The international dimension of the festival is another critical aspect of Beirut World Book Capital. According to Barakat, more than half the events promote works exclusively in Arabic, with strong participation from booksellers and authors traveling from Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria and the UAE (among other countries). However, many Western countries have also been heavily involved in events, focused either on their own languages or in association with Arabic, giving meaning to the global  aspect of the festival.

France, obviously a traditional player in the Lebanese cultural field, has been keen to participate, but so have Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, and others. “International involvement has been strong, mainly at the creation and instigation level,” says Barakat. “And the Lebanese community abroad has been participating, too, such as the Lebanese businessman who is financing a $50,000 prize.”

Culture vultures. Ten leading projects (either local or international) are under the spotlight, including a month-long exhibition of 450 books with creative design published in Spain. There is also the “Writing Letters to Beirut” project run by the French embassy, where anyone (living in Beirut or not) can express their feelings about the city in the language of their choice, with sentiments published on a special blog. The “Beirut 39″ contest, in cooperation with Scotland’s famous Hay Festival - and launched in March at the International Book Fair of Abu Dhabi - will select and celebrate 39 of the best Arab writers under 40 years of age. Another project involves the reprinting of 130 books from the Bibliotheca Islamica, which were destroyed during the fighting that broke out in Lebanon in 2006.

Of course, in light of what has been happening for the past four years in Lebanon, it may seem a bit surprising that Beirut was selected for “its focus on cultural diversity, dialogue and tolerance,” but then again, as the international committee’s statement says, “The city of Beirut, which is facing great challenges in terms of peace and peaceful coexistence, is recognized for its commitment to dialogue, which is necessary more than ever in the region, and … the book is able to contribute actively towards this goal.”

In fact, showing the world another image of Lebanon in general, and Beirut in particular, is crucial for the event’s organizers. “This is one of the reasons why we are so motivated,” says Barakat. “We always hear about Beirut when there’s a political crisis, but we want the cultural image of Beirut to prevail.”              

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