ICR participates with 300 titles at the Brussels Book Fair

Culture is the best ambassador for any state. The Romanian Cultural Institute participates, for the first time, through its branch in Brussels and the National Book Center, with its own stand, at the International Book Fair in the capital of Belgium, which will take place from April 4 to 7, at the Tour et Exhibition Center Taxis. In order to celebrate cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, the presence of ICR will be organized under the slogan "La Roumanie - pays des contes et des rencontres"/"Romania - the land of stories and meetings", the stand's graphics being made based on Mircea Arapu's illustrations, one of the best-known Romanian comic creators, ICR informed. The President of ICR, Liviu Sebastian Jicman, said: "The Brussels Book Fair offers the opportunity to take new steps to affirm Romanian literature and the common cultural space, of language and culture, shared by Romania and the Republic of Moldova, through a better knowledge of Romanian-language authors. (...) Romania's participation will also emphasize the importance of promoting, through literature, common EU values". Visitors will find at the ICR stand (stand 135, Pavilion 1) over 300 titles, belonging to all genres from fiction, albums dedicated to contemporary artists and Romanian cultural heritage, to children's books, approximately 100 of which are books and albums published by the Publishing House ICR in Romanian, French or English. There will also be available French editions of some volumes of Romanian literature, art and culture recently published in the French-speaking world with the support provided by the Translation and Publication Support Program (TPS) and Publishing Romania, run by the National Book Center. In the context of support for Chisinau's European journey, ICR is organizing on April 4 a debate dedicated to Romanian-language literature from the Republic of Moldova, moderated by Emile Lansman, a well-known cultural journalist, professor and Belgian publisher. A second literary event, organized in the context of European cooperation within the EUNIC network of cultural institutes, entitled "Histories sur l'Art", will take place on April 7 on the Savoirs stage, Doina Lemny, doctor in art history, specialist in the work of Constantin Brâncuşi and museographer-researcher at the Center Pompidou, going to dialogue with the French writer Eric Mercier, in a debate about famous European artists and the universal values of art, moderated by Emile Lansman.

The main French-speaking book event in Belgium, the Brussels International Book Fair brings together over 500 publishing houses and over 300 events annually in the two pavilions and the Maritime Station, with the participation of over 1,000 authors from all over the world and several hundred representatives of libraries in Belgium. For this year's edition, the organizers estimate over 80,000 participants.