Tunis international bookfair: Another Opportunity to promote American Values

(May 6-Tunis) Following a long-standing tradition, the U.S. Embassy participated to the 26th edition of the Tunis International Book Fair organized by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Preservation, on April 26 - May 5, 2008.

The U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia Robert Godec welcomed Mohamed Ghannouchi, Tunisian Prime Minister, who visited the American stand, along with the Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation, the Minister of Education and Training, the Minister of Higher Education, and the Minister of Scientific Research and Technology. Patricia Kabra, Counselor for Press, Information and Cultural Affairs Section stated that “this constitutes yet again another opportunity for the Tunisian Public to know more about American culture and values, and discover renowned American authors.”

The book fair is a significant event in Tunis.  The general public flocks to this event to buy books and look at displays put up by booksellers, foreign countries’ embassies, and other cultural institutions.  The American Embassy aims at reaching out to the diverse audience of Tunisians that participate in the Tunis annual book fair, and hence help them to have a more nuanced understanding of the United States.

The U.S. Embassy displayed thirty recently titles published by Nouveaux Horizons, the Paris based editor specializing in American books French translations and promoted this program to different categories of audiences ranging from Faculty to students, intellectuals and others.

316 editors from 32 countries participated in this edition and represented a total of 1024 editors.