Ilsur Metshin about BRICS Literary Forum: “The rapprochement between countries is impossible without a diverse and multifaceted dialogue”

The first BRICS Literary Forum in Kazan gathered together over 3,000 participants. More than 30 events were organized, including roundtables, creative meetings, and discussions where participants planned their cooperation. In particular, there was proposed to establish an international union of writers from the BRICS+ countries, that would help promote works, support young talent, and foster connections between writers. The head of the City's Department of Culture, Azat Abzalov, summarized the results at a staff meeting.

Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, emphasized that the event was held on a good level and received positive feedback. The head of the city expressed hope that the forum would become a take place in the capital of the republic of Tatarstan again. “Many political and economic events took place under the BRICS, but the literary forum was organized for the first time. We initiated it because we have a clear understanding that the rapprochement of countries is impossible without a multifaceted humanitarian dialogue,”- Ilsur Metshin said.

He added that the Russian education system mainly focuses on studying Russian and European literature and history. This is why most schoolchildren do not know much about the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. “The desire to cooperate has turned out to be mutual, and the city is ready to fill these gaps. It can be achieved through cultural institutions and professional associations. As a result, several initiatives were implements, including holding a literary forum based on the Aksyonov-Fest festival and creating an Association of Architects from the BRICS countries. There are plans to develop a system of education for creative professionals within the framework of the University of Creative Industries for the BRICS+ countries,”- the Mayor said.

The BRICS Literary Forum was proposed to be an annual event, and this initiative was announced by Sergey Shargunov, deputy of the State Duma and chairman of the Association of Writers and Publishers of Russia. He expressed his readiness to support the forum at the federal level. In turn, Liu Wenfei, a poet from China, took the initiative to host the next event in his country. The participants will discuss this option with representatives from their respective countries in terms of international relations, and the decisions will be communicated to the organizing committee. At the same time, Kazan will host the event and consolidate its position as the main organizer, with the headquarters located there.

“Representatives from India, China, Iran, and Brazil proposed the establishment of a unified literary platform for BRICS+ countries, where the works of classic and contemporary authors can be published,”- Azat Abzalov said. According to him, many participants supported the idea of increasing translation efforts in modern prose and poetry in languages spoken by members of the association.

The forum also discussed the creation of a children's literature section. Guests from the UAE invited Russian writers and publishers to participate in future exhibitions.