23, and due to its increasing visibility in the media, we are receiving more and more proposals,” adds cultural adviser Abdallah Machnouk. Out of the 250 confirmed events, 150 are co-financed by the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and the Beirut Municipality, which together came up with a $4.3 million budget, in partnership with other sponsors such as cultural centers, individuals, publishing houses and NGOs. “Our strategy is to involve the private sector as much as we can through partnerships and co-financings,” says Machnouk, “because after Apr. 22, 2010, we [the event organizing team under the Ministry of Culture] won’t be there anymore. But we want the dynamic we have initiated to keep going. If we manage to show that books can be profitable, that culture is something worth investing in, the private sector will keep supporting it.”
Indeed, the festival’s purpose isn’t limited to short-term celebrations. On the contrary, such a nomination comes with strings attached. “Usually, a city is declared World Book Capital because of its previous achievements, its support to a thriving book industry and against a promise to do more in that regard,” says Machnouk. “It’s a big responsibility without any financial compensation, since UNESCO doesn’t pay for anything.”
In order to honor its engagement, the team in charge of the festival delineated a program according to three main, long-term objectives: to bolster Lebanon’s book industry (with a special focus on youth literature), to promote reading and a love of reading - mostly by focusing on schools, and to adopt a diverse approach to reading through cooperation with embassies.
Borderless books. The wide array of events is a testimony to the enthusiasm the festival has generated. Public readings, writing workshops in a number of schools, book fairs, sponsorship of young authors, writing contests, round-table debates, meetings with authors flown in from all around the world, exhibitions of medieval documents, presentation of plays, films and music pieces revolving around books … all these are just a sample of a program that not only runs for an entire year, but also across the whole of the country.
“We approached regional institutions because we want to create a national dynamic,” says Barakat. “Our objective is to have people outside of Beirut reading too: to make sure they can go to libraries and to keep bookshops from being turned into mere stationers.”
On top of the 150 state-sponsored events, Lebanon’s private sector has organized and financed an additional 100 events. Sponsors include banks, schools, cultural centers, publishing houses and NGOs. All in all, according to Barakat, the whole festival has an estimated total budget of $8 million. More importantly, this mix of state-initiated and privately designed efforts gives the festival an unusual and interesting feel, with public and private players, for once, working hand in hand towards a common goal.
