Weltwortreisende 2022 (World Word Travellers), organised by Fiston Mwanza Mujila and Robert Reithofer, was hosted in Graz, Austria from October 20 – 22, 2022.
Weltwortreisende (World Word Travellers) or Transnational Literary Days, running for the second year, are not only a crossroads for literature, but also a meeting point for languages and representations of the world. Discussed at the event were Memories, origins, wars, black identities, mourning, past and future, visions and propaganda. The events in Graz were organized by Fiston Mwanza Mujila and Robert Reithofer in cooperation with: Lichtungen, Afro-Asian Institute Graz, Kulturvermittlung Steiermark, Frida & Fred – The Graz Children’s Museum. The project is funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Art, Culture, Public Service and Sport, the State of Styria and the City of Graz.
The three-day festival featured readings, panel discussions and more with each day themed on one topic. Thursday, October 20 was “History and its stuff,” Friday, October 21 was “Language as an island of freedom, while Saturday, October 22 focused on the theme “World Travelling Children” which as the name states was children focused. Some of the invited guests were Sofia Andruchowytsch, Dževad Karahasan, In Koli Jean Bofane, Maaza Mengiste, Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, Bachtyar Ali, Iris Hanika, Vamba Omar Sherif, and Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. Doing readings in German were Ninja Reichert, with moderation by Wolfgang Popp and interpretation by Alexandra Marics and Mariya Donska. Thursday and Friday featured music from Seydou Traoré.
Here are some images from the festival, taken by Natascha Reiterer, courtesy of the organisers.
