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The meeting with doctor Pietro Bartolo, who cared for hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees on the Italian island Lampedusa will take place on the 15th of October at 1:30 PM in De Revolutionibus bookstore (Bracka 44). The interview will be conducted by Jarosław Mikołajewski, author of Wielki przypływ [The Great Influx], where the fascinating interview with the heroic doctor can be found among other reports from the island. During the meeting, the guests will talk about their experiences, life on Lampedusa and the humanitarian crisis connected with the issue of refugees, which already involves the entire Europe. They will ask important questions about the responsibility of the inhabitants of Central Europe for the fate of thousands of people running away from war and famine, looking for freedom and safety.
Pietro Bartolo is currently in Krakow to participate in the International Conference “The Return of the Fallen Empires”, and the accompanying event – the 12th edition of the Polish Prize of Sergio Vieira de Mello, organised by The Villa Decius Association.
Because when I’m talking, everything hurts. Badly. And I agreed to talk only because I want someone to hear my words, otherwise we are wasting our time. I’m talking to you because I want you to tell people what happens here, on the Mediterranean Sea, and thus, make a change.
– P. Bartolo, from J. Mikołajewski Doctor Bartolo Welcomes You to a Better World
The City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office, the Villa Decius Association, the Consulate of Italy in Krakow and the Italian Institute of Culture in Krakow are partners of this event.
Lampedusa – a silent witness of dramatic events
Passage through the Mediterranean Sea on a primitive rafts, overloaded past its limits does not always end well. The refugees, often at the mercy of the smugglers, arrive at Lampedusa dehydrated, hypothermic, often burned. Pietro Bartolo, a local doctor, witnessed some of the most dramatic moments of the humanitarian crisis. He had to care for hundreds of thousands immigrants who required help. Bartolo saw the faces of people he could not save. Mikołajewski talked with him at Lampedusa, and because of that he could look at the events on the island from a particular perspective – perspective of a man, fighting for dignity of people who flee from terror to the world, which often does not want to accept them.
According to TripAdvisor – the biggest tourist portal in the world – the most beautiful beaches in Europe are there, on Lampedusa. It is a small Mediterranean island, located only 100 kilometres from the African shores, with an area of only 20.2 km2. The turquoise water, white sand and idyllic sights do not, however, attract crowds of tourists any more. Over the last few years, Lampedusa has become a symbol of the desperate efforts of immigrants who want to get to Europe, as well as the place where the biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe is taking place. The influx of refugees and fugitives, primarily from Libya, Somalia, Eritrea, Mali, Nigeria and other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa is beyond the capacities of Lampedusa and the six thousand people who live there. Europe either does not comprehend the true scale of this problem, or knowingly distances itself from it. Given that background, the efforts of Jarosław Mikołajewski – a reporter, poet and a translator – are extraordinary. He gathered his experiences from the island, giving voice primarily to the inhabitants, who need to find themselves in the new reality. His newest book, Wielki przypływ [The Great Influx] is a shocking reportage from the borderlands of Europe.
I’m reading [Mikołajewski’s] story from Lampedusa. It is the best, the most prominent proof that reportage may also be poetry…
– Michał Nogaś
Krakow – City of Literature, City of Refuge
The event will take place as a part of the Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature programme. The efforts to sensitize people about the human rights, freedom of speech and expression are an important part of the City of Literature strategy. For six years, the Villa Decius Association, the City of Krakow and the Krakow Festival Office have been carrying out the protection program for the writers who are persecuted for their beliefs, known as ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network).
The International Cities of Refuge Network offers refuge to the writers and defenders of human rights who cannot live and create in their own country because of the persecution. It was created in 2006 in Norway. The goal of ICORN is to promote the inalienable values of the freedom of speech and expression by building a network of international solidarity and cooperation. During 10 years of the network’s operation, the participating cities offered a temporary refuge for hundreds of writers, intellectuals, bloggers and human rights activists. ICORN coordinates the Shelter City initiative, and is an important organisation, cooperating with the governments, European Commission, the UN, UNHCR, and the International PEN Club, fighting for human rights and the implementation of protective policies for the authors who are persecuted due to their activity.
ICORN is a dynamic network of over 50 cities, and its activity is one of the strongest voices in defence of the freedom of convictions and speech, as well as international solidarity. Since 2006, 130 writers and artists found shelter in the ICORN network cities.
In 2011, Krakow joined the International Cities of Refuge Network, by virtue of the Resolution No. XVI/171/11 of the City Council of Krakow adopted on the 25th of May 2011. Since that day, Krakow hosted four writers as a part of the residency programs: Marie Amelie (Madina Salamova, Northern Ossetia / currently in Norway), Kareema Amera (Egypt / currently in Norway), Mostafa Zamani Nia (Iran), Lâvon Barščèŭskì (Belarus) and Aslı Erdoğan (Turkey), currently in Krakow on a scholarship. City of Krakow, Krakow Festival Office and the Villa Decius Association are responsible for the organisation of the International Cities of Refuge Network in Krakow, the latter is responsible for the grants and provides care and a place for creative work.
As part of the Interkulturalia Festival, we would like to invite you to a meeting with Asli Erdoğan, Turkish writer, journalist and tireless human rights activist, on the 18th of October at 5:00 pm at Spółdzielnia “Ogniwo” in Krakow.
In her books and articles, Asli takes on such subjects as state-inflicted violence, discrimination and human rights violations, as well as women’s rights. In her books and articles, she takes on subjects such as state-sanctioned violence, discrimination and human rights violations. She has been a freedom activist since 1993, as a result of which she has been persecuted, fired multiple times and has spent over a dozen years in exile. Since July 2015, Asli has lived in Krakow as part of an ICORN network scholarship.
The conversation with Asli about her stay in Krakow, her experiences as a migrant and exile (both the pleasant and unpleasant), as well as her idea of home, roots and nation, will be led by Konrad Pędziwiatr.
The ICORN International Cities of Refuge Network Programme in Krakow is organised by the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office and the Villa Decius Association, which carries out the scholarship program and provides a place to work.
The meeting is organised by the Interkulturalni Association, the Krakow Festival Office and the Villa Decius Association.
Find out more about ICORN here.
As a part of our cooperation with Edinburgh City of Literature, this week we welcomed Colin Salter to Krakow. The writer came to us thanks to a grant, funded by the Consulate of the Republic of Poland, the City of Edinburgh, and the Edinburgh City of Literature Trust. The goal of the writer’s visit in Krakow is to become acquainted with the literary heritage of our city, as well as its contemporary literary landscape. Primarily, he will be looking for differences and similarities between the two Cities of Literature – Edinburgh and Krakow. Based on his experiences and reflections Salter is going to write an article, which will be used to promote our partnership, literature and participation in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Both cities are not only UNESCO Cities of Literature, but they are also both on a list of World Heritage Sites, maintained by the organisation. In 1985, Krakow and Edinburgh became partner cities, and during last year’s edition of the Conrad Festival, the cooperation between the cities was renewed by the signing of a declaration concerning the strategic development of the partnership, most particularly in the area of heritage management.
Colin Salter: Biography
Colin Salter is a professional author of non-fiction literature, writing about a variety of subjects, such as popular history, science or music. His latest works concentrated on his book Science Is Beautiful (the subject of which were medical imaging techniques), a short biography of Mark Twain, movie star Johnny Depp, as well as space travel pioneer Neil Armstrong. He also wrote a series of essays on American soul music from the 60s, a guide to the architecture of Washington and a book on British bird species.
He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and received his school education in Edinburgh, where he later went to the university and currently lives there. Before he fully devoted his time to writing, he achieved many successes in performing arts (theatre and music) and utilitarian arts (ceramics and furniture production). He currently works at Stranger Than Fiction, an association of writers of non-fiction literature in Edinburgh, which offers support and reviews to colleague 0authors, and also promotes creative non-fiction writing in the society.
In his free time, he writes a weekly article on the Internet about the issues of social history, as seen through the eyes of his great ancestors. Currently he writes the history of his family library, which was started 250 years ago by one of his ancestors from his father’s side – son of a miller, who lived five generations ago, and now it was inherited by Colin Salter after his father, English literature lecturer. The books tell the history of the family, its ability to read and write and its connections with literary groups in the beginning of the 20th century, including acquaintance with Bloomsbury Group.
Edinburgh City of Literature
In 2004 Edinburgh became the first city to participate in the UNESCO Cities of Literature network. The city was a hub of Scottish literature, which is distinguished by its centuries-old tradition. In particular, Edinburgh was an important centre of English language Enlightenment literature in the 19th century. Without doubt, the most important Scottish writer was Sir Walter Scott, known primarily as an author of Ivanhoe, a romantic historical novel, published in 1820. Among other prominent writers from Edinburgh there is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of stories about Sherlock Holmes, which became an archetype for the modern detective fiction, as well as Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the classic adventure stories such as Treasure Island and Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. J.M. Barrie, author of the famous play for children, Peter Pan, studied at the University of Edinburgh.
The literary heritage of the city is not limited only to prose. Many of the prominent historical figures lived there, such as one of the most important philosophers of the Enlightened, David Hume, or the father of modern economics, Adam Smith. Charles Darwin also studied at the University of Edinburgh.
Today, influential writers still live in the city. The most prominent of them is Irvine Welsh, one of the pioneers of the cyberpunk genre. His best-known book is Trainspotting, which presents the lives of Scottish drug addicts from the lowest parts of the society, as well as Porno, Filth and Glue. Welsh writes his books with perfectly used Scottish city slang, therefore his books are sometimes hard to comprehend for the uninitiated. J.K. Rowling, the British writer, began writing her popular Harry Potter series in a café in Edinburgh.
You can learn more about Edinburgh here.
Today at 1 PM, the Swedish Academy announced that Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarusian writer and journalist is this year’s laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. She is the 14th woman in history to be awarded the prestigious Prize. The Nobelist will meet the readers on the 19th of October, during Conrad Festival.
Alexievich is known for her courageous books about the often overlooked and repressed history of Russia: the Chernobyl disaster, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the participation of women in World War II, wartime fortunes of children and everyday life after the fall of Communism.
The writer is a laureate of many international awards, such as National Book Critics Circle Award, Swedish Pen Club Award, Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding and the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize. She was also awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters in the degree of Officer.
The Polish readers will have an opportunity to meet Alexievich during the literary Conrad Festival in Krakow. We would like to invite you to the meeting on the 19th of October at 5 PM in Under the Rams Palace (Pałac Pod Baranami).