September 14, 2009
WikiAfrica at Festivaletteratura, Mantua: languages, schools, voices of an Africa in motion
lettera27 and WikiAfrica have participated at Mantua Festivaletteratura Saturday 12th and Sunday, September 13th, 2009 at the Episcopal Seminary with three meetings on the knowledges of Africa on the Move: languages, schools, and voices to increase the contents on literature, art, history and news about the African continent, inside Wikipedia, the largest free online encyclopedia. Three meetings on language and learning, knowledge and contamination, places of residence and origin, curated by Paola Splendore and Alessandro Triulzi. 

Saturday 12th, at 11:30 am, at the panel Africans of Europe / Africans in Europe: African writers of Europe Najat El Hachmi, Jadelin M. Gangbo and Chika Unigwe have expressed a new idea of métissage and offered untold insight on the continent of origin and on the country of residence. Introduction and coordination Paola Splendore with Igiaba Scego. 

Africa at school for the appointment of Saturday, 12th, at 17:15. Can a school with children of migrants from Africa continue to ignore the existence of African literature and of its Nobel Prizes? The experiences of libraries in Rome, the work of the "Författarcentrum" in Sweden and WikiAfrica Literature's new project for schools were told by their protagonists Cristina Ali Farah, Giorgio De Marchis, Gunilla Lundgren and Gabriella Sanna. Introduction and coordination Livia Apa.

Rights / exclusions / memberships in the discussion of Sunday, September 13th, 11:30 am. What are the current portrayals that testify the complex multicultural reality of contemporary Italy? Movies and video narrations from the schools for refugees and asylum seekers Asinitas of Rome and the tales, stories and images “at child's heights” from Carlo Pisacane school in Rome, the epicenter of the confrontation between acceptance and intolerance in Italy. Coordinators Marco Carsetti and Alessandro Triulzi. Have participated to this event Cecilia Bartoli, Giulio Cederna, Chiara Mammarella, Dagmawi Yimer and Alessandra Smerilli.

The meetings curated by Fondazione lettera27 Onlus and WikiAfrica have been held with the support of Moleskine in collaboration with booksweb.tv and with the participation of Afriradio Nigrizia Multimedia, "Nigrizia"'s magazine web-radio, entirely dedicated to Africa. Interventions may be heard live and podcast on www.afriradio.it . 

Have a look at the pictures on flickr.

image: composed with the drawing by Omar of Asinitas School.