The 85th PEN International Congress in Manila

Speaking in Tongues: Literary Freedom and Indigenous Languages

September 30 - October 4, 2019

Host Centre: Philippine PEN

We are pleased to announce that the 85th PEN International Congress will take place in Manila, Philippines from 30th September to 4th October 2019.

Established in 1958 Philippine PEN has been an active Centre organising literary events - readings, workshops, meet-the-author series, seminars, and conferences in Manila and in the provinces. It has hosted visits or held receptions for distinguished writers such as Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Lin Yutang, Khushwant Singh, Hirabayashi Taiko, Norman Mailer, Günter Grass, Juan Gelman, and many others. The Centre has held two regional Asian Writers conferences in Manila, and published several anthologies including an Asian PEN Anthology.

Over the past 8 years PEN Philippines has participated in PEN’s civil society programme. Their project For the Love of the Word has sought to promote indigenous literature and linguistic rights in schools through teacher training. In July 2018 the Centre also hosted PEN International’s capacity building workshop for 16 representatives of Centres in the Asia region.

The United Nations declared 2019 The Year of Indigenous Languages. In the interests of promoting cultural development, peacebuilding and freedom of expression for linguistic group representatives, the theme of 85th PEN International Congress was decided as ‘Speaking in Tongues: Literary Freedom and Indigenous Languages’.

Information on registration is forthcoming.

If you have any further thoughts or comments you wish to share please email Olha Mukha, PEN’s Congresses, Committees and New Centres Coordinator on olha.mukha@pen-international.org